Hong Kong pro-democracy groups are taking a page from the history books as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, handing out mooncakes with political messages hidden inside calling on Hongkongers to “Oppose authoritarian rule” and “March on October 1.”
The cakes, dished out in the streets of Mong Kok by groups including Demosisto, the League of Social Democrats and the Civil Human Rights Front, are urging people to turn out for a protest this Sunday in support of 16 activists who were recently jailed over 2014 protests.
One of the Chinese-language messages – contained on slips of paper placed inside the cakes — specifically calls for “(Secretary for Justice) Rimsky Yuen to step down.” The groups accuse Yuen of orchestrating the “political prosecution” of pro-democracy activists.
Mooncakes with hidden notes insides were used centuries ago during the Yuan dynasty to urge the people to overthrow the rule of the Mongols on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Eating mooncakes has been a tradition ever since.
In August, former student leaders Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were sentenced to between six and eight months in prison by the Court of Final Appeal for unlawful assembly and leading students in storming the Hong Kong government headquarters during the Occupy Movement in 2014.
Thirteen other young activists were jailed in August for storming a June 2014 Legislative Council meeting to protest government development plans for Hong Kong’s northeastern New Territories.
In the case of all 16 activists, sentences of community service were overturned and replaced with prison terms after the Department of Justice, headed by Yuen, filed for judicial reviews, arguing that the original penalties were not severe enough to serve as a deterrent.
The pro-democracy groups’ mooncake messaging comes amid building tension on Hong Kong University campuses, where pro-independence banners have been popping up, much to the consternation of university officials.
The rhetoric in response from some pro-Beijing lawmakers has been inflammatory, with legislator Junius Ho going so far as to suggest pro-independence activists should be “killed without mercy,” a statement that drew a rebuke from Chief Executive Carrie Lam herself.
