Hong Kong demonstrators use Pokemon GO and dating apps as a means of passing police eyes

by Pixabay

In Hong Kong, protests against government authorities have been intensifying due to a strong rebellion against the proposed amendment to the fugitive offense that allows detained suspects to be transferred to mainland China. It was reported that Hong Kong people communicated using Pokémon GO and the dating app Tinder to organize demonstrators as surveillance and repression of demonstrators increased.

Swipe right for revolution: Why Hong Kong protesters are using Tinder and Pokémon Go | Abacus
https://www.abacusnews.com/digital-life/swipe-right-revolution-why-hong-kong-protesters-are-using-tinder-and-pokemon-go/article/3021460

The demonstrations in Hong Kong over the fugitive ordinance have not yet shown up even after two months have passed since the large-scale demonstration on June 9, 2019, which mobilized 1.03 million people. In July, clash between the demonstrators and the police began to occur, and the demonstrations were intensifying, and on July 22, there was an incident where a criminal group called Sangokai attacked the demonstrators. Occurrence. Further anger is spreading among the citizens because the police arrived more than an hour after the report.

White clothes group attacked Hong Kong demonstrators, 45 people injured Sankai or police arrived after 1 hour 20 photos International News: AFPBB News

In these recent demonstrations, the latest technologies such as smartphone apps and SNS are indispensable. Even in Hong Kong demonstrations, citizens and demonstrators communicated through the message app Telegram and streamed protests on the game distribution platform Twitch .

However, as the clash between the demonstration and the police became more serious, police and authorities were increasingly restricting online activities, and traditional communication methods were no longer available. Therefore, it seems that the demonstrators are organizing the demonstrations by bypassing the regulations in such a way as to invite people for a date using Tinder and actually perform demonstrations locally.

Also, the Pokemon GO event is also used to prevent interference by the police, and even if the police march off the demonstration, it may be said that `` We are only participating in the Pokemon GO event '' There is a pattern. The image below appears to announce the Pokemon GO event, but in fact a demonstration was held locally.

In addition, in order to pass on protests in Hong Kong to people in mainland China, actions such as using the iPhone's `` AirDrop '' to pass the Chinese government's censorship system `` Great Firewall '' and conveying messages about the demonstration are also being taken .

iPhone's `` AirDrop '' is active as an information diffusion method that passes through the eyes of censorship-gigazine

The authorities seem to be trying to block the demonstrators and citizens' connections using the Internet through various means, but the protesters also seem to be making efforts to communicate and disseminate information.