5 years ago they protested for freedom in Hong Kong. They want us to remember them

HONG KONG - Five years ago, on a sweltering July 1, enraged protesters in Hong Kong smashed their way into the local legislature and ransacked the building. At the time, demonstrations were erupting over a government proposal that would have allowed authorities in Hong Kong to extradite certain criminal suspects to mainland China for prosecution. The former British colony and China have different and distinct legal systems - a feature of the "One country, two systems" model under which Hong Kong has been governed since Britain returned it to China in 1997. After Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong at the end of June 2020, Jason and his classmates railed against it and continued to advocate for democracy. "I decided to leave Hong Kong for a while and go travel, because I don't think staying in Hong Kong at that moment would be a wise choice," he says. Many people left Hong Kong after the protests, according to official statistics, which show the population dropping by more than 200,000 people from mid-2019 to mid-2022. "The four year term is over, so what next for Hong Kong? What can Hong Kong do? And what can I do here in Hong Kong? It's an issue to deal with now," he says.