Dozens of Hongkongers sat patiently folding hundreds of brightly coloured paper cranes on Sunday, all in support of the ongoing protest movement.
The origami birds filled Times Square in Causeway Bay, as police and protesters fought dramatic street battles across Hong Kong Island.
Throughout the stunt, participants chanted protest slogans such as “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” and “five demands, not one less.”
Protesters came up with the idea online last week. They call the birds “Freenix” – a reference to phoenix.
The idea was also widely shared on Twitter under the hashtag #birdgoldingchallenge.
Amid bloody bullets & CS gas, peaceful #HongKongers choose to stay in war zone & start folding “thousand #origami cranes”.
In #Japanese culture, these colourful cranes can wish for recovery from illness & injury.#PrayForHongkong
#千羽鶴 #bestwishespic.twitter.com/Hr4mZjbYvS — @Dystopia – #StayHomeSaveLives (@Dystopia992) September 29, 2019
Folded cranes are often seen as a symbol of peace and hope.
In Japanese culture, a wish can be granted to those who fold a thousand of them.
Demonstrations in Hong Kong have entered their 17th week, as the city marks five years since the birth of the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement this weekend.
Since June, large-scale peaceful protests against a bill that would have enabled extraditions to China have evolved into sometimes violent displays of dissent over Beijing’s encroachment, democracy and alleged police brutality.
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