At the same time as thousands of people were demonstrating in Hong Kong last Thursday in solidarity with Catalonia, around the world in Barcelona, hundreds of Catalans were showing their solidarity with the democratic mobilization in Hong Kong, in a protest outside the city's Chinese consulate. Gwyneth Ho is a young and courageous Hong Kong multimedia reporter who has suffered in her own body the violence of the pro-China mafia for daring to film while thugs were attacking ordinary people with impunity in a subway station to frighten and dissuade democratic protests. Gwyneth has worked to give news coverage of her country's protests in defence of democracy, and this week she has been in Barcelona covering the protests against the convictions of the Catalan pro-independence leaders and the subsequent street unrest. She works for Stand News, an independent medium, and has been a correspondent for the BBC. I shared with her one of the most interesting conversations I've had in recent times.
In our conversation, the aspect that most interests Gwyneth is the role of the media. She asks me what independent media there are which survive exclusively from readers' subscriptions and I can't think of a single one: that's the first big difference between Hong Kong and Catalonia. There, she explains, there are several independent media outlets that tell it as they see it, without interference.
She asks me about the role of international solidarity and I respond that more than two million Catalans have no representation in the European Parliament due to the Spanish veto [of three elected Catalan MEPs], something which, up till now, has been accepted by the European institutions.
She comments that the international press seems to understand Catalan demands and I confirm that while the editorials of the leading European dailies assert that "prison is not the answer", in Spain the media of reference are divided between those who applaud the court sentences and those who find them too soft.
We talk about the day that Franco was exhumed and I comment that, unlike Hitler, Mussolini or Ceaucescu, Franco is the only dictator who has spent 44 years in a mausoleum and she replies: Mao Zedong as well! Yes, I answer, but the People's Republic of China does not claim that it is a democracy, while here we have kings, prime ministers and government members who dedicate themselves to telling people wherever they go that Spain is a democracy which respects human rights (as well as the dictator).
In Hong Kong there is unity, there are no ideological or strategic differences and those who protest are very clear that the call for democratic rights has a chance of receiving support from the United States and the European Union, while independence does not receive any international support. What people want is to live in a country that works democratically, with respect for rights and freedoms.
I then begin to question her on what differences she has perceived between the protest movement in Hong Kong and what she has seen in Catalonia, and the answers are an authentic revelation. Firstly, in Hong Kong there are no ideological differences, there is unity. The independence supporters are a minority that doesn't break the unity of the movement. The protest is not so much about independence as about democracy and compliance with the decolonization agreement signed with the United Kingdom that established the "one country, two systems" model. And then she talks to me about the importance of international solidarity. "The protest movement is very clear that the call for democratic rights has a chance of receiving support from the United States and the European Union, while independence does not receive any international support and the vast majority see it as impossible. In fact, most of those who protest don't care about independence, they want to live in a country that works democratically, with respect for rights and freedoms."
With regard to the protest mobilizations, Gwyneth Ho sees enormous differences. "Here in Catalonia it is Democratic Tsunami who convoke and people respond en masse. It is a vertical relationship, while in Hong Kong the discipline is horizontal, people are self-convoking. There, everyone who goes out on to the street knows that they are putting their lives on the line. The police fire with live rounds that kill. And if they arrest you even just for street unrest you could be jailed for 10 years, and then there is the pro-Chinese mafia that act with impunity. Kidnappings and murders have been reported which have still not been proven and there have even been sexual assaults reported. There have also been suicides that have not been clarified. Here I have seen that people protest singing songs and drinking beer even though there are already people in jail and protesters who have lost an eye."
Gwyneth notes that the street clashes are also different. Those in her country who protest are very clear that the financial power of Hong Kong is the force that must be preserved because it is also needed by Chinese companies established in the former British colony. "Here I have seen that shop windows get broken and in Hong Kong that is very unlikely. The battle focuses exclusively on the police, Chinese Government buildings and, at the most extreme, the Chinese banks, but shops or Hong Kong offices have never been intentionally attacked, as it would be considered contrary to the democratic cause and the interests that people are defending".
Photo: Gwyneth Ho
"How will this end in Catalonia?" asks Gwyneth, and I answer: "How will it end in Hong Kong?" We arrive at the same conclusion. The only option of both China and Spain is defeat. They are not very similar situations, but we affirm that the struggle for liberty never ends.