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Thai democracy activists are increasingly adopting tactics used by their counterparts in Hong Kong as they defy the assembly ban after months of mounting protests against the prime minister and king.
When protesters in Bangkok raised umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas fired for the first time last Friday, it was strikingly reminiscent of the anti-government protests that rocked China last year.
From helmets and gas masks to flashmobs and hand signals, the student-led movement in Thailand draws on the experience of Hong Kong’s young activists in their own fight for change.
Here are three echoes of the Hong Kong protests in Thailand.
Leaderless movement: ‘Today we are all leaders’
After the arrest of many of Thailand’s protest leaders last week, activists have changed course.
“They think arresting the leaders will stop us,” Pla, a 24-year-old protester, told thousands of protesters at Bangkok’s Victory Monument on Sunday. “It’s no use. We are all leaders today.”
The absence of centralized leadership was a defining feature of the seven consecutive months of protests that rocked Hong Kong, and what many say sustained the movement for so long.
While there were front men, decision-making was transferred to protesters who commonly used online forums and the secure messaging app Telegram to quickly organize and gather in large numbers.
In Thailand, the use of Telegram has exploded in recent days. Protesters have used it to coordinate demonstrations since the government’s ban on political gatherings of more than four people was implemented last week.
A group started by Free Youth, a key protest collective, peaked at 200,000 subscribers shortly after its launch. The Thai authorities have responded by ordering Internet providers to block the app.
While many Thais join Telegram as non-protesting observers, active members use the groups to strategize, from where protests should take place to updates on the whereabouts of the police.
Like the Hong Kong protesters, Thai activists have been putting their decisions to a vote. On Monday, Free Youth’s main Facebook page asked fans if they should take a break by pressing the “beware” emoticon to take a break and the “wow” emoticon to protest. They decided to move on.
The Thai protesters are now trying to “stay as flat as possible, making the leadership open and replaceable,” says Aim Sinpeng, a political scientist at the University of Sydney. “This is very different from past protests in Thailand that tended to be personalized around leaders who are often influential people.”
The use of the hashtag #everybodyisaleader has been growing on social media in recent days, an attempt to “reinvigorate the movement … to protect itself from state persecution,” says Dr. Aim, whose research focuses on digital politics. in Southeast Asia.
A new language of protest: hand signals and a ‘jungle phone’
Over the weekend, a new language developed on the streets of Bangkok. The building blocks were borrowed from Hong Kong.
To signal that they needed helmets, the activists raised their hands in a triangle above their heads. By crossing their fingers, they showed that someone was injured. Moving the index finger counterclockwise was a warning to scatter.
The clever use of hand signals was first observed in Hong Kong, where they became indispensable for protesters to communicate in large crowds. Thai activists have incorporated this sign language, as well as homegrown signs that are shared through infographics on social media.
Since the loudspeakers were confiscated, activists have also turned to other innovative communication methods, says Wasana Wongsurawat, associate professor of history at Chulalongkorn University.
At a protest in Bangkok on Saturday, she saw activists unfurling what she describes as “a jungle phone” to signal police arrivals or request equipment like umbrellas for those at the front of the protest.
“Someone was shouting ‘the water cannons are coming’. Then the people in the crowd began to repeat the phrase. Within two minutes, the message traveled from one end of the demonstration to the other, ”Dr Wasana told the BBC, adding that the demonstration broke up before the suspect team arrived.
Beyond borders: #StandWithThailand
While the protests in Thailand and Hong Kong are rooted in unique local grievances, their activists see common ground in their situations.
In Thailand, protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former coup leader who became prime minister last year after disputed elections. They also urge reform of the country’s powerful monarchy, an unprecedented challenge for an institution protected from criticism by the law.
In Hong Kong, activists have also sought the resignation of their leader, Executive Director Carrie Lam, as they demand universal suffrage and protest against Beijing’s growing influence in the affairs of the semi-autonomous territory.
In both places, democracy activists have come to see their political struggles as shared in a new era of protest.
https://m.facebook.com/TH4HK/photos/a.135346541244184/360602085385294/?type=3&source=48
Earlier this year, they called themselves the Milk Tea Alliance, a flexible online coalition of activists from Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan, referring to the classic drink popular in all three locations.
The leaders of the Thai protests have often said that the Hong Kong movement has inspired them. And Hong Kong activists have expressed their solidarity, offering advice on protest protective clothing, Internet safety and first aid.
Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong regularly tweets in support of the Thai movement with the hashtag #StandWithThailand. Last week he wrote: “The people should not be afraid of their governments. Only governments should be afraid of their people. “
The new generation of protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong have stood out for both their youth and their ability to take advantage of modern technology.
“The protest culture in Thailand in 2020 is the protest culture of the internet natives,” says Dr. Wasana, noting how adept activists are at spreading their messages on social media.
Borrowing from the Hong Kong playbook, the activists hope to sustain their movement.
“There is no other example of high school and college students fighting with water cannons and tear gas for such a long period of time,” adds the historian.
The whole nature of the protest is changing in Southeast Asia, says Bridget Welsh, an honorary associate researcher at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.
Democracy activists in Thailand and Hong Kong, as well as in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, are “adjusting to growing authoritarianism in a globalized world” with rapidly changing tactics and harnessing the power of technology and visual representation.
Additional reporting by Thanyarat Doksone and Grace Tsoi
