Be a Role Model of Perseverance – the Tears and Rewards of Yuen Long Lennon Wall comrades (Part 1)

“Good Evening all Yuen Long Fellows! Here’s the latest update on the Yuen Long Lennon Wall……” At Yuen Long station Exit G of the MTR West Rail line, a tall and muscular youngster stands at a corner of the transit terminus making his speech to anyone who would listen.

On a normal weekday, the lift will transfer those who are coming home from work in droves. Running for the soon-to-depart bus, or hopping onto the light rail train. While others will slow down, following the young man’s bellowing and drift towards the Lennon Wall … and then they stop.

The Lennon Wall here is filled with all kinds of posters and artwork related to the movement. They include “yellow” shop lists, daily news, protest information……densely packed, but not cluttered. Among those onlookers, some are dressed in business suits and leather shoes, while some are wearing casual outfits and flip-flops. Some are reading everything one by one in detail, while others will take photos of useful information.

Before they leave, some onlookers will deliberately walk over to the youngster and say “Thank You” or “Add Oil” with a smile. Others will give him water and food, or just chit chat in front of the Wall. The young man takes a break and walks next to the elevator and starting over again: “Good Evening all Yuen Long fellows……”

＊ ＊ ＊

This unique scene has become a part of the lives of Yuen Long residents for almost 8 months. Since July 2019, Lennon Walls have been blossoming and can be seen in all districts, and gradually some have morphed into Lennon Subway, Lennon Malls. However, with frequent clean-up efforts, movement-related conflicts; beatings and arrests of Lennon Wall activists; along with the threat of the Wuhan Virus pandemic, Lennon Walls are starting to wither away in many districts.

Located at this major public transit hub where Yuen Long station sits, a few walls and columns in the space along the pathway to the light railway station are still filled with the most updated posters, ranging from health information in fighting the pandemic, the government budget to strategies on how to participate in the functional constituencies at the Legislative Council. This Lennon Wall has never been empty.

After the so-called 21 July(2019) Yuen Long “terrorist attack”, Yuen Long was nicknamed “Yuen Long Country” and has been regarded as a zone controlled and owned by the Yuen Long indigenous triad gangs. So, how could this Lennon Wall situated right next to Nam Bin Wai (Nam Bin Wai is one of the 18 indigenous villages, where it is alleged that those triad gangs live) still exist?

Born and bred in Yuen Long, this youngster nicknamed “Loud Brother” by Yuen Long fellows, answers sternly: “I want to let everyone know that the movement has not faded away and there are many people who are persisting with the fight”.

From Freestyle Post-it Memos to Organized Layouts – Yuen Long station’s “textbook” Lennon Wall

At the very beginning, Lennon Walls were merely made up of colourful Post-it memos. When the Anti-Extradition Bill movement began in June 2019, protesters were sticking memos expressing their wishes on the walls outside the Central Government Offices located on Harcourt Road, Admiralty, reminiscent of days from the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Regrettably, this particular Lennon Wall was demolished by police supporters at the end of June 2019. Since then, Lennon Walls have popped up across Hong Kong.

Loud Brother remembered when the Yuen Long Lennon Wall first appeared in early July 2019, it was built on the bridge outside Long Ping station on the West Rail Line. In order to avoid the clean-up, people would display the memos on cardboard so they could be moved easily. Later on, he started volunteering at the interchange where Yuen Long West Rail, Light Rail, bus and mini-bus stops converge. During peak hours, there is a constant flow of people and it is a place where many Yuen Long residents pass through daily.

Those who regularly volunteer at Yuen Long station soon formed a “Publication Team”. Thereafter, apart from Post-it memos, they started to post information on police brutality and protest-related activities. “We hope to let Yuen Long people know more,” Loud Brother said. During the first few weeks, he would post whatever he printed but only got a lukewarm response from people. He started to think about how and what to post from his audience’s perspective. 

After thinking about it seriously, Loud Brother concluded that simply pasting and sticking in a disorganized manner is not reader-friendly. There has to be well-defined main themes; information should be sorted by categories with headings; and A3-sized paper should be used instead of A4-sized. There should be more pictures and fewer words; lengthy publication should be placed at eye-level. To draw people’s attention, someone should be standing next to the wall making speeches.

In addition, he would dedicate 1 to 2 hours every morning selecting the appropriate publication to ensure it is “both informational and interesting”. Then, he would personally fact-check all the information before it goes to print. There is no cutting corners when it comes to making the wall look beautiful. You have to remove all traces left by the old posters completely; trim the white borders; group the posters beforehand; and even do typesetting like in professional news reporting. To avoid being charged with vandalism, he insists on the traditional way of sticking the 4 corners of the publication with double-sided adhesive tape to “protect themselves”.

“Putting up campaign posters is no easy task,” Loud Brother laughed. Also, let’s not forget the fact that he voluntarily touts loudly under the Yuen Long station escalator from 6pm to 9pm or 10pm every night, without an amplifier.

His perseverance paid off as more and more passersby began to take notice, stopping to admire his work. This Yuen Long Lennon Wall has since been featured frequently in LIHKG, a popular Hong Kong online form, netizens are often amazed and impressed by its awesome layout and typesetting. Yuen Long Lennon Wall was dubbed “Textbook Lennon Wall”. “We, the Yuen Long Publication Team, are the de facto pioneer in categorizing different kinds of publication on the walls and pillars,” said Loud Brother with pride. “Publication teams from other districts have come to check out our work and started to follow our layout and typesetting.”

The Yuen Long Lennon Wall is organized by categories, each spot on the wall serves a different purpose. The biggest portion is regularly updated and reserved for main themes like district council election, yellow economic ecosystem (yellow is the colour representing those who support the movement), Legislative Council election. The pillars next to the elevator is reserved for “Daily News Express” - displaying news feeds and current affairs, protest-related information, and also explanation for the rationale of the proposed actions. Near the elevators are cartoons, comics and artwork. The pillar located at the far end is where people can write and stick their own Post-it memos. Whenever there are large-scale protests, public holidays or festivals, the publication team will make use of the space on the ground and build a massive layout with numerical characters or pictures for eye-catching publicity.

“Many people have said Yuen Long has become independent calling it ‘Yuen Long Country’, a place controlled by indigenous triads. I feel very uneasy when I hear that.” Loud Brother wants to vindicate for Yuen Long. “There are so many yellow shops in Yuen Long, roughly more than 100 of them, and Yuen Long district councilors are very hardworking and responsible. Joining hands with our Yuen Long fellows, our voting rate is the highest in Hong Kong, and we have our Yuen Long Lennon Wall. Do you think our Yuen Long fellows are blue (blue meaning those supporting the police, government and pro-establishment camps)? Absolutely not.”

“So, don’t look down on yourselves, everyone can be strong and powerful!”

To be continued…

Source : https://www.inmediahk.net/node/1071733