The “World Press Photo Exhibition 2020” was held in Admiralty, Hong Kong, attracting many people to come and see it. (Photo: Cheng Ming)
The “World Press Photo Exhibition 2020” was once suspended because of the “anti-Sino” photos, which aroused concern from all walks of life. The photo exhibition was later moved to Admiralty, the first day of the exhibition was fully booked. Some Hong Kong people said that it was sad to see the anti-sending photos and believed that justice would exist.
The “World Press Photo Exhibition 2020” (World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 in Hong Kong) was originally scheduled for March 1 at the Hong Kong Baptist University, but was temporarily cancelled by the university a few days before the opening on security and epidemic prevention grounds. The organizers later announced that they had found a new venue for the exhibition, theDesk, a shared space in Admiralty, and that the exhibition would run from March 29 to April 11. The exhibition includes press photos of the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Sending China Campaign.
Due to the limited space, the organizer adopted a reservation method and the exhibition was fully booked on the first day. Connie, who works in the social welfare sector, came to enjoy the photo exhibition during his vacation. He said that he felt very heavy and sad when he saw a lot of anti-China photos: “There is also a lot of introspection, what is wrong with our society, there is a feeling of heartache. All the people in the photos, whether in Hong Kong or around the world, they should get the protection they deserve.”
He added: “When you see children dragging their hands in and out, you see the images of injuries. I don’t think it’s possible to be a civilized person, a civilized person living in a city, to be indifferent. Nor is it possible to forget the sad situations that have arisen in our society. I believe that justice will exist and that God will know; there will be disappointments, but we have to look at the long term.”
Faced with the current situation in Hong Kong, where the electoral system is being so-called “improved” by the Beijing authorities under the National Security Law, Connie believes that Hong Kong people have a difficult road ahead in their fight for democratic universal suffrage: “I think we have fallen into a situation of a developing country, perhaps even more serious than a developing country, a big regression from The civilization has become a developing country. There are many people compare our current situation with Myanmar, think we are okay, you think how degenerate we are as a city.”
This year’s World Press Photo Contest received more than 70,000 press photos from 125 countries, and the exhibition features 157 of the winning photos, including the first prize for general journalism, “Hong Kong Unrest” series by Nicolas Asfouri of AFP from Denmark. The series includes five anti-China photos, namely a man holding up a painting at the “Sing with You” event at the New Town Plaza in Shatin on September 11, a secondary school student, Tsang Chi-kin, shot in Tsuen Wan on October 1, a woman holding up an umbrella in Causeway Bay on the same night, several female students crossing the road in a human chain on September 12, and a police officer crossing the road on December 1. On December 1, riot police cleared Nathan Road.
The exhibition also features a number of other award-winning photojournalism works, including fires in Australia, terrorist attacks in Egypt, anti-government demonstrations in Algeria and refugee camps in Syria.
“The World Press Photo Exhibition is one of the most prestigious photo awards in the journalism industry, and the winning works will be exhibited around the world. This is the third time the World Press Photo Exhibition is held in Hong Kong, co-organized by the Hong Kong Photojournalists Association.
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