Hong Kong's Cry for Freedom

This year, an eleven-member team of photojournalists from Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. Two of them are from India—Adnan Abidi and Anushree Fadnavis. Nilofer Khan speaks to the duo, and writes about the uprising in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong witnessed one of its biggest political crisis last year, when a controversial extradition bill was introduced on 29 March— the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Bill 2019. The bill allows the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China, Taiwan, and Macao, countries that are currently excluded within the existing laws in Hong Kong. The unexpected legal changes were triggered by a murder case that took place in Taiwan, in 2018. The accused, Chan Tong-kai, killed his girlfriend during their holiday trip to the country. He was arrested upon his arrival in Hong Kong. Although he confessed to murdering his partner, he was charged for minor offences, and incarcerated for a few months due to two reasons—the lack of sufficient evidence and the extradition agreement between the two countries.

Soon after, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s Pro-Beijing Chief Executive, proposed the extradition bill, intending to close any loopholes with Taiwan and the other countries. But with China’s involvement, a lot was at stake. Besides the fact that they are known for their violent treatment of suspects, the bill would also give them the liberty to crush voices of dissent, endangering the lives of activists and journalists. Eventually, Hongkongers took to the street, protesting for the withdrawal of the bill. To chronicle the growing unrest and the impact of devastation on the ground, Reuters sent eleven photojournalists to photograph the uprising. The agency has been closely following the story since the proposal of the bill.