Hongkongers around the world urged on social media to gather to mark 3rd anniversary of 2019 social unrest

According to posts shared on Telegram, rallies will be held in about 40 cities, mostly in Britain, the United States, Australia and Canada. Berlin, Prague, Copenhagen, Tokyo are also expected to host gatherings.

Activists held flags that read “Free Hong Kong, Revolution Now” during a rally in Taipei on Sunday to mark the 2019 unrest.

A 10-minute video circulated on Telegram showed a large group of people clad in black, mostly wearing yellow masks and carrying yellow umbrellas, marching in Shibuya, Tokyo and chanting slogans such as “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”.

The gathering in London, themed “Be water, be united”, was expected to be held outside the British Parliament on Sunday afternoon, with fugitive activists Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Finn Lau Cho-dik, the Hongkongers in Britain group founder Simon Cheng Man-kit, Hong Kong Watch co-founder Benedict Rogers and British politician Luke de Pulford as guests.

According to a message on Law’s Facebook page, the London event sought to unite Hong Kong people in Britain, in “fighting for democracy and safeguarding freedom”.

“Only by continuing to take action to expand local and international support for Hong Kong issues, maintain the political participation of the community, and continue to pay attention to Hong Kong affairs, can we implement our original beliefs,” the message read.

On June 12, 2019, police fired tear gas as protesters charged at them outside the Legislative Council to oppose a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The debate on the bill was postponed and the bill withdrawn in September that year, but the social unrest continued until the coronavirus pandemic broke out in early 2020.