Hong Kong in 2047
Related Episode
When our producers were in Hong Kong, they often asked people, "What will Hong Kong look like in 2047?" That will be fifty years after the city's return to Chinese sovereignty. We asked three illustrators — Noble Wong, Tse Sai Pei — to consider the same question.
"If Beijing and the Hong Kong government continue to monitor its citizens, censor their thoughts, and suppress freedom of speech, inevitably by 2047 Hongkongers can only put on the same face, follow the same set of rules, and ostracize anyone displaying any sign of independent thinking."
"It's 2047, the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Independent State. Young people are filling up the Independent Square to attend an outdoor concert, and signs of Hong Kong enterprises light up the Victoria Harbour skyline. Hongkongers stand tall and proud, never forgetting those who devoted and sacrificed themselves to the revolution. Freedom belongs to Hong Kong."
"The Chinese Communist Party is already using facial recognition technology and brainwave trackers to monitor students in mainland. With the protests today, Beijing now realizes it has lost a generation of young Hong Kong people. If we do not keep resisting, our young people will be subjected to even harsher surveillance when Hong Kong fully returns to China in 2047."