Hong Kong-born activist takes stand against visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping
SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of people gathered in downtown San Francisco Wednesday to protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his meeting with President Joe Biden.
The meeting marks the first time in roughly a year the two global leaders spoke and the first time the Chinese leader has been on U.S. soil since 2017.
It's a rare opportunity to protest against Xi, even from a distance. China's strict national security laws prohibit most open protests from taking place.
"When he sees this. He definitely will feel very vulnerable, and he will feel very insecure," said rally participant Anna Kwok, who is the executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council.
This protest was exactly what brought her to San Francisco.
"We don't know when the next time is, when we're going to protest against Xi Jinping so directly," Kwok told CBS News Bay Area. "For a lot of us it's personal or for ourselves or our friends, people we love are being affected and impacted. And they're using our freedoms, and that's why we're all here today. Because for us, it's more than just, you know, news stories. It's our lives."
She was born and raised in Hong Kong, but she can't return and today rallies for herself, her family, and others who have been jailed or penalized for speaking out against the Chinese government that claims to hold Hong Kong as its territory.
"If I did return to Hong Kong, I would be arrested immediately. With lifetime imprisonment," said Kwong.
Earlier this year, the Chinese government issued a warrant for her arrest and a $1 million HKD bounty, equal to nearly $130,000 USD, for what she says was non-violent advocacy work outside of China.
"[Hong Kong's] not the place I grew up in and that's not the future I've imagined myself to live," Kwok explained. "We're all going into exile. We're silencing ourselves for all the things in life just because of what the government has done. They have essentially erased any sort of livable life. Our entire generation that is extremely sad and miserable, but at the same time people can still find hope, because we love our home."
Ana is one of hundreds who marched through the streets of San Francisco Wednesday afternoon against Xi's government as he participated in high-level meetings with President Biden.
His presence alone is significant said Nancy Park, a Chinese history expert at Cal State East Bay.
"This is important because it's one more step but it's also highly visual the optics are important," she explained.
The visual protests are significant too she says, as it gives Xi a front-row seat to global criticisms against his government.
"It's a completely different situation. China is a country that very closely controls its media. It controls its protests," Park said. "Depending on the level of the protest a person can be forced to be quiet or in some cases disappear."
That's the case for loved ones of Carmen Lao. She's wanted in Hong Kong for speaking out against China's controversial laws in Hong Kong. Lao flew out from London to be as close to Xi as possible in voicing her anger at his government.
"We can never go back to Hong Kong until Hong Kong is free," said Lao. "It's a rare chance for us to be able to protest in a free country."
For Kwok, she marches for a return to her home. If not for herself, for the next generation.
"Returning to Hong Kong is the reason I'm doing all this being reunited with my love and fighting for a free and democratic Hong Kong that we'll hope for so I hope that someday I'll be able to return and if I can't I hope the next generation will return to Hong Kong," said Kwok.
And a hope that the power of hundreds will penetrate to the power of Xi.
