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Re: HK Govt. host televised talk with citizens rep. PAP balless with Roy & HHH
The students from Hong Kong who daren't voice open support for Occupy
Students careful who they talk to about pro-democracy protests on Guangzhou's campus, where showing support risks widening gulf with mainland classmates
For Leo, one of about 5,000 Hongkongers studying at Jinan University in Guangzhou, the democracy movement feels achingly distant but its effects ripple through his daily campus life, widening the gulf with mainland students.
Leo often travels home on weekends to visit his family and has seen the street skirmishes up close.
He strongly supports the protest but, back on campus on weekdays, he's careful about how he shows his interest. He shares photos about the movement with mainland friends but they express little interest, he says.
Organising a social activity, even one as benign as a Christmas get-together, is frowned upon by the campus administration, so a gathering with a political bent is out of the question.
"Many of us [Hongkongers] support and understand the students who remain in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok," said Leo, whose full name cannot be used due to fears of possible reprisals by the school. "So far, we haven't felt a taboo on talking about it on campus. But the conversations are usually only among the Hong Kong students."
Jinan has the most international student body of any mainland university. Nearly a third of its 35,320 students come from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan or overseas countries.
Guangzhou's Jinan University is home to about 5,000 Hong Kong students.
While everyone may sit together in lecture halls, there are fault lines running through the social life of the campus. Hong Kong students say they are friendly with their mainland classmates but remain isolated. They live in separate dormitories, and immerse themselves online in their own media culture, dominated by TVB dramas and Hong Kong newspapers.
"We have different habits, experiences and beliefs compared with our classmates from the mainland. The mainland students are smart, practical and [rooted in realities]," said Alex, another Hong Kong student at Jinan. "They only care about job opportunities and preparing for civil servant exams or overseas studies."
In the eyes of some Hong Kong students, the Occupy movement has put into starker relief than ever the differences between them.
"Some are curious and come to ask what's happening in Hong Kong when they see the pictures we spread through WeChat," Leo said. "But they just view the movement as useless political and social unrest. They say 'take care', but that's it. Few want to know anything more about why so many young Hong Kong people have taken to the streets."
When approached for their opinion on the movement, two mainland students said it was best to call the propaganda office of the university.
To avoid becoming unpopular with classmates or teachers, the city's students consciously avoid taking a stance on Occupy, said Yau Chun-man, the head of the Hong Kong section of the Students' Union.
They would never consider putting up politics-themed artwork or posters in campus buildings. "After all, we are studying at a university in the mainland. It's not Hong Kong," Yau said. "Many of us just want to be neutral."
At a protest area in Hong Kong, people take pictures behind a cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping on which pro-democracy protesters put goggles and a yellow ribbon. Photo: Reuters
Jinan is a popular choice for Hongkongers seeking higher education. According to official data, about 70,000 high school pupils graduate in Hong Kong each year, but only about 25,000 find a place in the city's universities and colleges. Others are forced to go overseas or seek places in mainland universities.
The tuition and living costs on the mainland are affordable and parents like the relatively short time it takes their children to go home. The university is about 120km from Hong Kong.
Yau said it had always been hard for students from the city to get approval to hold any campus activities, let alone one expressing support for such a sensitive political movement.
"University authorities raised objections when we wanted to hold a Christmas party and introduce Hong Kong companies to recruit our graduates. We were told the activities were either 'too religious' or 'too commercial'. In the end, we had to repackage the events as a dance party and a Hong Kong alumni reunion party."
It's not unusual for science or business majors to pass over political affairs. But even in the university's journalism department, interest appears muted. "No one made it a homework topic or brought it for class discussion," said Fred, another student in the programme at Jinan.
"Some of our Hong Kong classmates used it for news-writing exercise, but never handed the pieces into teachers. We worry that it could be evidence against us in future.
"Students from the mainland say they do not have a channel to read or watch news from Hong Kong. But actually we are a good way for them to learn more. But few have come to us for the actual details," he said.
"They read state-run media editorials every day and hold opinions about the movement that are highly consistent with the authorities'.
"One of our teachers talked about the incident once in class for about a minute. He said the movement had badly damaged Hong Kong's economy and they had no right, reason or power against the central government," he said. "All the students from the mainland agreed with him."
A woman displays a piece of paper with a messages of support for pro-democracy demonstrations on a wall in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters
Alex said he mostly avoided talking about the rallies on campus but he would argue his views with mainlanders in chat rooms.
