Dozens of people in Poland have signalled their support for Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement activists, four of whom were jailed last month.
A video of the event was published on Tuesday, showing about 80 people standing in a line and passing a piece of paper that said “#FreeHongKong!” The video also included the slogan, “Say no to Communist China.”
Pierwszy taki flashmob w Polsce! ZOBACZ, o co chodzi i DOŁĄCZ!
Za wolność naszą i waszą ✌✌️✌️
Pokażmy, że nie jesteśmy obojętni: https://t.co/VbU3bQiQYS #FreeHongKong #SayNoToCommunistChina
Podziękowania dla Pastora @PastorBobKraft & red. @haniashen! RT! #ipptv pic.twitter.com/DMy0OGB0OR— Idź Pod Prąd (@idzpodpradpl) May 7, 2019
The flash mob event was held at Lithuanian Square, a city square at the eastern Polish city of Lublin, according to media outlet Idź Pod Prąd TV.
The outlet said that some of its members helped organise the campaign, which aimed to “express Poles’ support for freedom-loving Chinese people living in Hong Kong.”
On April 24, four pro-democracy activists – scholars Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun and activist Raphael Wong – were sentenced to jail after being found guilty of charges related to public nuisance.
Tai and Chan were sentenced to 16 months in jail, while Shiu and Wong faced eight months behind bars.
The activists were leading figures in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, which was the biggest pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong’s history. It was sparked by public discontent with Beijing’s proposal for electing the city’s leader, which led to thousands occupying main roads calling for true universal suffrage.
The Polish TV station also urged its audience to post pictures on social media with the hashtags #FreeHongKong and #SayNoToCommunistChina.
Audience members were encouraged to send letters to support the jailed activists, and the TV station included the address of a Hong Kong group responsible for sorting them.
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