Hong Kong’s new national security gallery tells different story about unrest than Western media, foreign visitors say
Hong Kong Free Press
Foreign visitors to Hong Kong’s new national security exhibition have said it tells a different story about the events of 2019 compared to Western media by describing the pro-democracy protests and unrest as a “colour revolution.”
The National Security Exhibition Gallery opened to the public for free on Wednesday as a permanent exhibition at the Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. Chief Executive John Lee told the opening ceremony that safeguarding national security was “always a work in progress” and the gallery would promote security awareness among residents.
But many visitors to the gallery on Thursday were tourists from mainland China, with some others from Europe and Singapore, who said they were not aware in advance of its existence.
Eight people who spoke to HKFP said they planned to visit the Museum of History and found the new exhibition by accident. As visitors entered, they walked under a large slogan reading: “National Security is the bedrock of national rejuvenation. Social stability is a prerequisite for building a strong and prosperous China.”
The exhibition, which occupies over 1,100 square metres on the second floor of the museum, has six areas. They were curated under the theme of the “holistic approach to national security,” an idea raised by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2014 that suggested protecting national security in multiple areas – from the economy to culture to space technology.
An area dedicated to Hong Kong’s protests and unrest in 2019 and subsequent security legislations that were enacted, including the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, occupies the middle of the gallery.
Boards accompanying exhibits such as photos and police anti-riot gear read: “The Hong Kong version of ‘colour revolution’ in 2019 plunged Hong Kong into an abyss.”
A tourist from Singapore, who only gave his surname Kwok, said it painted a vastly different picture of the protests from what was reported in Western media.
“If you look at the Western news media, they portray [the protesters] as fighting for justice and freedom, that’s the Western part. But here this is the view of China, and [the protests] were instigated by foreign countries,” he told HKFP, pointing to a board that claimed the 2019 protests were full of spies working for foreign intelligence.
Kwok called the exhibition a “national education for young people of Hong Kong,” saying they had been “influenced by Britain so much” and harboured an “anti-China sentiment.”
“National security is needed after the 2019 riots to remind people Hong Kong has all along belonged to China,” he added.
‘Different storytelling’
Speaking next to a board about the Beijing-imposed security law, two visitors from Italy said it was “interesting” to compare the “two points of view” about Hong Kong – the one prevailing in Europe and the one being depicted in the gallery.
“It’s quite different because in Italy we don’t have an exhibition so linked to recent history,” said Enza, who travelled with Luca to Hong Kong for a trip.
“One Country, Two Systems in Italy is not too common,” Luca said, referring to the governing framework of the city. “There were two ways to tell a story and it’s interesting to see this part of the storytelling. In Europe we have a different storytelling.”
Another tourist from Europe, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said there was “quite a large discrepancy” between the gallery and Western media.
“Here it says the national security law has an immediate effect that throws off disturbance… In Western media what we heard was the national security law was introduced before 50 years since the Handover, that integration [with mainland China] had finished by 50 years, versus integration starting after 50 years,” he told HKFP.
Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy and a lifestyle unchanged for 50 years when it returned from British colonial rule to China in 1997.
The tourist also found the gallery’s reference to the 2004 Ukrainian “Orange Revolution” as incompatible with his understanding of the event.
The Orange Revolution, as well as Kyrgyzstan’s “Tulip Revolution” in 2005 and Georgia’s “Rose Revolution” in 2003, were depicted as colour revolutions that lead “to collapse of state power, causes social unrest, and throws people’s livelihood in dire straits,” according to a board in the gallery.
“To me the Ukrainian revolution is not a bad thing, I wouldn’t see it as a disturbance to security,” the tourist said.
‘Prospered and risen’
Mainland Chinese tourists who visited the gallery on Thursday mostly came as families. Parents explained the exhibition to their children as they strolled around.
A woman from Hainan province, surnamed Fu, said in Mandarin the gallery had “significant educational value” for children.
She said she had learned about the 2019 protests through mainland Chinese media at the time, but did not realise the “severe damage” done to the city’s transport system until she saw the exhibition.
Speaking next to a six-metre tall miniature of China’s Changzheng 5 rocket, Fu said she had not expected that Hong Kong would “promote China’s history that thoroughly.”
“The nation had been through hardships, but I felt that, under the leadership of the central committee of the [Communist Party], it had prospered and risen,” she added.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors.
Almost 1,000 monthly donors make HKFP possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city’s only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us:
- 🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city’s most transparent news outlet.
- 🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a comprehensive Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
- 💰 It’s fast, secure & easy: We accept most payment methods – cancel anytime, and receive a free tote bag and pen if you contribute HK$150/month or more.
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.