"It's easy to find online posts and chat rooms talking about the Occupy movement on popular websites, like Tianya.cn and Baidu.com. Online, most mainlanders express strong anger and disappointment over the sit-ins in Central and Mong Kok."
Mainland students believe Hongkongers are ungrateful, have betrayed the motherland, and are simply jealous about the mainland's economic achievements, said Alex, adding: "I can't help but get into arguments with them online … in the end, I gave up. They don't know the truth but have already judged Hong Kong."
Re: China to ban movies featuring hong kong celebrities that support the protest
Chris Patten accepts umbrella, and reportedly praises democracy protesters
City's last governor is handed symbol of protest and reportedly praises occupiers
Chris Patten holds a yellow umbrella at Oxford University.
Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten has become the latest apparent convert to the "umbrella movement" in support of the pro-democracy protests.
Now chancellor of the University of Oxford, the man known affectionately during his time in Hong Kong as "Fei Pang" or "Fatty Patten" because of his love of custard tarts spoke on Friday at the Oxford Union debating society and was offered an umbrella by a participant.
"I can finally be photographed holding an umbrella just like President Xi Jinping ," Patten reportedly said, according to a tweet by Oxford China Forum. The forum is a student platform facilitating discussion of China issues.
He was referring to a photograph of Xi with an umbrella during his trip to Wuhan , Hubei province, in July last year. The photo, taken by Xinhua, was recognised in the National News Awards last month.
Coinciding as it did with the "umbrella movement", the photo went viral along with numerous parodies created by protesters.
The forum further tweeted that Patten was "really impressed by the dignity, decency and seriousness of the protesters" and said "their mums and dads should be very proud".
"If you were Xi Jinping, would you want to turn off a whole generation of youth from China's most successful city?" It quoted Patten as saying.
In an opinion piece published last month, Patten called upon the Hong Kong government to give a new report to authorities in Beijing concerning changes in the legislature, and the composition and voting rules of the nominating committee for the 2017 chief executive election.
On another front in the battle of symbols, the government removed two huge banners reading, "I want genuine universal suffrage" hung on local hilltops.
One banner was spotted at the observatory station on Tai Mo Shan in the New Territories yesterday morning, but was removed within hours.
The removal of another that had been placed atop Kowloon Peak on Friday was a larger, three-hour operation for which eight members of the Fire Services Department's high-angle rescue team were mobilised along with five members of the Civil Aid Service, who flew to the hilltop in a helicopter.
Joseph Leung Wai-hung, deputy chief fire officer of the Fire Services Department, said the operation had nothing to do with politics. "We remove it due to public safety concerns," he said. "It does not matter what words are on the banner."
Carrie Lam dismisses 'impractical' suggestion to dissolve Legco if reform bill vetoed
Benny Tai says if chief executive triggered an election, it would be a de facto referendum on political development; Jasper Tsang sceptical
Carrie Lam has dismissed Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai's call for the chief executive to dissolve the Legislative Council in order to end the political impasse. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has dismissed as impractical a suggestion to dissolve the Legislative Council if it vetoes the government’s political reform package.
Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting suggested the dramatic move yesterday, saying dissolving Legco would help end the political impasse that had developed since Beijing set tight restrictions on the conduct of the 2017 chief executive election.
"It is in the design of the Basic Law that there is a procedure for citizens to decide on an important issue together," Tai said.
Benny Tai says if Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (right) triggers an election, it will be a de facto referendum on political development. Photo: Kyodo News
He was referring to Article 50 of the mini-constitution, which allows for Legco's dissolution if it votes down an "important bill".
Meanwhile, protest leaders and pan-democrats have yet to reach agreement on a proposal that lawmakers resign to trigger by-elections they would see as a "de facto referendum" on electoral reform. A similar exercise was held in 2010, although it fell flat after Beijing loyalists opted against putting up candidates.
Lam warned legislators to think twice about resigning as doing so may cost more than HK$100 million of public money.
"There are no such thing as referendum under Hong Kong's election and political system. Any activities conducted using the name of referendum is not legally binding," she told reporters after attending a function.
She reiterated that the government had shown its sincerity over the talks with student leaders and urged the Federation of Students to demonstrate its sincerity too to solve the problem as soon as possible.
