8奇AlphaGo ｜ The power of interactive stories - a small spark can start a great fire
“‘I’m a Prostitute’ is an interactive story where the sequel is to be written by all Hongkongers. Human talent is the most critical asset; to lose just one is to lose a lot. I hope that each fellow supporter can safely write along with us to the end, to successfully fight for the five demands and democracy, to liberate Hong Kong and restore its old charm, to no longer be subjected to the CCP’s governance and regain freedom. ”
Journalist: Yellow Blood
Photo: Provided by interviewee
Historical democratic progress
In the twenty years since Hong Kong’s handover, injustices are frequent under this Hong-Kong-China autocratic regime, but citizens do not have a valid mechanism to counter and change the current system. The glorious and classy Hong Kong of yesteryear is slowly becoming tasteless and vulgar, primarily due to developments in the past ten years where everything is connected back to Mainland China and the renminbi. All facets of life, from work to leisure, daily life to politics, have lost autonomy to curry favour with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for material gain.
The anti-Extradition-Law-Amendment-Bill (anti-ELAB) Movement started with one demand which slowly grew to multiple demands, morphing into a resistance against an autocratic regime and a fight for freedom and democracy. In world history, ‘democracy’ is an integral phase of civilised development where in the fight for freedom, civilians are unlikely to be able to overthrow an autocratic regime through gentle means. Inevitably, a tyrannical government is successfully overthrown through intense resistance.
I’m unsure if Hong Kong will reach this phase in the future. All I know is that Hong Kong’s story is in development and that I am one of the protagonists, so I decided to tell this story. I am 8奇AlphaGo, the author of ‘I’m a prostitute. Today, I want to share with you the story of my life.’ on LIHKG, a Reddit-like forum in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has lost it’s autonomy as Beijing has actively meddled in Hong Kong’s affairs in recent years, forcing Hongkongers to love China and the CCP. This is akin to kidnapping a girl, coercing her to be your woman, and forcing her to love you and sell her body for money. This is forced prostitution. Hongkongers are forced to be these prostitutes, and the original intention of standing up was to resist this autocratic regime and to pursue justice, freedom and democracy.
An Involuntary Prostitute
The night before writing this post, the protestors at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University were surrounded by police. At the same time, large crowds of citizens gathered to support and attempt to save the students. Jasper Tsang arrived late in the night to “rescue” Chu Woon[*2] and the students. I nervously watched the live broadcast until around 3 am before going to sleep and went to work as usual the next day…
Hong Kong had so many casualties, yet the majority of Hongkongers (myself included) went to work as usual. Sometimes it is disgraceful and sad to be living in such a parallel universe. To make a living, many people involuntarily sell themselves like prostitutes for money by selling their time and freedom.
It was on my way home from work while sitting on a swaying bus that I wrote this post and shared my story on LIHKG.
“And so, as I slowly witnessed the injustice surfacing, the restraint that I had been exercising all along reached a breaking point. I had to take a stand.”
I'm an ordinary Hongkonger. The protagonist of the story is me but it could also be you. Anyone of any status can speak out and resist. Do not underestimate yourself, for a small spark can start a great fire. Everyone can contribute to the movement in their own way. Each person has their own role to play, just like a movie production, be it onscreen or offscreen. You can ask your friends to support the movement, explain about the current situation, guide public opinion, encourage the discouraged, donate supplies, tidy up the Lennon Walls, attend rallies to show support, and so on.
Words to fellow protestors
Someone once said that aiming for the regime should be the main priority. The government cares the most about power and money. As a global financial centre, Hong Kong’s mutual economic destruction with mainland China is not a lousy bargaining chip. As for power, we can export revolution. Can you imagine if large cities in mainland China were able to amass large crowds of protestors like Hong Kong? This would directly shake up the CCP’s ability to govern.
Using this as a blueprint, all high-cost assaults or defensive actions that do not affect the power or money of the CCP regime (street fighting or defending universities, for example) are thus off the mark. This isn’t cutting ties with the martyrs, of course, as I don’t have the qualifications to cut ties or criticise them. But my heart aches for their sacrifices from a cost-benefit analysis point of view as they undertake huge risks that do not necessarily translate to relative returns.
To all fellow protestors: please be careful and take care of yourselves as this is a long-term battle. The advantage of the youth is their youthfulness. I hope that one day we will be able to witness the downfall of the CCP and the liberation of Hong Kong.
‘I’m a Prostitute’ is an interactive story where the sequel is to be written by all Hongkongers. Human talent is the most critical asset; to lose just one is to lose a lot. I hope that each fellow supporter can safely write along with us to the end, to successfully fight for the five demands and democracy, to liberate Hong Kong and restore its old charm, to no longer be subjected to the CCP’s governance and regain freedom.
“I am 8奇AlphaGo. I am a ‘prostitute’, but also a Hongkonger.”
A Hong Kong citizen born in the 80s and working in the finance sector.
- February 2022
- December 2021
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- December 2020
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- December 2019
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- June 2019
[*1] I am a prostitute and I want to share my story today—shared from the LIHKG forum https://lih.kg/cgcLbLCZ
[*2] Chu Woon: rumoured to be the granddaughter of the former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji. Jasper Tsang denies this and news reports later stated that Zhu Rongji does not have a granddaughter, but rumours continue.