Vertical banner
A vertical banner is a type of banner designed to accommodate traditional Chinese characters. They have become associated with acts of protest and civil disobedience in Hong Kong, particularly the Umbrella Movement. The written traditional Chinese for vertical banners are "直幡", whilst their horizontal counterpart are written as "横額".
English-language banners are often horizontally written, but because Chinese characters are traditionally written vertically and are read from top to bottom, Chinese characters on banners are often vertically scripted. Normally, smaller vertical banners in Hong Kong are used as election campaign material or as advertisement tactic. One may also see them hung on street lamps as celebratory decoration occasionally.Use as protest banners
During mass protests and demonstrations dozens, and sometimes, hundreds, of Hong Kong protest marchers would hold up long banners horizontally so onlookers from high-rise buildings can see the words from above. In general, Cantonese characters and written Chinese are both used in these vertical protest banners. On the other hand, while most of these vertical protest banners were written in traditional Chinese characters, occasionally simplified Chinese, a product created by Communist China since the Cultural Revolution in 1949, are used in these protest banners for their negative connotations and cynical association with Communist China. In Hong Kong, with its native tongue being Cantonese and native written language being traditional Chinese characters, the controversy over traditional and simplified Chinese can be easily detected on these vertical protest banners.
While banners, large and small, vertical and horizontal, have been used throughout Hong Kong since as early as 1967, and most frequently during the annual 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre march and vigil since 1989, it was the Umbrella Movement of 2014 marked the beginning of the uniquely Hong Kong hill-top vertical protest banners movement. A group of rock climbing activists decided to unfurl a 30-meter vertical protest banner on Lion Rock and document their descent on YouTube. At the time, even some Hong Kong citizens thought it was a joke. The yellow fabric echoed the iconic yellow helmet in the Umbrella Movement. Since then, many more hill-top banners have shown up throughout Hong Kong, and the messages to the government also become increasing harsh as Hong Kong authorities and Chinese government continue to crack down on dissents.
The vertical protest banners documented below often showcase the Chinese character "我", which literally translates as "I". However, as Hong Kong citizens protest in solidarity in thousands and sometimes in millions, the banners will be translated into "we". All Chinese characters on the banners are written here exactly as is.Prior to Umbrella Movement
On June 4, 1989, after the Tiananmen Square massacre took place, Hong Kong University students lay out a bridge-length black vertical protest banner and painted in white the phrase "Cold-Blooded Slaughters Will Not Kill Their Spirit; Vow to Revenge Democracy Never Dies"「冷血屠城烈士英魂不朽 誓殲豺狼民主星火不滅」to show support of democracy and to condemn the Chinese government. Although the black vertical protest banner was only hung for one day, the white paint that leaked through the fabric and left on the bridge become a piece of historic artifact of the banner's existence. Thereafter, annually, Hong Kong University students would repaint these twenty words directly on the bridge concrete. This is probably the first vertical pro-democracy protest banner in Hong Kong. As time passes, the June 4th commemoration vigil in Hong Kong would always be held at night in Victoria Park, since the massacre in 1989. The weekend before June 4, or if June 4 lands on a weekend, there would be a massive rally on the streets of Causeway Bay to demand accountability from the Chinese officials as authorities still denied to this date. The vertical protest banner shown here was from the 2009–20th anniversary—march, on which "Dare Not Forget June Fourth" and "Remember June Fourth 20th Anniversary". In 2020, Hong Kong authorities for the first time denied the vigil citing pandemic health concerns, and later arrested many for unlawful gathering.Hundreds of protesters stayed around-the-clock to block the demolition of the British colonial relic Queen's Pier. White vertical banners were seen being hung from the roof of the pier as hunger strikes continued for days. The readings, from left to right, roughly translated as "Need One More of You",, "Safeguard the Queen", "Fight To The Death" and "Government Coerces Citizens Revolt". This preservation campaign has been considered as the birth of Hong Kong's localist movement as younger Hong Kong citizens identified more as independent Hong Kongers.On December 6, 2007, a pair of red-fabric white font vertical protest banners were unfurled from the top floor of CUHK building to the ground. The purpose of the banner was to protest the then-Hong Kong chief executive officer Tung Chee-Wha awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Lawrence Lau, the principal of CUHK. 「董建華禍港殃民有博士 劉遵義求榮賣校無良知」roughly translates to "Tung Chee-Wha hurt Hong Kong so much but received a doctorate degree; Lawrence Lau sold out the school with no ethics".2014 Northeast New Territories Development Protest
