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If you have the privilege to choose
what you eat and who you buy it from,
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your dollars are political capital.
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Do you know who your choices
are supporting?
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Small businesses
or meat packing plants?
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Local producers or factory farmers?
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People in Hong Kong are thinking about
the political power of their food
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and their banding together
around one urgent cause.
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PROTEST FOOD
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(Laurel) What are you making now?
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(Mandy) A Japanese cheese omelet.
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We need eggs, sweet corn, and cheese.
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So add oil in first.
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(Laurel) Wow, that's a lot of oil.
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(Mandy) Yes, but don't worry.
It won't be oily afterward.
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(Laurel) Oh, so you've got to roll it.
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(Mandy) Yes.
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(Laurel) Amber Foods
is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant
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that opened on an infamous day
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in the history of Hong Kong's
pro-democracy movement--
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The anniversary of
the first big police crackdown.
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- Then we add another layer.
- It really smells good.
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Yes.
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Hot!
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- Mmmm.
- Okay?
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It's really good!
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It's very creamy like a--
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It's kind of sweet--
Did you put sugar in there?
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- Yes.
- Okay.
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It's very light and airy,
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and the cheese adds a nice bit of umami.
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Everyone who works here is a protester,
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including Mandy.
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She's a chef-in-training
and didn't even know how to cook
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before she started here.
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(Mandy) My family and I have
different political views
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because of the democracy movement.
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We don't have a good relationship,
and I wouldn't ask them for money.
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Sometimes I'd go home after
a day [of protesting] on the streets,
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[my dad would] keep yelling at me,
so I'd just hide in my room.
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(Laurel) In Hong Kong,
yellow is the chosen color
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of the pro-democracy movement.
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Last year, protesters hoisted
yellow umbrellas
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and don yellow hard hats
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to protect themselves
against pepper spray and tear gas shells.
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Yellow has now become shorthand
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for whether an individual or
establishment supports the protests.
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Blue stands for the other side.
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The police who crackdown
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and of course, China,
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which passed
a National Security Law this year (2020)
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that basically criminalized dissent.
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Between COVID-19
and the sweeping new law,
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street protests have become scarce.
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(Lauren) The drink's name in English
is "Stand With Hong Kong"
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but ka you
literally means "add oil".
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But in Cantonese, it's sort of this cheer
that is very commonly heard
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and throughout the protest
it's become a rallying cry.
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By having a drink called that,
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they're giving people the excuse
to actually say it multiple times a day.
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Amber Foods
isn't the only protest restaurant.
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It's part of the so-called
The Yellow Economic Circle,
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a network of businesses that consider
every bite and every dollar spent
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an opportunity to resist.
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Growing the yellow economy
is all about linking up
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yellow customers with yellow shops.
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That's where Matt Lau steps in.
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The pickeat.hk app
lets customers order
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from yellow restaurants
in other districts of the city.
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Lau delivers for free.
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(Lau) Step one is to log on
to this website
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to choose and order your food.
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Then, you'll have to decide
the pick-up spot.
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Who are your customers?
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Surprisingly, they're mostly
40 to 50 years old.
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(Laurel) Lau's business
is his form of protest
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and he's betting that
other Hong Kongers will help it grow.
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But for now, his service
is helping yellow restaurants
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more than his own bottom line.
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(Lau) In my opinion,
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the neutral [restaurants]
are siding with the government.
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The reason is that those shops
would like to have revenue
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from both political sides.
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Even though I'm losing money,
I'm willing to help.
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I believe there are still voices
that call me stupid or dumb.
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On the contrary, I think I'm being smart.
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It's because I'm smart
that I want to help others.
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Hello!
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(Laurel) Chinese government would prefer
businesses care about profits.
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The city is in a historic recession
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and China has accused yellow businesses
of trying to quote, "kidnap its economy."
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But Hong Kong relies on China
for its food.
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90% of Hong Kong's food is imported
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and most of that comes from the mainland.
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Less than 5% of the territory
is devoted to farming.
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One of the few farms
is run by Wong Yu Wing.
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(Wong) Do you want to pick
some together just a little?
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(Laurel) Sure.
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(Wong) So just use your hands
to snap it like this.
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You see the big ones,
just snap it like this.
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Yes, should be enough for a meal.
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(Laurel) Demand for Wong's organic produce
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has gone through the roof
since the protests
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and a pandemic that's raised
the price of food from China.
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Why are young people saying,
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"If you want to support Hong Kong,
then support this farm?"
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Primarily because,
deep down in their hearts,
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Hong Kongers view Hong Kong
and mainland China
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as two distinct entities.
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If your fresh water and food
are being controlled,
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how many days can you last?
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(Laurel) Tours from the city
even come help out on Saturdays
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when the other workers get a day off.
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Pretty clever having your paying customers
do your weeding for you, I must say.
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The water is boiling.
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Let me put the vegetables in.
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The freshest taste.
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When we eat vegetables here at the farm,
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we just pick them straight from the fields
and try them here.
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We don't put salt and oil on them,
so they're very light.
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They're ready after
about two to three minutes.
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(Laurel) Though his small organic farm
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may seem removed
from the city and its problems,
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to him it's all connected.
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(Laurel) Do you think Hong Kong
is a good environment now?
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(Wong) Now it's like a messy farm
full of weeds and infestation.
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You need to use so much effort
to take care of it
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and slowly sort everything out.
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You have to rectify it,
in order to continue producing,
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in order to have
a sustainable agricultural industry.