Pro-establishment figures, including Legco President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, said neither option could help resolve the impasse as the Occupy Central protests entered their sixth week.
Under Article 50, the chief executive may dissolve Legco and call a new poll if the budget or "any other important bill" introduced by the government is voted down and "consensus still cannot be reached after consultations". If the new Legco again votes down the bill, the chief executive must quit.
Tai said he felt setting a date for a "de facto referendum" - either through resignations or a new Legco poll - could end the street blockades, though he said protesters might feel otherwise.
But Tsang said a new election would not solve the problems.
"Even if pan-democrats could win a few more seats [after Legco is dissolved], can you jump to the conclusion that the majority of Hongkongers oppose Beijing's decision on the political reform?" he asked.
Liberal lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun, who was last week axed from the nation's top political advisory body for calling for Leung to consider resigning, said he believed Tai's suggestion was unlikely to find favour with the chief executive.
The other question is whether the vote on political reform meets the definition of an "important bill". As a constitutional change, it would require a two-thirds majority in the legislature - meaning pan-democrats would have enough votes to veto it. But in 2010, former constitutional affairs minister Stephen Lam Sui-lung argued that such a motion could not count as an "important bill" because such a term only applied to local legislation.
Meanwhile, Stanley Lau Chin-ho, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, said retailers and hotels would be worst affected by the prolonged protests. He fears lay-offs or pay freezes will follow.
And the anti-Occupy Alliance for Peace and Democracy ends its petition drive today. By 9.30 last night the group said it had received 1.5 million signatures in support of its call to restore the rule of law and return society to normality.
Business as usual in Hong Kong? No one's buying it
Trade delegation tells Europeans 'everything is fine' but the Occupy protests remain a concern
Tammy Tam
Occupy protests prove a niggling concern for European investors
The "umbrella movement" has put Hong Kong in the global spotlight. In Europe last week, a curious Parisian taxi driver asked me what was going on in the city.
It's a good question. Sure, life goes on after more than a month of protests against Beijing's hardline stance on the 2017 chief executive election. But it certainly isn't business as usual - or at least it wasn't for the annual Trade Development Council delegation to Europe. The campaign, Think Asia, Think Hong Kong, aimed to sell the city as the gateway to the huge mainland Chinese market for businesspeople in Europe and, in particular, France.
More than 150 representatives from the finance, technology and professional services sectors as well as government agencies were trying to convince over 1,000 French companies that the city was the place to invest.
However, the absence of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying undermined the "everything is fine" message. Leung was supposed to head the delegation, but with no end in sight to the sit-ins, he sent Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and gave up a long-planned meeting with Italy's president. The meeting with a head of state was seen as a chance for Leung to broaden his international exposure.
It must have been a blow for Leung, but he can rest assured that everyone was still talking about Hong Kong. Tsang did his bit, reiterating that the government remained confident in its handling of the impasse - and that the city was still an ideal place to do business.
Some saw this as Tsang trying to head off embarrassing questions on the subject, which would have distracted from the sales task: Hong Kong, with its low taxes, is ready and waiting for European investors.
This message was directed especially at winemakers in France, with the selling point being that there is no tax on wine in Hong Kong - it was scrapped by Tsang in 2008.
But the protests proved a niggling concern. Some of the Europeans raised the delayed Hong Kong-Shanghai direct share trading scheme. Chow Chung-kong, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, tried to reassure them that all was in order and it just needed approval from Beijing.
The mainland factor is a double-edged sword for Hong Kong. Its fast growth means huge opportunities - indeed TDC chairman Jack So Chak-kwong has built partnerships with mainland companies to promote Hong Kong - but it also relies on Beijing's blessing.
Foreign investors won't choose Hong Kong just because officials paint a rosy picture. They want to see social and political stability, a good business environment, and smooth relations with Beijing.
All of this is being tested by the protests - and it could ultimately push Beijing to get tough in other areas, not just democracy.
The group of 13 protesters includes teachers, social workers, performers and students. Photo: Jonathan Wong
More Occupy Central protesters last night claimed they had experienced violence at the hands of police when they were arrested in Admiralty last month.
About a dozen protesters said they had been "bashed" by officers trying to clear Lung Wo Road on October 15. The arrests happened on the same night that television cameras recorded a group of officers apparently kicking and punching Civic Party activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu after his arrest.
