Postcard from London, England: Sunflowers bloom amidst Shoreditch street art

Sunflowers are heliotropic. To obtain their brilliant golden hue, their stalks turn, embracing the sun as it crosses the sky. Symbols of optimism and hope.

In 2014, a florist in Taiwan donated 1,000 sunflowers to students protesting a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese students adopted the flower for their namesake – the Sunflower Student Movement.

Of course, the students cannot publicize their objections in China. But in 2022, some 17,000 tourists from China visited Great Britain. So what better spot to slap them in the face with symbolic murals they will recognize instantly – the trendy Shoreditch district in East London – its streets not shirking away from international protest art.

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