Vanessa Moore
For almost two weeks, tens of thousands of Hongkongers – many of them students – have descended onto the streets to peacefully protest China’s limitations on the first-ever direct elections for the city’s Chief Executive. Following images of demonstrators fleeing exploding police tear gas canisters more than ten days ago and hired triad thugs assaulting youngsters over the weekend, public support initially galvanised for what has been dubbed the “Umbrella Revolution”.
With tensions bubbling and warnings of a “tragedy” about to unfold ringing in the air, the protesters still remain camped out in the main protest site outside the government headquarters in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and the blue-collar shopping district of Mongkok engaged in a high-stakes game of “chicken” with the authorities. Even though the young strikers realise that most of the city is now fed up with them due to the ongoing disruption, with the start of a new workweek the number of participants is dwindling but many remain undeterred. The prospect of talks with the government has raised hopes for a negotiated solution to the upheaval.
As a former Hong Kong student myself, over the weekend I decided to see with my own eyes what’s been going on and speak to some of the young campaigners there. Watching highschoolers doing their homework, students sweeping and picking up trash, and intermittent cheers erupting for motorbike riders bringing in supplies to numerous tents dotted along stretches of now-deserted motorway, protesting HK-style is a lesson in graciousness unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before.
I’d like to share with you what a couple of students manning one of the Admiralty tents had to say about why they decided to join the sit-in, what they hoped to achieve and their feelings towards the solidarity protests held for them overseas, including Macau.
John, undergraduate, Chinese University of HK:
The reason I came to the protest is I want to fight for the real election of the Chief Executive, but not the one planned by the Chinese government now. That’s why I came here to express my view and my disappointment.
To be honest I think the majority may not support our action very much because they may think it’s a kind of riot, destabilising the social environment. Maybe we are not ready for this kind of fight, but I think it’s essential for us because if we continue to ignore it, the government will ignore the citizens and just give us their plans as their will and not our will. Maybe we cannot have an immediate effect from now by this occupation event, but the thoughts of democracy have now been planted.
To see many people over the world care about Hong Kong, I feel so much pride. I didn’t expect this could be so worldwide. Everyone looks so eager to support us so it is very encouraging. But if the Chinese citizens can see what is really happening here and express their view it will be more encouraging to me.
There is no such problem in Macau because Macau’s focus is in different issues such as gambling activities, so people there are not very used to democracy; because the British government in the 1980s-1990s promoted democracy very heavily in HK, which didn’t appear in Macau. But by [seeing] the protest activities [in HK] they know the idea that democracy is essential and they may use it in another way to change their society.
Connie, fresh graduate, Chinese University of HK:
I came to protest hoping for real democracy and genuine universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
The mood you can see now is quite peaceful and you can see that people are walking around here. We have achieved a chance for the government to negotiate with our representatives, and I think it’s good because it’s a peaceful way to express our view. But I hope that they will have a satisfactory outcome.
What I hope for is genuine universal suffrage but I don’t know for sure if the Chinese government will allow this to happen in Hong Kong. But the best thing I think may be that the system of the election will be improved.
We are very happy [to see that Macau students] are supporting us because we need support from all over the world; and it will put pressure on the Chinese government and the HK government, so we need their support very much.
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