One of the arrested protesters, Issac Tong Pun-yuen, said they had been punched, kicked, pulled by the hair and hit on the head by a group of between three and five officers.
"We are trying very hard to locate video clips from social media, yet all we could find were bits and pieces," he said. "The police deliberately dragged us to a place where the press was unable to see before they beat us up."
The group includes teachers, social workers and performers as well as students.
Tong said Tsang's case - over which seven officers have been suspended pending investigations - was the tip of the iceberg.
The protesters said they planned to seek legal advice.
They said they had contacted 28 of the 45 people arrested that night, when police used pepper spray to clear the road. Thirteen of these said they had suffered violence, of whom 10 said they required hospital treatment.
Several of those arrested said they had been resting in Tamar Park and were not involved in attempts to block Lung Wo Road.
Ken Pang said he was arrested while telling students to retreat. He said officers grabbed him from behind and punched him in the chest.
Another punched him in the face and twisted his hand, and he was kicked as he fell to the ground, he said.
"I repeatedly told them I was leaving the site, but they went ahead anyway," said Pang. He said police never told him he was arrested and did not read him his rights before putting him in the police vehicle.
A police spokesman said the force had an established mechanism to deal with complaints and would look into each complaint in a fair and impartial manner.
As of yesterday, some 1,324 complaints had been received in connection with the protests.
An executive councillor known for her liberal views has broken ranks with most members of the government's policymaking body by choosing not to sign a petition backing the police and calling for an end to Occupy Central protests.
Anna Wu Hung-yuk, chairwoman of the Competition Commission and Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, has now snubbed two petitions by the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, the first launched in July and the second in October.
At the time of the first one Wu said that she would not sign any petition that dealt with political positions. "My position has not changed, and as stated the last time I do not sign any petition for or against any particular position with matters of this type," Wu said.
Wu, a solicitor, urged students at the helm of the pro-democracy protests to consider forming a political party to groom leaders and take part in public policymaking.
Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong, who also chose not to sign the first petition, did not respond to inquiries regarding the second.
Wu and Lam are among the 14 non-official members of Exco, which assists the chief executive in policymaking. The other 12 non-official members all signed the second petition despite concerns the campaign is adding to political polarisation in the city. Twelve of the 16 official Exco members had signed the first.
Both Wu and Lam are known as moderate voices in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's cabinet.
The most recent petition, which the Alliance started on October 25, seeks to "support our police", "free our roads" and "restore law and order", all with the goal of ending the pro-democracy sit-ins, which have paralysed parts of the city for five weeks.
The alliance said its latest effort had collected more than 1.5 million signatures by Saturday. The campaign ended yesterday.
Executive councillor Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun said she had signed. "For over a month, we have seen enormous social disruption and economic damage to Hong Kong, and I wish to see an end to the Occupy Movement in a peaceful manner," she said.
A government spokesman said on September 26 that all political appointees, except Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, would sign the original petition online. Yuen would not, so as to stay neutral.
Executive councillor Cheung Chi-kong said the chief executive did not call on non-official Exco members to sign.
In 2012, Wu played a key role in defusing the crisis sparked by a government plan for the compulsory introduction of a national education curriculum in primary and secondary schools.
The curriculum was criticised as being an attempt to brainwash pupils.
The Committee on the Implementation of Moral and National Education, chaired by Wu, recommended in October 2012 that the curriculum be shelved.
While vowing to keep an open mind, Wu had some advice for student leaders.
"At this point, I hope the students will consider forming a political party as many students have a vote. They can groom leaders or be king-makers and actively participate in public policy making," she said. "Political reform and participation in politics is for the long haul."
She said that just 47 per cent of those aged 18 to 20 were registered voters. "Students aged 18 and above should register as voters," she said.
Re: HK's Leung: Ass Loon & Daddy Taught me Not to Trust StewPIG Peasants!
Protesters build makeshift communities at Occupy sites
Protesters have built makeshift communities at scattered Occupy sites, with tent villages, a study hall for students and even a library
Protesters' tents on Connaught Road Central in Admiralty. Photo: Sam Tsang
In the early days of the Occupy movement, elegantly dressed office ladies in Admiralty wishing to join protesters had a problem.
Unless someone was around to help, the 60cm barriers surrounding the occupied sites were a near-insurmountable obstacle for anyone wearing a tight skirt.
