Occupy Hong Kong | Anniversary reignites debate on city’s election

Protesters seeking to remind China of last year’s lost fight for free elections in Hong Kong gathered yesterday outside the city’s government headquarters, where students had battled tear gas to seize the streets for 79 days.
Groups including the Civil Human Rights Front and People’s Power have called for demonstrations on the anniversary of what became known as the Umbrella Movement, when students sheltered under umbrellas in clashes with riot police.
Since then, China and pro-democracy lawmakers and activists in Hong Kong have battled to a standstill over how to elect the city’s leader, with a Beijing-sponsored bill defeated in the Legislative Council in June. Failure to compromise has fueled concern that China may abandon the system of self-rule that late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping granted the city for 50 years when the U.K. relinquished sovereignty in 1997.
“We know it’s not the time for another Occupy,” said Tam Tak Chi, executive committee member of People’s Power, a political party. “But we are doing this to exert pressure on the police and the government. It’s time to rethink our relationship with China, especially how it should be as we are approaching 2047.”
Others in the pro-democracy camp played down the possibility of another major protest akin to the “Occupy Central” demonstrations of 2014.
“The democratic camp feels lost and confused on which direction the movement should be headed, and there are also different arguments on what kind of tools or measures to rely upon in the fight for democracy,” Chan Kin Man, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a key organizer of last year’s campaign, told broadcaster RTHK on Sunday.
The protests last year kicked off after three student leaders including Joshua Wong were arrested for storming government headquarters on Sept. 26. Over the next two days, the clashes escalated after the police fired 87 tear gas canisters and used pepper spray in a failed attempt to disperse the growing crowd. Instead, more people took to the streets in anger as images of the confrontation were broadcast worldwide, leading to what was seen as the official start of the movement.
At its height, tens of thousands of people demonstrated, demanding that China drops what protest leader Benny Tai has said was an “undemocratic” demand to screen candidates for the chief executive election in 2017. Protesters blockaded main roads, pitched tents and lined pavements with artwork and banners. Over the next two months, talks with the government failed, and disagreements between protest leaders increased as public support faltered. Just before Christmas, the police swept in and cleared the main protest area.
“It’s a time to reflect on what happened last year, but more importantly to think about how we will move forward,” said Dorothy Wong, a spokeswoman for “Umbrella Parents,” an activist group organizing yesterday’s rally. “It’s also a chance for the different civil society groups to gather again and remember they’re not alone in the fight for democracy.”
The tussle over Hong Kong’s future, and the extent of self- rule for the city of 7.5 million residents, has continued to play out in meeting halls, in the press and on social media. Pro-democracy activists see evidence of the Chinese government’s influence in everything from university appointments to media coverage.
In the past three months, student leaders including Wong and Alex Chow have been charged over their roles in the street occupation. In July, former Home Affairs Secretary Tsang Tak- sing was removed for “inadequate” outreach among the city’s youth, the South China Morning Post reported.
A former top official from the China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said this month the city must complete “de- colonization” and become more Chinese. “We must remember this event,” said Tam. “It’s not just about political reform or universal suffrage now. China’s Communist Party is meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs.” Bloomberg