Under Hong Kong's Umbrella

Aayush Ailawadi follows thousands of young protesters flocking to the streets of Hong Kong in an attempt to fathom the fate of this student uprising

What creates freedom? A revolution in the streets? Mass protest? Civil war? A change of government? The ousting of the old guard and its replacement by the new? History, more often than not, shows that hopes raised by such events are often dashed, sooner rather than later. – Jonathan Sacks
Only time will tell whether these words will hold true for Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. The Umbrella Revolution (as the western media refers to it) began in September 2014 when activists in Hong Kong protested outside the Hong Kong government headquarters, a 10-minute walk from Central, the city’s primary business district.
Since 28 September 2014, demonstrators have been camping out on four major road junctions across the financial hub, calling for free and fair elections in 2017.

What is the story behind the umbrellas?
The protesting students have been using umbrellas to protect themselves from the rain and more importantly from the stinging pepper spray used by the police. Eventually, the umbrellas became a symbol of the movement and that’s why it’s called the Umbrella Revolution. It is interesting to note that the demonstrators still maintain that their campaign is not a revolution but a purely peaceful civil disobedience movement. Students in the financial hub are distributing food, water and umbrellas to block the sun and rain and also medical masks in case of another tear gas attack by the police. Medical tents have been set up to take care of the wounded in the standoffs. The protest camps are self sufficient and there are volunteers who pick up the trash around the tents set up in at the protest sites. Who are involved? The movement was initiated by a group called Occupy Central With Love & Peace, led by Hong Kong University’s dynamic law professor Benny Tai, sociologist Chan Kin-man and church minister Yiu-ming. This trio of household names are viewed as moderate pro-democracy figures by the denizens of Hong Kong. Apart from #OccupyCentral (as it is popularly known online), there are also student groups with similar demands fighting passionately for the cause of democracy. ‘Scholarism’ is one such student group led by a precocious 17-year-old, Joshua Wong. The Hong Kong Federation of Students under the helm of Alex Chow and Lester Shum is another such group that is leading the charge.
Although the youth have been galvanised and are protesting vociferously on the streets, the older generation are extremely opposed to the pro-democracy movement because they fear that it won’t go down well with China. The horrific memories of the Tiananmen uprising of 1989 are still fresh in their minds, and many of them believe that by standing up to China the students are only inviting more trouble for themselves. Many of them believe that the movement does not augur well for Hong Kong’s economy and that the youth are waging a war that they simply cannot win.

What exactly do both sides want?
China’s relationship with Hong Kong has always been convoluted. For over 150 years, Hong Kong was a British colony. But, in 1997 Britain handed it back to China in a political deal called ‘One Country, Two Systems’ which allowed Hong Kong to maintain some of the civil rights that the mainland Chinese have always yearned for – like the freedom of the press and the right to assemble. Under this scheme, the people of Hong Kong were to be allowed to elect their own leader in 2017. But, this summer, China reneged on its promise. It announced that those elections could proceed only if the Chinese government selected all the candidates. Obviously, this move didn’t go down well with the people of Hong Kong. It meant they wouldn’t have much control over their own government after all. Despite several failed negotiations, China is adamant that candidates for the city’s top post must at least be vetted by a prejudiced committee, which protesters claim will lead to the election of a leader who is effectively an agent of the Chinese government. The protesters have a simple demand – full democracy. They want the right to nominate and directly elect the Chief Executive, the head of their government. That would effectively mean the resignation of the current chief executive, Leung Chunying, a man who is widely detested because he is viewed as the Chinese government’s ‘inside man’ in Hong Kong.

Why are Hong Kongers so angry with the Chinese government?
‘One Country, Two Systems’ sounds great on paper but has never really worked out for either side in practice. The Communist Party of China insists on maintaining political control in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. The Chinese establishment is reluctant to give China’s most international city of 7.2 million people the right to choose its own leader, in the event that an opponent of the Communist Party gets elected as the chief executive. China fears that might send a wrong signal to the rest of China longing for democracy rights that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for them. At the same time, Beijing acknowledges that Hong Kong, since it was originally a British territory, is a special case. Much like in India, Hong Kong has always had an independent and impartial judiciary, freedom of information and movement, a reasonably free press and has retained its system of common law. The Communist Party thinks this sort of piecemeal democracy is ideal for Hong Kong, but the well-educated, well-travelled and emboldened youth of Hong Kong demand true and complete democracy.
Since 26 September, thousands of students have taken to the streets and many more have voiced their support for the Umbrella Movement from around the world. In fact, several students in mainland China have also resorted to their (highly regulated) social media in support of Hong Kong’s fight for democracy. Counter protests from pro-China residents have also been reported and are only complicating the situation. Back in Beijing, Chinese president Xi Jinping has publicly backed Hong Kong’s beleaguered Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his handling of the protests.
Action by the authorities coupled with the upcoming student exams suggest that this movement might be coming to an end. But until then, Youth Inc’s message on the walls of Central rings loud and clear. The youth of Hong Kong have spoken. It’s now time for Beijing to listen.

The older generation are extremely opposed to the pro-democracy movement because they fear that it won’t go down well with China. The horrific memories of the Tiananmen uprising of 1989 are still fresh in their minds, and many believe that by standing up to China the students are only inviting more trouble
for themselves

The protesters have a simple demand – full democracy. They want the right to nominate and directly elect the Chief Executive, the head of their government. That would effectively mean the resignation of the current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, a man who is widely detested because he is viewed as the Chinese government’s ‘inside man’  in Hong Kong

 

Volume 4 Issue 6