This year, like the year before, Franco Mella holds the Yellow Umbrella mass; this year, like the year before, he joins one demonstration after another; this year, like the year before, he travels constantly between Hong Kong and the mainland; this year, like the year before, he sings many, many songs…

For Franco Mella, who has lived in the Orient for more than four decades, is this year really the same as the year before - unvarying, tedious and repetitive?