Howey Ou

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]

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

Biography

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

In 2019, youth activist group Earth Uprising nominated her to attend the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York.[11][12]

In 2020, China committed to net zero emissions by 2060,[13] but continued to build coal-fired power stations.

Ou keeps in touch with environmental activist Zhao Jiaxin.[10] After she and three other activists were detained after a silent protest in front of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre in September 2020[14] she was called "incredibly brave" by Greta Thunberg.[15] 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.[16][17]

References
  1. Elena Morresi (20 July 2020). "Howey Ou: China's first school climate striker – video profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. 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. "Howey Ou is a true hero. We are all behind you. Guilin, China". Twitter. Retrieved 10 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Chinas Greta bricht ihren Klimastreik vorerst ab". www.t-online.de (in German). 13 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  7. "Howey Ou – ganz allein im Klimastreik". www.ecoterra.info. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. "18 Things to know about Howey Ou, China's only teenage climate striker". National Catholic Reporter. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. 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.
  12. "Young voices in China's environmental wilderness struggle to be heard". South China Morning Post. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  13. "China aims to cut its net carbon-dioxide emissions to zero by 2060". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. "Greta Thunberg criticises China after climate striker held over protest". South China Morning Post. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  15. "'Hypocrites and greenwash': Greta Thunberg blasts leaders over climate crisis". The Guardian. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  16. "Vaud – Une zadiste chinoise entame une grève de la faim à Lausanne". 20 minutes (in French). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  17. 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)
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