Group claims responsibility for Lion Rock banner and releases epic behind-the-scenes video

By Laurel Chor

Oct 24, 2014 | 12:16pm Hong Kong time

In a video that displays the typical deadpan, sarcastic Hong Kong humour, a group of rock climbers calling themselves “the Hong Kong Spidie” has taken responsibility for the unfurling of the massive pro-democracy banner on Lion Rock.

Alex Hofford via Twitter

The video starts with the Marvel movie opening sequence, before cutting to a man in a dinky Spiderman costume, complete with muscle padding. (We’re predicting a new Hong Kong record for Spiderman costume sales this Halloween.)

Owning the ‘Asian squat’ for the entire length of the clip, he declares: “We are a group of regular Hong Kong citizens. Seeing students protesting, construction workers building barricades, and private cars slow-driving, we realised that we know how to climb everywhere. So we thought, why don’t we climb to support the Umbrella Movement?”

“Two days ago CY Leung said that if the [chief executive] candidates aren’t pre-selected, then someone who’s pro-poor would be elected. You know, that actually seems better.”

He then reasons that Lion Rock Mountain, representing the grit of the regular “poor” Hong Kong citizen, would be the perfect place to declare their demand for true universal suffrage as the chief executive would only be looking in the direction of Victoria Peak, with its fancy rich residents.

Spiderman ends the video perfectly, saying: “I now recap in English: today we are occupying Lion Rock”. It’s a mocking reference to Hui Sir, the cop who’s become unintentionally famous for giving daily press conferences in which he always utters the line “I now recap in English” before he does so.

Watch the epic behind-the-scenes video, which features the rock climbers rappelling down the rock face, while Beyond’s “Under a Vast Sky” plays (what else?):