Revolution of our Times: How a London based church group galvanises support for Hong Kong protestors

Whether it's a travel documentary about an exotic location or an investigative expose, most people use documentaries to expand their knowledge of the unknown.

However, for the audience of the recent screening of ‘Revolution of our Times’ in Notting Hill, the subject matter was all too familiar.

The pensioners, young professionals and children in the audience shared a personal link to the harrowing events that shook their homeland of Hong Kong.

The screening was organised by the Good Neighbour Church whose members dominated the audience.

The church championed pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong until 2020 when it became the subject of a government crackdown.

The church’s assets were frozen and its founder, Pastor Roy Chan, was forced to flee with his family.

Chan eventually settled in the UK and established the church as a UK charity in 2020.

He chose the salubrious gothic architecture of St John’s Church as the main site for the church’s operations.

Alongside its weekly sermons and community events across its UK chapters, it also dedicates time to supporting the thousands of Hongkongers who have fled in recent years.

Revolution of out Times, the title of Chow's documentary was a key slogan used throughout the protests ©Studio Incendo

‘They provide a space, in general, for Hongkongers who are moving into the UK’ said Sam, a 20-year-old friend of the group.

Official figures show 103,900 people applied for a British national visa in 2021 as part of the ‘Leave outside the rules scheme.’

Many of those who have moved are young, living alone in temporary housing and receiving minimal government support.

‘The five-pound a day they receive is so minimal that they can’t even take a tube to church’: said Jess, 44.

Jess, a Hong Kong ex-pat who is also Sam’s mother, quickly became involved with the church's activism after initially taking her mother for services there.

As a financial advisor, she took to managing the church's accounts and is currently trying to secure funding from government departments.

“The funding will help us to get more Hong Kongers involved”: she said.

This recent surge in migration from Hong Kong to the UK is largely the product of the growing Chinese presence in the country.

Protests were sparked by the government’s introduction of an extradition bill, which would allow China to extradite criminals from Hong Kong to stand trial on the mainland.

‘Revolution of our Times’, which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, chronicles the wave of mass protests that followed the announcement of the controversial bill.

“It was such a historic moment that I wanted to capture the mood of the people involved”: said Kiwi Chow, the film’s director.

The film makes vivid use of camera phone and drone footage to capture the sheer scale of the protests and the ingenuity of its participants.

Protesters aged as young as 11 were followed by Chow as they played their part in the protests.

Each had a unique role in the struggle.

Some were paramedics and reporters whilst others acted as scouts and drivers.

Protest organisers claimed that over a million people had attended one of the first rallies of the protest movement © Studio Incendo

However, perhaps the film’s most impactful cameo came from an elderly man named Uncle Chan.

Chan, a former farmer who always dons a striking red hat, became a symbol of the older generation’s disdain for their changing nation.

His dedication to democracy and saddening concern for the country’s youth was palpable.

The church’s connection to the protest was reaffirmed upon the sighting of Pastor Chan in the film.

The Pastor who is a close friend of Uncle Chan was seen standing alongside him shouting ‘protect the children’.

‘The older generation acquired values under the colonial system, and expressed loyalty to the UK and referred to it as a mother country’: said Maria, a British academic who taught in Hong Kong for 25 years.

Hong Kong was a British protectorate until its handover to China in 1997.

After 1997, the democracy, rule of law and freedom of the press the nation enjoyed under British rule were slowly eroded by China.

‘As China hardened so people of Hong Kong become more fearful’ said Maria.

Maria, who was one of a hand full of non-Hong Kongers in the audience, lamented the changes she had seen since her first visit in 1996.

‘I’ve noticed in whatsapping students and graduates that no one touches on politics anymore, we talk about the weather, their families, safe things’ she said.

Protesters brave heavy rain as they march against the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill on Sunday, August 18, 2019 © Studio Incendo

However, she hopefully added: ‘The documentary changed my thinking’.

She referenced the war in Ukraine and the impending threat China poses to Taiwanese sovereignty as events that give the world a new perspective on the Hong Kong situation.

The words of the well-known Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee near the end of Revolution of Our Times, provide the clearest cause for hope.

‘Hong Kong as a place is not important – it’s Hongkongers who are’ he said.

In the meantime, the church is going to continue to network, support and speak out.