Not any more. In an example of the numerous ways the sites and the lives of people at them have evolved to meet needs, improvised staircases made from scrap wood now provide access at regular intervals.
The creator of the steps is retired garment-factory manager Chan Wing-fai. Chan gets up early almost every morning to salvage wood from a refuse station near his home in Lai King.
"I have never picked up trash before, nor did I think I would ever do it," the 68-year-old said in Admiralty on a recent afternoon, as he coached a group of young people on how to make chairs with discarded furniture.
"Originally I built the staircases with boxes of bottled water but they were not very durable," he said. "Then I decided to strengthen them with planks."
Across the three protest sites in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, similar stories are being told in a movement that was planned as a three-day sit-in but has now passed the one-month mark.
On Harcourt Road, a "study hall" where class-boycotting students continue their education can now seat 200.
Makeshift desks in the Occupy site. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
An elderly man named C. L. Chang was the carpenter for that project. Like Chan, he carried dumped boards from Wan Chai to Admiralty every day for a week, which were fashioned into chairs for students using the study room.
"As the study room became a new landmark in Admiralty, people - and even a restaurant - started sending tables and chairs to us. Furniture stores also sent us some sample cabinet boards of high quality."
Opposite the Admiralty Centre railway exit, freelance designer Pat is managing a newly established "Freedom Quarter" - two zones that together offer about 100 tents for protesters to stay overnight.
Pat barely knew other protesters before the police fired the 87 canisters of tear gas on September 28 that galvanised the protest. Someone invited her to take care of a booth a few nights after she began camping in Harcourt Road, and she ended up taking on the role of "tent manager".
To spend a night in the Freedom Quarter, protesters must line up at the booth at 8.30pm and read through a set of guidelines before checking in.
They are given star stickers for their tent, which they have to remove the next day to indicate they have left.
"I didn't have any experience and I just learned how to do it bit by bit," Pat said. "I guess it's just a rule of nature. People live in groups and it's natural that every one of them will pick up a different role and gradually build the community."
Medic volunteers provide help at Lung Wo Road in Admiralty. Photo: Nora Tam
At the less-populated Causeway Bay site, a library corner offers protesters a choice of books donated by supporters.
Next to the library corner on Yee Woo Street is a white board that provides updates on the democracy movement - such as the latest stances of student leaders and officials - and a timetable for civic lectures.
"Everyone can write something on the board - there is no leader here," said an elderly man who refused to give his name.
Pro-democracy yellow ribbons the Legislative Council Building. Photo: EPA
The five-odd supply stations on Nathan Road in Mong Kok evolved independently, with the managers not knowing one another. Now they have created a group on WhatsApp that they use to keep in close communication.
"We will give the group a shout if we are running out of certain types of supplies, and see if anyone can pass us some," said Ping Lee, who runs a station opposite Shantung Street.
The stocks are donated by democracy supporters. Lee puts a list up next to his booth with updates about what is needed.
"People just drop the stuff and go," Lee said. "There was one time we received more than 20 boxes of bottled water just an hour after we put up a notice. People are very passionate."
Supplies for the Occupy movement. Photo: Felix Wong
The protest site in Mong Kok is also well-known for its pantheon of deities installed by protesters to guard the barricades, which includes Jesus, Buddha and war god Kwan Tai.
Student Tony Chan, part of a team that built the Kwan Tai shrine on Mong Kok Road, said it began with a picture of the deity, and evolved into a statue and then the present temple.
They eventually incorporated the temple into part of the defence line by using bamboo and wooden frames from construction sites.
Mirana May Szeto
Mirana May Szeto, an assistant professor in the University of Hong Kong's department of comparative literature, said the protesters had demonstrated that they treasured the community they had developed.
"We have very small homes and we value the sharing of space," she said.
"People actually want to stay as long as possible to ensure the sense of community and livelihood."
As the movement passed its first month, protesters understood that the community they had built would inevitably be demolished, but hoped the spirit could remain.
"Hongkongers used to be quite cool to each other, never saying hello to our neighbours and not even knowing their surnames after 20 years," Chan the staircase man said. "Perhaps this movement could make a change in everyone."
Additional reporting by Chris Lau
_________________________________
Former Beijing democracy movement leader Zhou Fengsuo backs Occupy
Zhou Fengsuo, a former student leader of Beijing's democracy movement in 1989, has flown in from the US to offer his support to Occupy protesters.
