Prayer Gathering for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act

Project

EXH-003

Location

Chater Garden, Central, Hong Kong

Date

8 September 2019

On 8 September 2019, an estimated 250,000 people gathered at Chater Garden for the "908 Prayer Gathering for Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy." The rally called on the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act — legislation that would require Washington to annually review Hong Kong's autonomy as a condition for maintaining its preferential trade status. Lady Liberty HK stood at the gathering in white, as speaker after speaker took to the stage. The mood was peaceful and the gathering had obtained a police no-objection notice.

American, British, and United Nations flags were raised throughout the crowd. Attendees chanted the Five Demands in Cantonese and English, sang the US national anthem, and held signs reading "Please Pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act," "Five Demands, Not One Less," and "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times." Posters of President Trump, Vice President Pence, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — alongside her tweet that read "We should all stand with the people of Hong Kong" — were visible throughout. After the prayer gathering, the crowd marched ten minutes to the US Consulate to submit a petition.

One attendee, speaking to media with his face covered, said: "We want to win international attention. Hong Kong is in a very difficult situation. Our government has ignored our voices for three months and refuses to change course. We have tried to be very peaceful — you can see for yourselves. But peaceful protest hasn't moved them. The people on the front lines are paying a very heavy price. So we use the means available to us to express ourselves and seek support from the world."

As marchers continued streaming into Central via the MTR, clashes broke out at Central station in the afternoon, prompting MTR to close it. Later that evening, incidents of vandalism occurred at Wan Chai station, where riot police entered in formation. An officer stopped a man in a blue shirt, searched his belongings, and held him briefly before releasing him — to cheers from onlookers. Wan Chai station was subsequently closed. Across the island that day, police deployed 18 tear gas canisters, 13 rubber bullets, 10 bean bag rounds, and 1 sponge round.

The pattern that had been repeating across weeks: peaceful daytime gatherings, then confrontation after dark. Resentment toward the police, visible in graffiti and chants on the streets, continued to deepen.