Hong Kong activist Chan Po-ying became one of the city's only pro-democracy voices after her prominent husband's arrest in 2021, refusing to give up the struggle they had waged together for decades.
Her husband Leung Kwok-hung, better known by his nickname “Long Hair”, was among the 47 people charged with subversion in the largest case under a national security law imposed by China to cull the city’s protest movement. He, along with 13 others, had insisted they were innocent but were convicted on Thursday.
"Long Hair is still here so I of course must hang in there," Chan told AFP in a series of interviews in the months leading up to the verdict.
Her husband Leung Kwok-hung, better known by his nickname “Long Hair”, was among the 47 people charged with subversion in the largest case under a national security law imposed by China to cull the city’s protest movement. He, along with 13 others, had insisted they were innocent but were convicted on Thursday.
"Long Hair is still here so I of course must hang in there," Chan told AFP in a series of interviews in the months leading up to the verdict.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 The police are filming me.
00:02 Although I pretend to be a police officer,
00:05 there are many police officers in uniform around me.
00:07 They are here to welcome us,
00:10 a street station with only three people.
00:12 All of them, and the police officers,
00:14 they can also...
00:16 Universal suffrage now!
00:19 No! No! No!
00:21 Everyone is a labourer!
00:24 Take your hands off!
00:27 Take your hands off!
00:30 So, the long hair is a motivation.
00:34 I have to keep going no matter what.
00:38 On the other hand,
00:40 I think as a citizen
00:43 with a belief and an ideal,
00:49 I think I will insist that
00:52 because of our basic rights,
00:55 we can continue to do so.
00:58 I am afraid that this society,
01:00 under pressure,
01:02 will become silent,
01:04 and we will not speak up.
01:06 Or we will automatically give up
01:08 our rights.
01:10 All the workers,
01:12 all the people,
01:14 go home.
01:16 I think this is a queue.
01:19 [Chanting]
01:22 I was arrested before.
01:34 I think the difference is
01:36 that although I was arrested,
01:38 the social movement outside
01:40 is still rampant.
01:42 You can feel that
01:44 it is a small personal loss,
01:46 but outside,
01:48 the society is still developing.
01:52 It is still developing.
01:54 But now,
01:56 I think everyone can feel it.
01:59 Even if you are released from prison,
02:02 you are just a small prison.
02:04 It is a big prison.
02:06 So, the emotion is very different.
02:09 There is hope.
02:11 I think this is the most…
02:13 Even if I am released from prison,
02:15 it is still another kind of prison.
02:19 In fact, in these three years,
02:40 I think my mood has improved a lot.
02:42 Because on the one hand,
02:44 as I said, I have two roles.
02:46 I have to balance them.
02:48 On the other hand,
02:50 in this current social environment,
02:52 as a political
02:54 social activist,
02:56 or as a citizen,
02:58 I also need to express
03:00 my own opinions,
03:02 to implement our rights.
03:05 In this regard,
03:07 I have faced a lot of pressure.
03:10 Because we have so many red lines.
03:13 So, for me,
03:15 I feel there is a certain pressure.
03:17 Including the conflict of roles.
03:19 Including the fact that
03:21 you continue to promote your rights
03:23 as a citizen in such a
03:25 oppressive environment.
03:27 This has made me feel that
03:29 my mood has improved
03:31 in these three years.
03:33 [City sounds]
03:55 Sometimes I feel quite sad.
03:57 Because I know his personality is not like this.
04:00 We were not in this relationship in the past.
04:02 He never relied on his emotions.
04:07 Obviously, this is a
04:09 twisted system.
04:11 In a twisted environment,
04:13 there is a need for
04:15 twisted emotions.
04:17 I see it this way.
04:19 I am not saying he is fake.
04:21 I am not trying to kill him.
04:23 I just feel very sad.
04:25 Why?
04:27 Our relationship
04:29 should not be like this.
04:31 [City sounds]
04:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]