The protest against government's lack of consultation with original inhabitants of the remote area and the lack of Hong Kong ecological and cultural preservation in this new housing development proposal drew ire to thousands of Hong Kong citizens. More over, the Legislative Council budget committee passed the budget proposal without following proper procedures. The two persons climbing to the top of a pedestrian bridge roof to hang four banners was opposition leader Cheung Kwai-choi and a social activist Chow Nok Hang. He unfurled four vertical protest banners lined by 50,000 signatures in red color from Hong Kong citizens opposing the development with black fonts. He was later fined a thousand HKD for disobeying executive orders, and may have been the first Hong Kong citizen fined by hanging vertical protest banners.September 22, 2014 College Boycott
Over 13,000 college students gathered in Hong Kong Chinese University on the first day of the Hong Kong class boycott campaign to demand universal suffrage and democracy in response to Beijing's denial on August 31. Other demands included increasing social inequality and increase government transparency and officials' accountability. The strike was supported by academic professors for a better Hong Kong and would later turn into the 2014 Umbrella Movement as Hong Kong government continued to ignore their demands. There were two black banners hung vertically in the main atrium of CUHK. They read "We Decide Our Fate Boycott Must Go On". The three vertical banners seen on protest ground of CUHK were considered a literary triplet and should be read together. The two black and one red banners written in white paint should be read from right to left: "Future Uncertainties Can Be Solved By Humanity-Focused Democracy".2014 Umbrella Movement
Dissatisfaction toward both Hong Kong and China government led to a 79-day stand-off between ordinary citizens and high-power government officials. During the Umbrella Movement most of Admiralty has been closed off and many vertical banners were hung from the pedestrian bridges perpendicular to Harcourt Road. Merging art, music and politics together, some of these banners were inspirational song lyrics, such as "Embrace Freedom In the Midst of Storm" from Beyond's song 海闊天空. Others were rhyming phrases and drawings showing protesters' demands.October 22, 2014 Lion Rock
This event is now commonly considered as the first documented hillside banner hanging in Hong Kong. A local rock climbing group called "Hong Kong Spidie" claimed responsibility for hanging up the 28-meter yellow vertical banner that read "We Demand Genuine Universal Suffrage" in black font with an umbrella symbol over Lion Rock. Andreas, the rock-climbing group's leader, would famously put on a Spider-Man costume when interviewed, claiming that the Spider-Man persona symbolized a normal teenager doing good deeds to better the society. The group released two videos on YouTube that morning: one was a manifesto video explaining Lion Rock as the climb site to show the Hong Kong Lion Rock Spirit. Another video was a behind-the-scene video capturing the climb preparation, the actual descent on the Rock, and the unfurling of the vertical protest banner.October 27–28, 2014 Hong Kong University and Hong Kong Chinese University
The now-famous yellow vertical protest banner "We Demand Genuine Universal Suffrage #Umbrella Movement" was found hanging inside Hong Kong University campus and outside a medical staff dormitory building of Prince Whales Hospital of Hong Kong Chinese University in Sha Tin.Another familiar yellow-with-black-font "We Demand Genuine Universal Suffrage #Umbrella Movement" banner was unfurled but this time at Kowloon Peak that is located next to Lion Rock. More identical banner showed up in Tai Po.November 3, 2014 Next Media Headquarter in Tseung Kuan O
More happenings of the hanging of "We Demand Genuine Universal Suffrage #Umbrella Movement" and this time the banner was located on the building of a pro-democracy print newspaper Apple Daily headquarter. The banner was funded by newspaper staff donation, according to news report.December 9–11, 2014 Harcourt Road, Admiralty
On the final days of the Umbrella Movement, two over-sized vertical banners, both were yellow with black font, were among the hundreds of pieces of protest materials being cleaned out. The smaller one of the two was originally spread out over Harcourt Road and then later vertically hung on a lamppost that showed "WE WILL BE BACK", in capitalized English and "Citizens swear to return" in Chinese. Another one was horizontally spread out on the occupied Harcourt road, showing in Chinese "Stand With Students". Four days later, Hong Kong government reclaimed the three occupied locations and declared the end of the 79-day movement.