Hong Kong Protest Food (clip)

In 1997, the British government transferred Hong Kong's political sovereignty to China, after being a British colony since 1842 as a result of the First Opium War. Currently, Hong Kong functions as a Special Administrative Region of China and is governed by the principle of "one country, two systems" that allows the inhabitants of the city some autonomy in decisions pertaining to their system of government and in legal, economic and financial affairs.

However, the execution of a series of measures and policies in recent years by the central Chinese government of Beijing began to undermine that autonomy, and there have been numerous demonstrations and protests in Hong Kong in the past couple of years, including the so-called “Umbrella Revolution” in 2014, which were heavily suppressed by the central Chinese government. In 2019, protests resumed to demand the withdrawal of a Chinese extradition bill that would subject the people of Hong Kong to a different legal system in mainland China.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests have subsided, but the people of Hong Kong have managed to continue protesting in a different way.

If you have the privilege to choose
what you eat and who you buy it from,

your dollars are political capital.

Do you know who your choices
are supporting?

Small businesses
or meat packing plants?

Local producers or factory farmers?

People in Hong Kong are thinking about
the political power of their food

and their banding together
around one urgent cause.

PROTEST FOOD

(Laurel) What are you making now?

(Mandy) A Japanese cheese omelet.

We need eggs, sweet corn, and cheese.

So add oil in first.

(Laurel) Wow, that's a lot of oil.

(Mandy) Yes, but don't worry.
It won't be oily afterward.

(Laurel) Oh, so you've got to roll it.

(Mandy) Yes.

(Laurel) Amber Foods
is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant

that opened on an infamous day

in the history of Hong Kong's
pro-democracy movement--

The anniversary of
the first big police crackdown.

- Then we add another layer.
- It really smells good.

Yes.

Hot!

- Mmmm.
- Okay?

It's really good!

It's very creamy like a--

It's kind of sweet--
Did you put sugar in there?

- Yes.
- Okay.

It's very light and airy,

and the cheese adds a nice bit of umami.

Everyone who works here is a protester,

including Mandy.

She's a chef-in-training
and didn't even know how to cook

before she started here.

(Mandy) My family and I have
different political views

because of the democracy movement.

We don't have a good relationship,
and I wouldn't ask them for money.

Sometimes I'd go home after
a day [of protesting] on the streets,

[my dad would] keep yelling at me,
so I'd just hide in my room.

(Laurel) In Hong Kong,
yellow is the chosen color

of the pro-democracy movement.

Last year, protesters hoisted
yellow umbrellas

and don yellow hard hats

to protect themselves
against pepper spray and tear gas shells.

Yellow has now become shorthand

for whether an individual or
establishment supports the protests.

Blue stands for the other side.

The police who crackdown

and of course, China,

which passed
a National Security Law this year (2020)

that basically criminalized dissent.

Between COVID-19
and the sweeping new law,

street protests have become scarce.

(Lauren) The drink's name in English
is "Stand With Hong Kong"

but ka you
literally means "add oil".

But in Cantonese, it's sort of this cheer
that is very commonly heard

and throughout the protest
it's become a rallying cry.

By having a drink called that,

they're giving people the excuse
to actually say it multiple times a day.

Amber Foods
isn't the only protest restaurant.

It's part of the so-called
The Yellow Economic Circle,

a network of businesses that consider
every bite and every dollar spent

an opportunity to resist.

Growing the yellow economy
is all about linking up

yellow customers with yellow shops.

That's where Matt Lau steps in.

The pickeat.hk app
lets customers order

from yellow restaurants
in other districts of the city.

Lau delivers for free.

(Lau) Step one is to log on
to this website

to choose and order your food.

Then, you'll have to decide
the pick-up spot.

Who are your customers?

Surprisingly, they're mostly
40 to 50 years old.

(Laurel) Lau's business
is his form of protest

and he's betting that
other Hong Kongers will help it grow.

But for now, his service
is helping yellow restaurants

more than his own bottom line.

(Lau) In my opinion,

the neutral [restaurants]
are siding with the government.

The reason is that those shops
would like to have revenue

from both political sides.

Even though I'm losing money,
I'm willing to help.

I believe there are still voices
that call me stupid or dumb.

On the contrary, I think I'm being smart.

It's because I'm smart
that I want to help others.

Hello!

(Laurel) Chinese government would prefer
businesses care about profits.

The city is in a historic recession

and China has accused yellow businesses
of trying to quote, "kidnap its economy."

But Hong Kong relies on China
for its food.

90% of Hong Kong's food is imported

and most of that comes from the mainland.

Less than 5% of the territory
is devoted to farming.

One of the few farms
is run by Wong Yu Wing.

(Wong) Do you want to pick
some together just a little?

(Laurel) Sure.

(Wong) So just use your hands
to snap it like this.

You see the big ones,
just snap it like this.

Yes, should be enough for a meal.

(Laurel) Demand for Wong's organic produce

has gone through the roof
since the protests

and a pandemic that's raised
the price of food from China.

Why are young people saying,

"If you want to support Hong Kong,
then support this farm?"

Primarily because,
deep down in their hearts,

Hong Kongers view Hong Kong
and mainland China

as two distinct entities.

If your fresh water and food
are being controlled,

how many days can you last?

(Laurel) Tours from the city
even come help out on Saturdays

when the other workers get a day off.

Pretty clever having your paying customers
do your weeding for you, I must say.

The water is boiling.

Let me put the vegetables in.

The freshest taste.

When we eat vegetables here at the farm,

we just pick them straight from the fields
and try them here.

We don't put salt and oil on them,
so they're very light.

They're ready after
about two to three minutes.

(Laurel) Though his small organic farm

may seem removed
from the city and its problems,

to him it's all connected.

(Laurel) Do you think Hong Kong
is a good environment now?

(Wong) Now it's like a messy farm
full of weeds and infestation.

You need to use so much effort
to take care of it

and slowly sort everything out.

You have to rectify it,
in order to continue producing,

in order to have
a sustainable agricultural industry.