Canadian couple spend honeymoon raising awareness about democracy in Hong Kong

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Parkie Li and his wife, Angel, made room for a stranger on their honeymoon journey earlier this year.

During a four-month, 20,000-kilometre trek across Canada, the couple carried with them a 3D-printed replica of Lady Liberty Hong Kong, a statue depicting a young woman in protective gear demonstrating against China’s overreach into Hong Kong’s affairs. The five-foot-tall protestor wields an umbrella and a flag bearing the message, “Reclaim Hong Kong, Revolution Now.”

After setting off in February, the newlyweds stopped at 11 cities from coast to coast, displaying Lady Liberty on Parliament Hill, in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and outside the Chinese consulate in Toronto. They saw the trip as an opportunity to deepen their relationship with each other – but also to connect with the Hong Kong diaspora in Canada and spread a message of hope.

“Definitely, one day, we believe Hong Kong can go back to normal – no more tyranny in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Li, who was born there and came to Canada with his family in 1994. “So that’s what we believe in.”

Lady Liberty Hong Kong sprung from the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The original statue is nearly four metres tall and was created by an anonymous group of art and design enthusiasts united through LIHKG, an online forum used by many of the protesters. Gauze on its right eye is in reference to an incident where a young woman was allegedly injured by a police beanbag.

The piece, which became a totem of the protest movement, was showcased in multiple Hong Kong locations before it was perched atop the city’s iconic Lion Rock peak in October, 2019. Unidentified assailants vandalized and pulled the statue down the next day.

After Lady Liberty was toppled, Mr. Li came up with the idea of creating a replica of the symbolic art, and in 2021 he had one 3D printed.

It was not his first time making a statement in support of Hong Kong, where he lived and taught after finishing school in Canada. In 2015 he returned to Vancouver to be with his family, but the deteriorating situation in Hong Kong, especially the mass protests prompted by the government’s attempt to pass a controversial extradition bill in 2019, persuaded him to take action. He became involved with protests in B.C. that demonstrated solidarity with the anti-government movement in the Asian financial hub.

Mr. Li documented the honeymoon on social media, and Hong Konger groups across the country, including Halifax-Hong Kong Link and the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, organized events for him to display the statue. A few thousand people, mostly with ties to the former British colony, came out to see it. Many brought their children, to help the younger generation grasp the history of and situation in the territory, Mr. Li said.

When the couple passed through Winnipeg last month, it was around the fourth anniversary of the 2019 protests. A group called Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern booked a room in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to mark Lady Liberty’s arrival. The unofficial exhibit also featured copies of publications that documented the pro-democracy movement, including those that were forced to shutter, such as the prominent newspaper Apple Daily.

Jimmy Cheung, a member with the group, said the two-day event served two purposes: remembering Hong Kong’s political unrest and raising awareness of the long arm of Beijing. He referred to secret Chinese police stations in Canada and allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian politics.

“This is what [the Chinese Communist Party] is, this is what they are capable of. … What they are doing now in Canada is not friendly. Because this is what they did four years ago … in a city they said they would give autonomy for at least 50 years,” Mr. Cheung said.

Mr. Li and his wife returned to their home in Richmond, B.C., at the end of June, but he said his fight for freedom in Hong Kong has just begun, and that he is in the process of looking for a permanent home for Lady Liberty in Vancouver.

He hopes their trip will inspire others to adopt creative ways to stand up for democracy.

“We cannot do big things … we don’t have money, but we can still do something. If everybody does little by little, that would help a lot,” Mr. Li said.