The League of Filipino Students (LFS) is one with the people of Hong Kong in their ongoing street protest as they demand reforms. We strongly condemn the violence and state oppression enforced by the Chinese central government and their Hong Kong-based authorities in their desperate try to disperse the demonstrations. We salute and sympathize with the people of Hong Kong as they unwaveringly demand democratic elections free of interference from Beijing.
What started out as class boycott actions organized by high school and university students calling for free and democratic elections have now turned into a rattling protest of tens of thousands of people. In spite of government declarations stating that riot police will be pulled off in the spirit of democracy, the protesters have been continuously met with brutality by the Hong Kong police who have used canisters of tear gas and pepper spray against them, prompting them to use umbrellas and other materials for cover and protection. What has been dubbed as the Umbrella Revolution continues to gain support from the people of Hong Kong and other peoples worldwide.
Against the backdrop of government and police brutality, the Hong Kong protests are a fitting image of the potential of a united Filipino student movement embroiled in the fight for genuine democracy. The power of the students to summon a great clamor for change is very evident, and Filipinos have everything to gain and nothing to lose by following in their footsteps.
We commend the courage and militancy of the people of Hong Kong as they continue to assert their rights and fight for democracy amid state fascism. We call on the Hong Kong government to uphold the people’s rights to free speech and assembly, and to immediately stop using violence against the Hong Kong people.
The LFS recognizes the vital role of the students and of the student movement as a catalyst in this great endeavor for democracy for the people of Hong Kong. The initiative and the courage of the students to defy norms and fight for their rights in the face of state oppression can only be treated with great respect. The demonstrations led by the students of Hong Kong serve as an inspiration to the democratic mass struggles worldwide, and put demands for political and socioeconomic reforms in the forefront.
—CHARLOTTE VELASCO,
national spokesperson,
ARIES GUPIT, deputy secretary general,
League of Filipino Students,
lfsnewsalert@gmail.com