Issue Briefing No. 76

Freedom for Hong Kong Begins
with OurselvesInterviewer and writer: Sulastri(Master’s student, School of International and Public Policy, HitotsubashiUniversity)
August 19, 2024

*This paper was written based on an interview conducted on March 21, 2024.

ComingtoJapanin

2015

toattend

Graduate School at the University of Tokyo, Lee
worked as an architect for three years. During
his short-term project, he visited Hong Kong in2019 during the heat of the protests there.
Observing

thattheHongKongFreedom

movement needed a visual identity of its own, hedesigned a sculpture with a friend. This was also
the beginning of the group that Lee thenfounded, Lady Liberty Hong Kong.

It was also

his turning point to fully focus his life on activism
while doing freelance architectural work.
Founding Lady Liberty Hong Kong
Right from its inception, the sculpture was no one-man job. “I posted
this idea in an online forum, and a lot of people responded to the idea andoffered help. It was the beginning of the whole Lady Liberty Hong Konggroup.” There were a lot of designers and engineers who didn’t see a way
they could help the movement even though they wanted to contribute,because they could not participate in the movement openly. “This project1

Freedom of Hong Kong Begins from Ourselves

Issue Briefing No. 76
was a joint movement that created new opportunities for people fromdifferent fields. It began with 10 people in the first week and expanded byorganizing activities of a different nature, for example an online campaign, apublishing company, a photographer, and writers also joined us later.”As the project gained attention among both the local and theinternational media, there were also a lot of supporters who felt that theapproach for efficacy with arts and design was quite meaningful. “With myexpertise in design and engineering, from then onward we started housing
programs like art exhibitions, charity sales also online media campaigns tosustain the movement both locally and overseas.” As the government waslimiting the space for such activism, shops displaying the mini sculptures inHong Kong got in trouble because it was felt to be an open display of dissent,
even though this was not direct pressure from the government. During anexhibition, an inspector would arrive saying the event did not meet fire safety
regulations, or did not fit the land purpose of the shop, so there was a lot ofadministrative harassment.
He himself also experienced suppression: his bank account was frozen,
his family members were harassed by the police even though his family’sbusiness was completely unrelated to his activities. For this reason, theadvocacy group divided its base between Hong Kong and Japan. There was a
gradual transition for the Sculpture of Lady Liberty of Hong Kong as it wasdisplayed for exhibition, equipment and also materials. These were shipped
piece by piece to Japan and other overseas locations.
Responding to the New Law in Hong Kong
Article 23 of the new National Security Law in Hong Kong, directed at“Foreign Hostile Propaganda,” is not only
affecting Hongkongers and foreigners inHong Kong, but also overseas. As we know,
theChinese

government

wasoftheopinion that the 2019 protest was causedby foreign interference. They thought
Hongkongers were being brainwashed byforeign

media

transmitting

foreignopinions that Hong Kong should not be
part of China. In doing so, they neglected
the fundamental cause of Hong Kong notwanting to be subject to Chinese rule. “Itwas the usual tactics of the Chinese

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Issue Briefing No. 76
government to redirect this hostility by diverting Hong Kong people’sattention to foreign governments and foreign countries. Whatever problem
there exists inside China, they blame it on the foreigners. The faults were
never their own, and they try to make citizens hate foreign countries, which
is very subjective. So that kind of tactic is being implemented in Hong Kongas well.”
In his previous writing, Alric Lee expressed the view that the sense ofcommunity among Hong Kong people was somewhat disintegrating orevolving into a different form across the region and across time. Many
Hongkongers moved overseas after 2019, experiencing different places andadopting different ways of life. There has been much discussion among Hong
Kong diaspora groups on how to continue the Hong Kong identity or how tosustain the democratic movement from overseas. Some favor integrating into
the local society while others want to maintain their traditional way of living
and insist on their Hong Kong identity. There are different tactics andopinions on how this should be done. “But I think the end goal is the samefor all of us, which is to make Hong Kong free at the end.”
Success for Hong Kong will come when it gets its power back, so thatpeople get to live freely without fear. “To achieve that, I think we have tofocus on little things, begin with ourselves and what we can do right now at
this moment. That will get us our power back.” The separation of generations
influences their sense of responsibility as they do not know what actually
happened in their own country. But parents also have the responsibility oftelling their kids what is going on in Hong Kong. Thus, they can put more
importance on communications and education rather than living a life like inthe past. “We should change our way of living to consider what is the mostimportant goal of life.”
This is especially important because this communist tactic is to create
abarrier

betweenindividuals destroying trust
among people, even amongfamilymembers.

Challenging distrust, even
within the smallest unit insociety, is a reminder of asharedsense

responsibility

amongofall,rather than relying on otherNGOs or other human rights

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Issue Briefing No. 76
groups. “We have to help ourselves by first realizing that we have to do thison our own. That is how we start.”

Alric Lee Profile
Although Alric Lee is originally from Hong Kong, he has an educational
background that spans continents. He completed his undergraduate studies
in the United Kingdom and earned a master’s degree in engineering from theUniversity of Tokyo in 2017. In 2019, Alric founded the Lady Liberty Hong
Kong group during the height of pro-democracy protests. The group,recognized for creating the iconic Lady Liberty Hong Kong statue, played anotable role in shaping the identity of the Hongkongers who supported themovement. Under his direction, the group raised over 6 million HKD,contributing to various humanitarian initiatives. Further extending his efforts,
Alric took on the role of Executive Director for the Japan Hong Kong
Democracy Alliance in 2023. This organization focuses on amplifyingHongkonger voices in Japan and strengthening ties among pro-democracygroups in East Asia.

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Freedom of Hong Kong Begins from Ourselves