4 March 2023 – Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation staged building illuminations in New York City to call attention to Hong Kong’s women political prisoners.
The projections featured Gwyneth Ho, Alice Wong Yuen-lam, Jessica Chu Wai-ying, Claudia Mo, and Chow Hang-tung, all of whom have been in prison for more than 500 days. These women, who have courageously fought for Hong Kong’s freedom, don’t belong behind bars.
The illuminations on the occasion of International Women’s Day come amid the ongoing trial of the Hong Kong 47, the city’s largest-ever National Security Law trial. The projections took place on the eve of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) National People’s Congress annual session, where Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping is expected to further consolidate his power.
In conjunction with the illuminations, the CFHK Foundation launched its political prisoner database featuring women and girls as young as 14 who have been incarcerated. Hong Kong has the largest percentage of women prisoners in the world.
The CFHK Foundation stands in solidarity with all of Hong Kong’s political prisoners, and urges the free world to remember the sacrifices they are making and work for their release.
The CFHK Foundation’s President, Mark Clifford, said:
“Too many women and girls are among Hong Kong’s nearly 1400 political prisoners. In a free society, the women we highlighted on our building projections would be celebrated for their achievements, not put behind bars. Chow Hang-tung is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Claudia Mo gave up a career in journalism to become an elected legislator. Gwyneth Ho is a journalist who was beaten in an attack by a pro-government mob. Members of the U.S. Congress, British Parliament, and all of us throughout the free world should take the occasion of International Women’s Day to remember the sacrifices these women – and all of Hong Kong’s political prisoners – are making for the cause of freedom.”
Comments