Howey Ou

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ou.
Ou in 2021

Ou Hongyi (simplified Chinese: 欧泓奕; traditional Chinese: 歐泓奕; pinyin: Ōu Hóngyì; IPA: ə̄u xʷúŋìː), also known by her English name Howey Ou, is a Chinese environmental activist who organises the school strike for climate in Guilin in southern China, calling for more action to limit greenhouse gas emissions by China and thus climate change.[1]

Biography

Ou's activism started after convincing her parents, both university lecturers, to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint.[2] In late May 2019, at age 16, she did a school strike for climate by holding up homemade banners for several days in front of City Hall in Guilin to call for immediate stronger action on climate change.[3][4] Greta Thunberg said she is a "true hero", then the authorities said she must stop due to not having a permit.[5][6][7] Her WeChat account was blocked.[8] In September 2019, she organised a "Plant for survival" campaign. With her pocket money, she bought trees and planted them around Guilin.[9] She was not allowed to return to school as long as she engages in climate activism.[10][11][12]

In 2019, youth activist group Earth Uprising nominated her to attend the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York.[13][14]

In 2020, China committed to net zero emissions by 2060, but continued to build coal-fired power stations.[15]

Ou keeps in touch with environmental activist Zhao Jiaxin.[11] After she and three other activists were detained after a silent protest in front of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre in September 2020[16] she was called "incredibly brave" by Greta Thunberg.[17] Ou and her parents have become vegetarians.[2]

In Lausanne, Switzerland, Ou started a hunger strike on Palud Square on 19 April 2021, to protest her 60-day prison and 1,200-Swiss francs fine sentence for protesting against expansion of the exploitation of the limestone quarry on Mormont hill by the Swiss-French cement company LafargeHolcim.[18][19] In 2024, she was fully acquitted by the Supreme Court of Switzerland, which ruled that she had not obstructed police action.[20]

References

  1. ^ Elena Morresi (20 July 2020). "Howey Ou: China's first school climate striker – video profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b Myers, Steven Lee (4 December 2020). "Ignored and Ridiculed, She Wages a Lonesome Climate Crusade". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Howey Ou is risking it all to put climate change on China's agenda". RFI. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Fighting Alone for Climate Action in China: Meet Teen Activist Howey Ou". www.vice.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Chinas Greta bricht ihren Klimastreik vorerst ab". www.t-online.de (in German). 13 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Greta Thunberg speaks out after arrest of Chinese climate activist Ou Hongyi". Young Post. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Howey Ou is a true hero. We are all behind you. Guilin, China". Twitter. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Howey Ou – ganz allein im Klimastreik". www.ecoterra.info. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. ^ sina_mobile (4 November 2019). "16岁中国环保少女被网友骂惨：求你别瞎学瑞典那妹子"罢课"..." k.sina.cn. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  10. ^ Standaert, Michael (19 July 2020). "China's first climate striker warned: give it up or you can't go back to school". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  11. ^ a b "18 Things to know about Howey Ou, China's only teenage climate striker". National Catholic Reporter. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  12. ^ Hawkins, Amy (29 June 2023). "As Beijing swelters, activists hope the heat will prompt climate action". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  13. ^ Standaert, Michael (18 September 2019). "China's young climate heroes fight apathy – and the party line". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Young voices in China's environmental wilderness struggle to be heard". South China Morning Post. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  15. ^ "China aims to cut its net carbon-dioxide emissions to zero by 2060". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Greta Thunberg criticises China after climate striker held over protest". South China Morning Post. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  17. ^ "'Hypocrites and greenwash': Greta Thunberg blasts leaders over climate crisis". The Guardian. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Vaud – Une zadiste chinoise entame une grève de la faim à Lausanne". 20 minutes (in French). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  19. ^ Matthew Taylor, Emily Holden, Dan Collyns, Michael Standaert and Ashifa Kassam (7 May 2021). "The young people taking their countries to court over climate inaction". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Yannick Weber (11 December 2024). "La zadiste chinoise évacuée réussit à être totalement acquittée". 20 minutes. Retrieved 14 December 2024.