Were it not for Kate Adie and her colleague at the BBC, we would have far less footage of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. They made five copies of their eye-witness recordings, four of which were intercepted by customs. Had the fifth copy also been confiscated, it would have been much easier for the Chinese Communist Party to deny their crimes. The advent of handheld devices and cloud storage made it harder for the Party to censor information regarding the 2019 and 2020 Hong Kong protests against the Mainland extradition law and for universal democratic reforms.
There is a wealth of primary sources recorded by journalists and filmmakers embedded within the protests, documenting events as they happened. That was especially true of two of the most controversial incidents of the protests: the Hong Kong police’s violent siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the occupation of the Legislative Council (LegCo) chamber by student protesters.
A group of Hong Kong citizen journalists (simply credited as the anonymous “Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers” collective for their protection) documented both in the companion films “Inside the Red Brick Wall” and the shorter “Taking Back the Legislature,” which both premiere exclusively on OVID.tv.
With no opening or closing credits to identify contributors, it is impossible for the audience (hopefully including the CCP and its puppet Hong Kong government) to know who contributed to either film. However, both documentaries are almost identical stylistically. Employing long-takes with minimal edits and no voiceover commentary, they simply recorded history as it unfolded.
Graffiti Warning
By virtue of its longer length and the more dire circumstances for protesters involved, “Inside the Red Brick Wall” is the more important and compelling film. It also starts with an eerie warning for viewers by focusing on some English graffiti that reads: “Dear World, CCP will infiltrate your government, Chinese enterprises $ interferes your political stance, Chi Na will harvest your home like Xinjiang. BE AWARE or BE NEXT.”Police had trapped a large contingent of protesters inside the brick-walled campus, preventing their exit and demanding their unconditional surrender. Several reform-minded LegCo members, like Ted Hui, are seen trying to mediate, but it is the cops who deliberately drown out his microphone by blaring loud music whenever he tries to speak.
At one point, a group of secondary school principals, including LegCo member Ip Kin-yuen, also tried to broker the surrender of their former students, but they could only offer safe passage out of the besieged campus, with arrest and imprisonment likely to follow.
However, there was also a very real concern that those who would be arrested during the expected police assault, without public documentation, might “disappear” forever.
Police Brutality
“Taking Back the Legislature” also opens with a close-up on a telling protest sign that urges: “Fight against colonization, defend Hong Kong autonomy.” It reminds us Hong Kong has never received its due rights from the United Nations as a former colony. In fact, it has essentially reverted to a colony of the People’s Republic of China.Although the chronicle of the protesters occupying LegCo is a shorter film, a mere 45 minutes versus the 90-minute feature-length of “Red Brick Wall,” it is a more frustrating viewing experience, because it shows how the movement’s deliberately leaderless, hyper-democratic ethos sometimes led to confusion and indecision, and encouraged spontaneous lone-wolf actions.
Yet it also captures their spirit of solidarity, as when the chamber occupiers started chanting “leave together.” While police brutality is not as prominent in “Legislature,” it is still undeniably obvious when the embedded cameras retreat back out to the surrounding plaza.
The CCP surely regrets the existence of films like “Inside the Red Brick Wall” and “Taking back the Legislature,” as well as other Hong Kong documentaries, like Kiwi Chow’s notable “Revolution in Our Times.” What they document, cannot be denied.
Eventually, human rights tribunals will be able to review their footage to pass judgment on the violence unleashed against the protesters but, sadly, that probably will not happen anytime soon.
Frankly, “Red Brick Wall” is a horrifying but necessary viewing experience, whereas “Legislature” offers object lessons for future Hong Kong revolutionaries. Above all, they guarantee the CCP will never be able to whitewash the 2019–2020 protests out of the world’s historical memory.
Highly recommended for their visceral, unvarnished, and truthful reporting, “Inside the Red Brick Wall” and “Taking back the Legislature” make their subscription streaming debuts May 1 on OVID.tv.
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