HKU student white paper protest 20221129

Blank pieces of paper, posters and placards have been used as a form of protest. The message sent by such a protest is meant to be implicit and understood, but the lack of writing and slogans on the paper itself is designed to thwart efforts by authorities to prove that their prohibitions and regulations have been violated. Early examples occurred in the 1960s when protests became common. In 2022, the symbol was used in several countries, especially China.

Canada

A "Protest for Nothing" was held at

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by a written exam ...

(UTS) in 1969. The protestors' placards were blank and their list of demands was a blank sheet of paper.

China

The use of a blank sheet of paper was prevalent during the

2022 COVID-19 protests in China A series of Protests against responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China in November 2022. Colloquially referred to as the White Paper Protests ( zh, s=白纸抗议, p=Bái zhǐ kàngyì) or t ...

as a symbol of Chinese censorship. It was first used in the

2019–2020 Hong Kong protests The 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests (also known by other names) were a series of demonstrations against the Hong Kong government's introduction of a bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in regard to extradition. It was the largest ...

to protest the passing of the

Hong Kong national security law Hong Kong national security legislation may refer to one of the following laws/bills: Laws in force * Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2020 national law of C ...

after slogans and phrases associated with the protests were banned. The terms "blank sheet of paper" and "white paper" were also removed from online search results by Chinese censors. White paper has additional significance in China because white is a symbol of death and colour of mourning.

Poland

In 1924, a newspaper in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

responded to official censorship by including blank sheets of paper as a special supplement. These were confiscated and a court upheld the seizure on the grounds that they had ridiculed the authorities "without presenting definite facts".

Russia

A Soviet political joke describes a disgruntled man holding up a white piece of paper in the street in protest and, when asked why, the protester replies that everyone knows what the paper is supposed to say. Protestors in the anti-war protests in Russia that followed the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

were arrested for holding up blank paper.

United Kingdom

Blank pieces of paper were used in protests that followed the

death of Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the List of monarchs in Britain by length of ...

in September 2022. At

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

in Edinburgh, protestors held up blank sheets of paper to protest the arrest of anti-monarchy demonstrators. In London, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

who held up a blank piece of paper in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...

was asked for his details by Metropolitan Police officers, and told that he would be arrested under the

Public Order Act Public Order Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Malaysia, Rhodesia, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to public order offences. List Hong Kong *The Pu ...

if he wrote "Not My King" on the paper. In February 2023 in Cornwall, a man holding a blank piece of paper at a visit of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

and

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(Prince and Princess of Wales) was detained by police.

United States

In 1965, the reality television series ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is an American hidden camera and practical joke reality television series. The show was created, developed, and presented by Allen Funt. Various versions of the show have appeared on television from 1948 to 2014. The program ...

'' staged "Picketing Against Everything With Nothing" in the Bronx. The setting was an empty, snow-covered lot and the picketers had blank placards and distributed blank handbills. In 1970,

Anna Halprin Anna Halprin (born Hannah Dorothy Schuman; July 13, 1920 – May 24, 2021) was an American choreographer and dancer. She helped redefine dance in postwar America and pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to her ...

organised a "Blank Placard Dance" by members of her San Francisco Dancers' Workshop. They paraded, dressed in white, while holding blank placards. She explained, "...there were so many protests going on and this way each person watching us could just imagine whatever protest slogan they wanted on the placards."

References

{{Reflist, 30em Paper Protest tactics White symbols