"Twenty-five years ago ... the first Hongkonger I knew told me that he saw hope for China in Tiananmen Square. And today, your presence here represent the hopes of China's future democracy," Zhou told the crowd in Admiralty last night.
"We failed to implement democracy in China 25 years ago, and now we need the young people of Hong Kong to stand up for their rights."
Zhou, who had been No5 on Beijing's wanted list during the Tiananmen movement, said he had decided to join Hong Kong's "umbrella movement" after seeing images of police using tear gas to disperse protesters on September 28.
He said the Occupy protest resembled the situation in Beijing in 1989, with young people fighting - and sacrificing - to make their dreams of democracy come true.
But he believed the protest would not suffer the same bloody ending as Hong Kong enjoyed the rule of law, press freedom and a modern social media system that allows for swift information flow.
He refused to offer advice to the student leaders, who he said had a better understanding of the situation, but he encouraged Hongkongers to use their creativity to press the movement forward.
Zhou, who will stay in Hong Kong for a week, said he would camp overnight with protesters in Admiralty. He also plans to visit the June 4 memorial museum in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Like many Beijing student activists, Zhou fled to US and lived in exile after the June 4 crackdown.
An earlier version of this story said former Tiananmen student leader Zhou Fengsuo fled to the US after the June 4, 1989 crackdown "with no prospect of returning to his motherland." Zhou managed to slip back into Beijing in June 2014 before he was detained, interrogated and put on a plane back to the US.
Ray Ng adds the finishing touches to his model of Lion Rock, complete with pro-democracy banner. Photo: Sam Tsang
When 45-year-old Ray Ng Siu-wai saw how quickly the Hong Kong government took down a banner calling for real universal suffrage that was hung on the city’s famous Lion Rock hill, he decided to go one further than making his own banner.
Ng made his own Lion Rock.
The model is made of styrofoam and plaster. Photo: Alan Yu
The professional model maker worked on a 1:144 scale replica of the iconic hill for a week, constructing his version with styrofoam, plaster, miniature trees and paint. He even included tiny protesters holding yellow umbrellas, which he handcrafted from putty and painted.
The work, which he calls “the Spirit of Lion Rock”, drew a crowd almost as soon as it was unveiled in Admiralty.
A group of climbers hung a giant pro-democracy banner on Lion Rock last month, and copycat banners also emerged in prominent spots around the city. All were taken down by authorities, citing safety concerns.
A banner was hung off the real thing last month by a group of climbers. Photo: Robert Ng
Smaller versions have popped up on college campuses, apartment windows and even on cardboard versions of President Xi Jinping at protest camps.
“I rushed the production on [the model] because I wanted it to be relevant. Coincidentally I finished after all the banners on Fei Ngo Shan and Tai Mo Shan were taken down,” Ng said.
He based his model on maps and pictures of Lion Rock that he found on Google. Ng also added an RX-78/2 Gundam, as he works with models of the popular anime series in his professional life.
Ng created tiny protesters holding umbrellas out of modelling putty. Photo: Alan Yu
“Some people took pictures, some people made paintings, but no one has made a replica of Lion Rock, so I decided to do what I do best.”
Many in the city associate the “Lion Rock spirit” with striving for a better life - as embodied in 1970s RTHK drama Under the Lion Rock and its title song.
Ng lives in Ma On Shan, far away from the protest area in Admiralty, but says he’s been a part of the protest since September 28, when he got tear-gassed. He says he trusts his fellow protesters to protect his work.
“If it only stands for a few days, then so be it. My work will live and die with the protest area. Everyone cares about this place.”
When asked what he would like the government to do, Ng pointed to the banner on his model.
About 50 lawyers gathered outside the High Court to protest against the pro-democracy protests. Photo: Sam Tsang
About 50 lawyers held a silent gathering outside the High Court on Monday to express their concern that the rule of law in Hong Kong has been undermined by the occupation of roads by pro-democracy protesters.
In a statement, the lawyers said: "Occupy Central disrupts and endangers the lives of Hong Kong people, causes immeasurable damages and inconvenience to literally all segments of Hong Kong public." They asked the government to strictly enforce the law without delay, to uphold the rule of law, and urged occupiers to leave protest sites immediately.
