Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have launched a nightly screaming protest at 10:00 p.m., belting out protest slogans from their apartments, reports revealed on Friday.
Protests have been raging in Hong Kong since June with tensions between the demonstrators and police turning increasingly violent. On Friday, the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported:
When the clock strikes them [10 p.m.] hour, a chorus of cries can be heard reverberating across districts, with slogans popularized by pro-democracy protesters — including “five demands, not one fewer” and “Hongkongers, add oil” — echoing between high-rises.
The grassroots practice, which has come to be known as the “Million Scream,” began on August 19.
Avid internet users have reportedly touted the screams as an effective way to disseminate the movement’s message “while expressing frustration and showing solidarity among supporters,” HKFP pointed out.
A 35-year-old teacher identified as Lee told HKFP:
We shout at night, not because we are crazy. We shout to prevent us and our city from going crazy. … I think shouting can boost morale among protesters … [They] can feel trust and support within their community. I felt very touched and supported when I first shouted, and my neighbors responded to me, though I couldn’t locate them. So I continue to do it.
The pro-Beijing Hong Kong government this week agreed to ax the extradition bill that ignited the protests in June, but the rallies continue to rage unabated.
Protesters argue that dropping the bill, considered a significant concession by the Hong Kong government after months of vowing not to back down to the demonstrators, is not enough.
Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous region of communist China.
The primary focus of the protests has entirely shifted to the region’s desire for democracy and full autonomy.
HKFP noted:
Hours after Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday conceded to axing the reviled legal amendment, residents across the city took to their windowsills to voice their unhappiness with the embattled leader, who many accused of failing to answer to the other four core demands of demonstrators.
The Hong Kong news outlet explained that the practice of screaming out grievances originates from the cacerolazo practice that is popular across South America.
Cacerolazo — where demonstrators bang kitchen utensils together to bring the government’s attention to grievances — has “its roots in the 1971 Chilean protests against food shortages under President Salvador Allende,” HKFP added.