HRIC Holds Screening of Chow Hang-tung Documentary at Catholic University of America
On Sunday, April 14, HRIC was hosted by the Asian Association of the Catholic University of America for a screening of “She’s in Jail,” the recently released documentary about imprisoned Hong Kong lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung. Catholic University students, faculty members, and others from around DC were in attendance.
After the screening, a panel was hosted by HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo, alongside Anouk Wear (華穆清), the US-based Research and Policy Advisor of HK Watch, as well as Patrick Poon (潘嘉偉), a Director on the board of The 29 Principles, and a former researcher for Amnesty International.
Director Zhou noted that the timing of the screening coincided with the 35th anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s death, whose passing catalyzed the 1989 Democracy Movement. Director Zhou recounted his time both as an activist in Tiananmen Square, as well as a political prisoner, further highlighting Chow’s conditions in prison, and comparing them to his own experiences. “I was handcuffed in confinement for 3 months [like in the film], and still, activists like Chow face worse conditions at present than I did back then,” said Zhou. He noted that these experiences and Chow’s demonstrated the CCP’s consistent human rights violations and abuses, and how its behavior has often been enabled by some in the US government.
Patrick Poon spoke of the deteriorating state of democracy and personal rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, as well as the increasingly pressing need to draw attention to the situation. He further praised the courage of Chow Hang-tung. Anouk Wear additionally discussed the legal implications of the recently-imposed Article 23, and how it grants Hong Kong authorities more leeway in the persecution and suppression of pro-democracy activists, due to its significantly more expansive, ambiguous language going beyond that of the National Security Law. Wear emphasized that this ambiguity is being used as a tool by Hong Kong authorities and the CCP to foster an environment of greater coercion and repression.
A Catholic University faculty member and Irish poet, Sean O’Coistealbha, commented that he “found [the event] to be hugely enlightening. It was fantastic from the point of increasing awareness regarding human right abuses.” O’Coistealbha, a Fulbright Scholar, noted that he was struck by the parallels between the love letters sent between Chow and her partner, Ye Du, and love letters sent by the famed Irish independence leader, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, to his own wife while he was imprisoned. “Chow’s struggle particularly reminded me of the struggle of O'Donovan Rossa, his intense suffering in prison, and how his wife took the fight to America. There is a need to widen the audience [Hong Kong activists] speak to in this country and abroad, and more allies are needed in the global community of human rights,” said O’Coistealbha.
At the conclusion of the event, Director Zhou informed those in attendance that they could send a letter to Chow by emailing June4HK@proton.me, as well as sharing their experiences and feelings related to the 1989 Democracy Movement.