Alex Lo

My Take | Young rebels bring suffering not liberation

The little people are hurting most in city protests that are already behind mental health crisis, brain drain and economic slump

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Protests held in low-income districts and grass-roots neighbourhoods are affecting those Hong Kong protesters claim to be fighting for. Photo: Reuters

Alex Loin Toronto

Published: 9:00pm, 23 Aug 2019Updated: 10:33pm, 23 Aug 2019

The opposition and protest movements like to say they are trying to “restore Hong Kong to its former glory”. But the facts on the ground actually say the opposite. It’s hard to believe they are helping Hong Kong in any way, at the moment, except perhaps in a nebulous sense of fighting for a better future.

After almost three months of non-stop unrest with no end in sight, virtually all the social and economic indicators have turned negative.

A recent study by the University of Hong Kong’s faculty of medicine finds that almost one in 10 people are suspected to be suffering from depression during the extradition bill crisis. Samaritan Befrienders, a suicide prevention group, reported that calls for help during the summer have been five times higher than what was received from March to May.

According to Paul Yip Siu-fai, chair professor in social work and social administration at HKU, a 24-hour online emotional support service he helps supervise received about 30 per cent more requests for emotional support during June and July. “The number of high-risk and crisis-level cases more than doubled,” he wrote. The Hong Kong Red Cross’ psychological support hotline reported similar increases.

Thanks to the unrest, emigration consultants are reporting big jumps in clients hoping to head to Australia, Canada and the United States, followed by Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.