- More shops dedicate wall space for customers to express their views, feelings
- Owners report a boost in business as indoor protest walls attract more patrons
The yellow Post-it note stands out from the wall of multicoloured notes with its message: "Hongkongers, add oil!"
Unlike the "Lennon Walls" that have appeared in public areas across Hong Kong during more than five months of anti-government protests, this one is inside Hungry Dino, a Causeway Bay restaurant serving sushi and bento takeaways.
"I welcome customers to leave behind their thoughts in writing or drawing. It encourages those who hold similar opinions," restaurant owner Tracy Tang So-lan, 27, says.
The wall started taking shape in late August, after Tang drew pictures of Pepe the Frog " a popular mascot among protesters " and stuck them on the wall to show her support for the movement.
Customers, who saw her pictures, started adding their own notes, mostly with protest slogans such as "Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times".
Tang, who provides her customers with pens and note papers, says: "Hong Kong is a society with the freedom of expression. All can express their views freely."
Lennon Walls have sprung up across the city's 18 districts, mostly in public areas such as footbridges and underpasses, and have also been the flashpoints for clashes between protesters and those who support the authorities and police.
There have been ugly scenes as well with people tearing down the notes and defacing public walls. So, a growing number of protest walls have started appearing indoors.
Tang says her wall of messages has attracted more customers to her restaurant, some of whom take photos with the Lennon Wall or add their messages to it. She estimates her business has increased by 20 to 30 per cent.
Protesters labelled her restaurant as "yellow-ribbon", which means it supports their movement, after she handed out free rice balls among them during a rally in late July.
"Blue-ribbon", on the other hand, refers to businesses that support the authorities.
In Tsuen Wan, Sogno Gelato ice cream shop also has an indoor wall of messages. The owner, who asks to be identified as Ah Wa, in his 30s, says some customers started sticking up notes in July to voice their support for the protests.
"It is a way for people to express themselves, and I won't stop them," he says.
At first, the business remained the same, and some people came only to add their messages to the wall. But ever since protesters started supporting "yellow-ribbon" establishments in late September, he has seen more customers and even long queues sometimes.
Dozens of students and others have also volunteered to help him run the shop, which he opened in January and manages alone.
Tai Po Lennon Wall restored after flags plastered by group of masked men
However, shops and restaurants with Lennon Walls, just like other businesses which make their political stance known, also risk offending the rival camp and being attacked.
A claw machine arcade in Mong Kok, which had colourful notes supporting the protest on one glass wall, was splashed with red paint on November 8.
Tang is concerned about her employees' safety, but remains defiant.
"I have asked my employees to be watchful," Tang says. "But we can't refrain from expressing our opinions out of fear."
Ah Wa says he has received complaints from those with different views, but that has not deterred him from keeping his wall.
A 35-year-old sales employee, who wants to be identified only by her surname Lam, says she likes the idea of indoor Lennon Walls, and has added her notes to them in several shops.
"It is a peaceful way for people to express their opinions. You just write down your thoughts and put the notes on the wall " there is nothing in it that will affect others adversely," she says.
How Lennon Walls became showcases for art and design of protests
But not everybody welcomes the idea.
University student Wong, 25, who also wants to be identified only by his surname, says: "The Lennon Walls are a creative way for people to express themselves, an art form much like graffiti.
"But most aren't decorative at all, and only make communities look disorderly. And they clearly only allow one opinion to be voiced."
Wong says he is not influenced by shops that have set up indoor protest walls.
Lennon Walls first appeared in Hong Kong during the 2014 umbrella movement which shut down parts of the city for 79 days.
They reappeared in many places during the current unrest, which was sparked by opposition to the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
The largest wall used to be at a pedestrian subway outside Tai Po Market MTR station until it was cleaned up recently, following frequent clashes and an incident of stabbing.
A 19-year-old was stabbed in his neck and abdomen while he was handing out pro-democracy leaflets there on October 19. A 22-year-old man was arrested.
On November 2, a group of people holding iron sticks and box cutters were seen tearing the notes and fliers off the wall.
Tai Po District Council member Au Chun-wah says some protesters come to restore the wall at times, but there have been fewer clashes than before in the area.
"Those who support the Lennon Wall want to restore it quickly, while those who oppose it want it out of sight," he says.
"The situation has only calmed down a bit, but the problem has not been solved."
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