18 PRO-HONG KONG PROTEST STUDENTS GATHER IN DOWNTOWN BANGKOK
A handful of university students gathered to show their support for the Hong Kong protests Wednesday evening in front of a downtown arts space.
A group of 18 students calling themselves the CU Free Space student group gathered in front of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center, holding umbrellas in order to show solidarity with the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests.
“I’m here to express my support for the democratic and peaceful protest in HK, something we don’t see much in our country,” Sirin Mungcharoen, 21-year-old third-year at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Arts said. “The protest isn’t over yet only one of the demands have been fulfilled. Others shall be fulfilled too.”
Attending the protest was student activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal as well as pro-democracy activist Sirawith “Ja New” Seritiwat.
The students mostly attend Chulalongkorn University. Some held signs with a quote from Joshua Wong: “We are not seeking revolution. We just want democracy!”
The students brought umbrellas to show tribute to the Hong Kong 2014 Umbrella Movement.
“This year, a protest has begun again in Hong Kong, demanding the withdrawal of the extradition bill. Now, their effort is being rewarded as the bill is being withdrawn, against [sic] the police’s effort to break the protest down,” statement passed out by the group read in English. “In the effort, police have used violence, for example, a few days ago, the police had beat the protestors in the metro.”
In June, Netiwit and his friends protested in front of the Chinese embassy to mark a brutal crackdown that ended the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Previous interviews have shown that many younger Thais hold pro-Hong Kong views when interviewed about the protests, while the older generation offered more guarded stances.
