Political demonstrations were held outside the Octagon this evening ahead of the BBC’s Question Time Leaders’ Debate.
Hong Kong students had protested against human rights violations in an effort to urge British politicians to condemn political escalations in Hong Kong. They aimed to highlight the British responsibility as part of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that came into effect in 1997.
Extinction Rebellion’s ‘Red Rebels’ arrived later in the evening in an attempt to “perform moving reminders of our connection with the planet and the damage being done to it.”
They were seen approaching buses that stopped on Brook Hill after being removed from the concourse by the large police presence there.
The group were there to “demand that our political leaders commit to telling the truth about the scale of the climate crisis, acting to decarbonise by 2025 and forming a citizens assembly.”
Cecilia Cheong, a student protester, said: “We are urging the UK government to take more diplomatic action to address the human rights violations in Hong Kong.
“The situation has gotten more severe especially amongst youngsters our age who are injured. We really need help from the international stage especially UK, who is part of the Joint Declaration, who has the mandate to do so.”
The ‘Red Rebels’ made the national headlines earlier this year after their performances in London during the two week-long International Rebellion.
The idea for the costumes originally came from the Red Brigade who were created by the Bristol street performance group the Invisible Circus. They first appeared at political protests against the Iraq War in 2001 and joined Extinction Rebellion in April.
Extinction Rebellion and Hong Kong protesters outside leaders’ debate
