YouTubers react to Occupy Central with summaries, spoofs and songs
Big-name videobloggers offer personal, colourful commentary on Hong Kong's recent protests
The protests of Hong Kong have captivated the attention of internet users the world over, and many of YouTube's prominent videobloggers and big-name celebrities have responded to Occupy Central in their own unique way.
Hank Green of the YouTube show VlogBrothers produced a sucinct summary of the protests, explaining their genesis as well as Hong Kong's unique relationship with mainland China for international audiences.
The video, which has received over 300,000 views thus far, is typical fodder for Green and his brother John, who have posted numerous explanations of worldwide events on their YouTube channel in the past.
"With the protesters in Hong Kong protesing in very calm and stable ways, there seems to be a certain amount of agreement that stability is good," Green said. "There aren't very many voices calling for Hong Kong to secede from China, though China may be afraid that, with continued cultural changes, that may eventually be the case."
"But mostly, Hong Kong just wants to be Hong Kong - an exceptional, unique place where lots of amazing things happen. Just, ideally, a Hong Kong with a little bit more control over its own destiny for, really, the first time in its entire existence."
Watch: "Hong Kong Protests Explained" by VlogBrothers
Meanwhile, Russell Brand, a British actor, activist and comedian known for his roles in films like 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall and 2010's Despicable Me, commented on Occupy Central in an episode of his YouTube show The Trews (a portmanteau of "true" and "news"), criticising British Prime Minister Cameron for not taking a harder line with Beijing over Hong Kong's upcoming elections.
"When Cameron...last met up with the Chinese, he goes, 'I'll be firm on this issue'," Brand said. "But he wasn't... He might have brought it up privately, might have passed a little note or something, but publicly, they've not said anything like, 'Oi, what about the democracy in Hong Kong that we agreed on?'"
According to Brand, despite having relatively freer elections, the UK's brand of democracy is not much better than Hong Kong's, thanks to a parliament that does not properly represent citizens.
"Not only do we want democracy in Hong Kong, we want [real] democracy in Britain...democracy where we the people, and our will, is represented," Brand said.
Watch: "Do We Have The Democracy Hong Kong Wants?" by Russell Brand (Warning: Strong language)
In a more strongly-worded rant, popular YouTube personality Peter Chao spoke on Occupy Central in a video released at the end of last month. Chao is actually Davin Tong, a Canadian of Hong Kong descent who performs all of his videos with a comically exaggerated accent and stereotypical mannerisms as a means of poking fun at his Chinese heritage.
"I am happy that Hong Kong cares, and is not complacent about political matters and stands up to voice their concerns when the future of their nation is uncertain," Chao said. "You see, I live in Canada, where not a whole lot of people give a s*** about anything...
"I've learned that over the years it's better to be loud and obnoxious and have it fall on deaf ears, than to be silent and not have a voice at all."
Finally, on the Cantonese side of YouTube, Hongkonger Michael Lai of the Michael Makes Music channel published a video called "I Promise You An Umbrella that combines iconic images of the protests with an original song referencing the Umbrella Revolution.
YouTubers have not been the only ones to voice their thoughts on Occupy Central - multiple US comedians such as Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have also commented on the protests, poking fun at everything from CY Leung's daughter to mainland China's censorship of Instagram.
