Hong Kong protesters adapt signs, slogans to skirt new law

 It was one of first protests in Hong Kong after a feared national security law came into effect.

Among a dozen or so lunchtime demonstrators at a luxury mall in Central business district, a man raised a poster that — viewed from afar — re in Chinese, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

government h just banned slogan, saying it h separatist contations and so ran afoul of new security law's prohibition of secessionist acts.

Shortly after, riot police entered mall, shooing away onlookers. y detained man, telling him slogan was banned. But when officers looked at poster up close, words could be me out. It merely h circular shapes against a contrasting background. y snapped a few photographs of poster and let him go.

Since imposition of security law -– which bans secessionist, subversive and terrorist activities, as well as collusion with foreign forces, with penalties of up to life imprisonment -– anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and those supporting movement, have apted ir methods to try to make ir voices heard without violating legislation.

Before law took effect June 30, protesters often held up colorful posters plastered with slogans that ranged from condemning Chinese government to calling for Hong Kong’s independence. Since n, y have become creative in obscuring ir messs.

Many of protesters at luxury mall held up blank pieces of white paper to protest against China’s “white terror” of political repression. Or posters are designed to circumvent bans on slogans. government has t yet me clear if such forms of expression are illegal.

law has h a chilling effect on “yellow shops” that support protest movement. Many have removed protest artwork and sticky tes bearing words of encourment from customers, out of fear that y could land m in trouble with authorities.

Some shop owners, like Tan Wong, have inste put up blank sticky tes to show solidarity with movement.

“We are doing this right w because ( shop) is private property. We are trying to tell Hong Kong people that this is only thing that we ‘yellow shops’ can do,” said Wong, who runs Kok Kok Chicken, a Korean fried chicken store.

“If we do t persist, we would longer be able to deliver our mess to ors,” he said.

Yu Yee Cafe, a Hong Kong-style diner that serves fast food, has covered its windows with blank sticky tes and even displays an origami figure of Winnie Pooh, a playful taunt of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese censors briefly banned social media searches for Winnie Pooh in China after Xi’s appearance was compared to cartoon bear.

“I wonder if re’s still rule of law if sticking a (blank) piece of paper on wall is illegal,” said Eddie Tsui, one of diner’s customers. “It’s just using a different way to express our demands. If you don’t allow us to protest that way, we’ll find ar way.”

use of blank paper or sticky tes to protest is a changing form of resistance, according to Ma Ngok, an associate professor of politics at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“y put up blank tes so that even if government wants to prosecute m, re is thing that can be used against m,” he said.

Protesters in Hong Kong have also come up with alternative slogans to circumvent ban on “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

Some users quote initials of romanization of eight Chinese characters in banned slogan -– “GFHG, SDGM.” Ors have changed words entirely to terms that sound similar but mean very different things. One alternative slogan w res “Patronize Hong Kong, Times Square,” a reference to a popular shopping mall in city.

A popular protest anm, “Glory to Hong Kong,” has h some of its lyrics changed, with protesters replacing words with numbers in Cantonese that sound approximately like lyrics.

circumventing of bans on slogans is reminiscent of how mainland Chinese internet users come up with creative ways and similar-sounding words to talk about sensitive issues without triggering censorship under “Great Firewall of China,” where censors delete posts containing sensitive terms and make such keywords unsearchable on online platforms.

“re is a long history of censorship where we kw that people will find ways to circumvent system, matter how you regulate,” said Fu King-wa, associate professor at University of Hong Kong’s journalism school.

“Sometimes, censorship can backfire, triggering more people to discuss an issue because y think that if it is censored, n it must be something important,” he said.