【致香港人：願我們以生命回報自由。| Hongkongers, we shall give our lives to freedom. 】
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二零一九年，香港抗爭者憑藉若水之志踏遍烽火戰地。政權殘民以逞，暴戾恣睢，然而槍炮卻從未使人民折服。二零二零年，政權以國家安全之名施惡法枷鎖，將屠刀架於港人項上。不過數周時間，鍾翰林、黎智英、周達權、黎耀恩、李宇軒、李宗澤以及周庭等超過二十名香港人，成為國安惡法下首批被捕者。羅織罪名、強闖報館、延後選舉、解僱教授，只會是漫長黑夜的序章。這城巿的未來，看似只有更加晦暗。
在極權黨國面前，我們或許力弱，但絕不勢孤。
歷史上，我們眼前的路，台灣和南韓在上世紀走過了。一九四七年，台灣爆發二二八事變後，《民報》等最少二十二家報館遭查封、停刊，及後蔣氏政權宣佈戒嚴、施行報禁。一九八零年，南韓光州事件半年後，全斗煥頒布「言論統廢合」政策，廢止一百七十二種定期刊物，將七間通訊社強行「統廢合」成一間。今日，兩地皆已在民主路上走得更遠。
國際間，我們眼前的路，有自由世界與我們同行。香港議題正改變地緣政治版圖，抗擊極權已成天下大勢。更值得我們振奮的是，世上每名珍愛民主自由的人，都在為我們搖旗吶喊。
大時代置我們一代香港人於十字路上。生於憂患中的我們，將用行動譜寫歷史新篇章，於時代呼召下昂首矗立，拒絕於沉默中滅亡。此刻縱然黑暗，卻仍充滿無限希望，皆因抗爭號角已將百萬港人從迷茫中喚醒。「讓牆壁堵住我的嘴唇吧，讓鐵條分割我的天空吧。只要心在跳動，就有血的潮汐。」再堅固的鐵牢亦斷不能囚禁自由的靈魂。我們就憑傘擋子彈的勇氣，於狂濤中破浪，戰勝極權與奴役。
香港大學學生會定必續與港人同行。哲學家漢娜鄂蘭在《黑暗時代群像》寫道：「即使時代黑暗，我們也有權去期待一種光明。這種光明或不來自理論和觀念。這一點明滅不定、隱約閃爍的星火，更多是由最平凡百姓所擦亮的。」淚淌過了、血流過了，我們依然同行著，因為我們相信彼此，我們相信香港，繼而願以生命去為我城追尋自由。而終有一日，香港亦終不負我們，還自由予你我每一名香港人。
香港大學學生會
二零二零年八月十四日
（此聲明已於蘋果日報頭版刊登。）
（以上為本會聲明之原文。蘋果日報於刊登此聲明前，曾諮詢其法律團隊專業意見。經過商討後，本會同意蘋果日報於報章刊登版本遮蓋部份字句。）
In 2019, Hong Kong protestors walked through the flames of the war raging across the length and breadth of the city. Yet, our people did not yield to the firearms. In 2020, the regime enacted draconian laws on the pretext of national security, putting the butcher's knife against Hongkongers’ throat. In just a few weeks time, over 20 Hongkongers, including Tony Chung Hon-lam, Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, Royston Chow Tat-kuen, Ian Lai Yiu-yan, Andy Li, Wilson Li Chung-chak, Agnes Chow Ting, have become the first batch of arrested persons under the National Security Law. Students were arrested, a newspaper office was raided, an election was turned into a mere figurehead, a professor was dismissed - all of these are merely the prologue to a long gloomy night. It seems that the future of this city can only get ever duller.
We might be weak confronting the totalitarian party-state, but we are not alone.
Taiwan and South Korea are our predecessors in the quest for freedom. In 1947, the February 28 Massacre befell the press in Taiwan. Min Bao and at least 22 newspaper offices were seized and their publications were discontinued. The Chiang Regime introduced Martial Law and implemented a ban on newspapers. In 1980, just half a year after the May 18 Democratic Uprising, Chun Doo-hwan enacted The Basic Press Act, repealing 172 periodicals and forcefully merging seven news agencies into one. Having been through twists and turns, both of our predecessors have travelled so far on the road to democracy.
On the international field, we have the free world walking with us. The Hong Kong issue has been transforming global geopolitics. The trend of enforcing containment against totalitarianism is beyond doubt. On top of that, what we should be most uplifted by is the fact that every single person who cherishes democracy and freedom is voicing out for us in their positions.
We are now writing a new chapter in history. The time has put our generation on a cross-road. Shall we stand tall under the call of the times, or perish in silence? Hongkongers are pronouncing our choices with actions for posterity. "Let walls shut my mouth. Let prison bars divide my sky. As long as my heart keeps pounding, the ebb and flow of my blood will go on." Today, we are still hopeful as millions of Hongkongers have already been awakened by the horn of the resistance. Even the most stringent cage cannot imprison a soul yearning for freedom. With the same courage we have when we are standing against the bullets with umbrellas, we shall continue to ride with the wind and break through the waves.
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union shall continue to stand with Hongkongers. Hannah Arendt once wrote, “that even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle.” Through blood, toil, tears and sweat, we will strive on. Out of our faith in one another, our faith in this city named Hong Kong, we will dedicate our lives to the pursuit of freedom in this city. However difficult it may be, Hongkongers will eventually restore our city.
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union
August 14, 2020
(This statement is published on the front page of Apple Daily.)
(Above is the original statement from the Union.
Apple Daily consulted professional legal advice before publication. After discussion, the Union approves of the redacted version for publication.)
