W.As the hen I Weiwei grew up in China, it was customary for people in the mainland to look down on Hong Kongers. “We felt they had no serious culture. We felt that they were just colonial subjects interested in making money and martial arts films. They were not political, ”the 63-year-old exiled artist recalls on WhatsApp from behind a car parked in Lisbon.
That childhood perspective has turned on his head in Ai’s deeply rooted documentary Cockroach, about the Hong Kong people who took to the streets last year to protest the overthrow of Chinese rule. They are the ones who become civilized, utopian and offer political resistance to the uncivilized clampdown of the mainland.
Much of the film’s power comes from small-scale footage of its street fights – including the November 2019 siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the blockade of the Cross Harbor Tunnel. I’s film focuses mostly on young opponents using all the weapons at their disposal – pavement slabs, Molotov cocktails, cop-disturbing laser pointers – but also resistance from Chinese officials. They were the same people we are using in the film to simply use the “Be Water” fighting technique of Bruce Lee, Hong Kong’s most famous son, to protest on the streets. Moving on with water cannons and teargas by the police, just to re-emerge in the streets, we see them back in time.
They are impressive for AI because, when living in one of the most affluent cities in the world, they fought not for physical improvement but for principles. “They are heroes because they fought for democracy and civil society. There is no real hope that they will achieve their goals. They are clear, well-educated and above all sincere. They are not for jobs or money but things that seem abstract. It’s about human dignity. I really feel like I’m one of them. “
I have long been sympathetic to Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy and independence. When the umbrella revolution began in 2015, he tweeted, “I’m a Hong Konger.” He says: “I was just expressing solidarity but the Chinese authorities thought I was one of the leaders of the revolution and was late in returning my passport.” That suspicion was understandable, as the artist became a symbol of resistance. He recalls, “My image was beamed in military buildings at night. “But even before that I got into trouble by giving a speech at a Chinese university in Hong Kong, which officials told me was disastrous. It was devastating but I was never a leader. What is beautiful about Hong Kong is that their revolution is ruthless. They are resilient because they are based on self-organization, not ruled from above. ”
Last year’s demonstrations were provoked by an now-abandoned law that would harm Hong Kong’s autonomy by allowing extradition to mainland China. Four-and-a-half years after the failed Umbrella Revolution, the Hong Kong Congress protested against Beijing’s betrayal with its “One Country, Two Systems” agreement with Britain, which would allow the former colony to retain some unique freedoms for 50 years. But there were more than demonstrations. “These people are unique in the world because they stand for China. Most people don’t work. They are very worried about their job. Many countries do not dare to stand against China. But these people are willing to sacrifice for their beliefs. ”
Ia struggled to speak to officials for her film. “Eventually we found two men in the police who were fighting on the streets to speak on the film. They are honest. They are not proud of what they do. But what else can they do as a job? One of the disguised officers captures the surreal, demonstrative aspect of street fighting when he says: “Who wants to be Lex Luthor?” Everyone wants to be Superman. But this is the script. We have a role to play. The film is called Cockroach because it was one of the conditions of abuse spread on barricades at the hated police, along with Molotov cocktails and bricks.
For AE, this police and now abandoned extradition law is part of the ugly word that makes a lot of use of the name “mainlandistation” in his film. “The Chinese authorities have a lot of money. And even if they don’t, they will spend all this to maintain stability and control with the help of the police and the publicity.
“They have no other choice but to negotiate. They have no tolerance. They don’t even give an inch. They arrest people who do not agree. This is the most effective. I know from my own experience, but they have been in control like this for 70 years. In my father’s time, a million intellectuals disappeared and no one knew. Terrible things are on the news today and no one is paying attention. I don’t know what’s wrong. “
Ai’s late father, I King, the poet, was exiled to Xinjiang during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, where he cleaned communal toilets for five years, and according to his son, lost sight in one eye due to poor nutrition. His poems were not published after his “rehabilitation” in 1979.
AI has no doubt that Hong Kong’s destiny is to be absorbed into the Chinese mainland, regardless of the wishes of its people. “Maybe it will be like Xinjiang or maybe it will be like Shanghai. What opponents hope will not happen. ”
Few people would doubt this analysis. Since the events featured in Cockroach took place, many activists of A’s film have been interviewed, including Johnny Jong Wong, Agnes Chow and Evan Lam, who have been jailed for their roles in the protests. In June, China imposed a national security law. Since then, pro-democracy legislators have been disqualified from elected office fees and academics from universities have been forced out.
AI moved from Berlin to Cambridge last September so his 10-year-old son Lao could get a better education and escape the racism he said he experienced in Germany. “I’m glad I left Berlin for a more friendly atmosphere.” He praised Britain for condemning Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s opponents and providing safe haven for refugees. “I think it’s a very important gesture. Maybe half a million people would qualify. In the long run it is really valuable because they are really nice professionals, very well educated, who will appreciate what Britain will do for them. “
So far, fingers crossed, working for Cambridge AI. “I like to talk to people who take the time to explain, and the British are patient. I need some rest. I have had a lot of hardships in my life. “
That is an understatement. Strongly raised in exile in the province, he became a staunch critic of the dictatorial regime as an artist and activist. As a result he was imprisoned, refused to travel inside China and had his passport revoked. He left home in 2015, hoping to be allowed to return.
Making cockroaches, as a result, was a difficult business. He directed the remote control, with a team of filmmakers, keeping the journalist together, asking the reporter, who specializes in reporting from the war zone, to shoot in Hong Kong for six months. Later, he worked on the material back in Britain. Will you ever be able to return to China? “I hope so but I have no illusions about my chances.” He would prefer to visit his mother, who is 88 years old, although he talks to her every day.
For all the barriers imposed by deportation and epidemics, I have been working hard during the lockdown. Cockroach is one of the three films he has completed this year. Vivoz, released in January, tells the story of 43 students who were attacked in Mexico in 2014 and never seen again. His portraits of Wuhan during the epidemic, the coronation, were published for a nice review in September. Each of these films is the identity of the mother’s conscience. He says he only became an artist in 2009 when he covered the facade of Herder Kunst in Munich with backpacks, with the following words in Chinese: “All I want is for the world to remember that he Had been happy for years. Years. These were the words the mother said to Ai when she investigated the disappearance of 5,335 school children in the region after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan.
Why do you do such political work? “I only make films and art about things that fascinate me intellectually and emotionally, I like to understand more. To do that you have to set some obstacles to overcome. Or get in trouble. It helps you learn. ”
