Fr. Mella on hunger strike for young people detained in Hong Kong

The Pime missionary has been on a 24-hour sit-in in front of the government's central offices since yesterday to remember the at least one thousand young people who are still in prison due to the repression of pro-democracy movements. ‘With an amnesty they could restore credibility to this city’. The memory of Siu Ka Chun, one of the leaders of the 2014 ‘umbrella movement’ and later an activist for prisoners' rights, who died in recent days of cancer.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - On hunger strike in front of the headquarters of the Hong Kong government offices, to remember the more than one thousand political prisoners still in prison following the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations. Especially the youngest, about whose fate no one but their families are concerned.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, Fr Franco Mella - a PIME missionary for many years in the front line of social struggles in Hong Kong - returned to the streets today with a 24-hour sit-it demonstration that began yesterday evening as a gesture against the silence on the fate of ‘so many brothers and sisters who have worked hard for the poorest and with an amnesty could restore Hong Kong's credibility and also help its economic recovery much more than image initiatives, such as bringing pandas here as a tourist attraction’.

In this initiative - which he repeats twice a year - Fr Mella was not alone this time: two other Hong Kong friends wanted to join his gesture. And an article about them also appeared this morning in Mingpao, a local newspaper. ‘It is a symbolic gesture,’ says the missionary, ’We must at least say publicly that we hope these people will soon be able to return to their families.

The sentence that sentenced the organisers of the primary elections to up to 10 years in prison has been the talk of the world in recent months. The trial of Jimmy Lai is underway; in a few months, that of Lee Cheuk-yan and the other promoters of the June 4th commemoration, the anniversary of Tiananmen, will begin. But theirs are only the best known cases: these hundreds of young people are also behind them. And thousands of others who could still be brought to court for those events'.

Fr. Mella explains that his gesture is nothing more than ‘letting himself be guided by the words of Jesus heard in the Gospel during yesterday's Mass: “The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners, to proclaim release to the blind, to restore freedom to the oppressed...”.

A commitment also in remembrance of Siu Ka Chun, a Baptist Christian who died a few days ago of cancer at the age of 55. ‘Sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the umbrella movement in 2014, he was serving this sentence when the 2019 protests took place,’ recalls Fr Mella. ‘When he came out of prison he was already very thin. But he put all his strength into starting a business to enable those in prison to buy cheaply what they needed in detention. In 2021 he was forced to close that too, because it had become too risky. But caring for prisoners remained his battle and his example remains'.