Student activists (from left) Isabella Lo, Prince Wong and Joshua Wong speak to journalists during their hunger strike outside the government headquarters in Admiralty on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Hunger strike student calls for public support
A 17-year-old member of the student group Scholarism issued an open letter calling on the public to come out and support their hunger strike, RTHK reported.
“You can choose not to support us, please do not laugh at us. The reason I’m willing to pay a price is not for myself but for this city I love,” Prince Wong Ji-yuet said in the letter.
It feels “really, really cold” outside at 15 degrees, she said. “I’m not sure how long my body can last with the strong feel of hunger.”
However, she vowed to persist: “I know what’s my goal and what I’m doing.”
“The three of us decided to go on hunger strike in order to restart talks with government over political reform. We hope other supporters of the umbrella movement will be on our side and fight together for the same goal,” Wong said.
Wong, whose weight is only 42 kilograms, has faced pressures from family, school and society during the campaign.
The young girl’s parents have refused to sign leave letters for her, which means she has been missing classes.
“I felt so sorry for my parents, although they do not support the movement,” she said, adding that the hunger strike is aimed at convincing more people to come out and support the movement.
“Students are willing to go on hunger strike, and we hope our legislators take their responsibility in the Legislative Council,” she said.
Wong has stayed overnight at the protest sites in Mong Kok and Admiralty after school during the past two months.
Prince Wong, the group’s convenor Joshua Wong and university student Isabella Lo went on an indefinite hunger strike on Monday to press the government to restart the dialogue with students over political reform.
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