The silent gathering was initiated by solicitor Stanley Chan, of Sun Lawyers, and Doreen Kong, of Reed Smith Richards Butler. Among the lawyers present was barrister-cum-lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun and barrister Ma Yan-kwok, of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
There were 1,230 practicising barristers and 7,893 certified solicitors in Hong Kong in April this year, according to the Law Society.
Chan said that it was urgent for legal professionals to safeguard the rule of law because injunction orders issued by the court to clear portions of roads in Mong Kok and Admiralty had been flouted by protesters.
So far, the High Court has granted three temporary injunctions against protesters in Mong Kok and around Citic Tower near government headquarters in Admiralty. The orders have largely been ignored by the protesters.
Chan added that the street protests should come to an end for the sake of Hongkongers' well-being.
In June, some 1,800 lawyers staged a silent march through the city to protest against Beijing's white paper that they said jeopardised judicial independence. The white paper, issued by the State Council on June 10, called judges "administrators" and said they should be patriotic.
The youth-led Occupy protests have resulted in significant emotional distress among young people. Photo: May Tse
According to the United Nations, each year, 20 per cent of the world's youth population experiences a mental health condition. With 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 worldwide, that means some 240 million are experiencing conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
In Hong Kong, in the past year, the media and research have highlighted alarming facts about mental health among the younger generation. A regional poll by Junior Chamber International found that Hong Kong people under 40 were the third most unhappy in Asia among the 10 places surveyed. A
Hong Kong Economic Times article recently reported an increase in psychosis as a result of the high stress brought about by the month-long Occupy protests.
The youth-led protests have resulted in significant emotional distress among young people. All have been affected, directly or indirectly. Some friendships and family relationships have been tested as a result of differing viewpoints and perspectives; this tension has gone beyond school support systems and into cyberspace.
Such emotional distress creates tremendous demand for more psycho-social and emotional support, and is indicative of a generation of young people who may not be equipped with the necessary skills and resources to cope with highly stressful situations. It also reveals gaps which must be addressed to nurture a healthy and robust generation of future leaders and citizens.
Neglecting emotional and psychological needs could lead to further personal and emotional crises and an even wider social divide. Daunting situations, especially involving family, relationship and academic stress, are the top reasons for youth suicide in Hong Kong.
Mental health services are by no means lacking in this city but holistic and long-term help is often not given priority by the government and providers, especially when it comes to young people.
KELY Support Group was founded more than 20 years ago based on a simple communication channel: a telephone hotline service for youth, established in one person's living room. It adopted a unique peer-support approach, to help young people reach their potential. Youth mental health has always been an integral part of our work.
As youth services practitioners, we need to engage with and understand our young people, to best support their development. We must seek to be accessible and relevant, and include all young people in Hong Kong, including local Chinese, ethnic minorities and non-Chinese-speaking communities. As a society, we need to strengthen our relationship with young people and create more opportunities for dialogue, meeting their psycho-social and emotional needs through youth-friendly methods.
Now, more than ever, Hong Kong's young people need our support to make informed choices. We must continue to look for ways to enhance the existing social infrastructure to support young people, both physically and emotionally.
We need to speak to them on their level, to relate to them and be available to prevent any from falling through the gaps. This is our investment in Hong Kong's future.
Sky Siu is acting executive director of KELY Support Group
Zhou Fengsuo at "Umbrella Square" in Admiralty on Monday. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Zhou Fengsuo had hardly taken his first step among the tents and banners of Harcourt Road before the tears began.
The peaceful, determined occupation of the roads outside government headquarters brought to mind the 1989 pro-democracy movement on the mainland, of which Zhou was one of the leaders.
“[The scenes] are completely new [to me], but it’s also so familiar with what [happened] 25 years ago,” he said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Monday morning.
“The fact that today’s China is still a totalitarian regime with no political freedom has made me very angry and sad,” he said. “But I am also very hopeful [to] see that this generation can stand up and take their future in their own hands... it’s very encouraging.”
The 1989 movement ended in failure amid a bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square that cast a long shadow over China’s rise in the decades that followed. Zhou ranked fifth on Beijing’s most-wanted list at the time.
He arrived in Hong Kong from the United States on Sunday, and headed straight to Admiralty where he camped overnight.
The protest camps there and in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok are now in their sixth week, with little sign that the central government will agree to the protesters’ demand for an open election of the next chief executive.
Zhou said the movement was already a great success because of the scale of participation and the generally peaceful nature of the protests. But he said the protesters should come up with a “mechanism” to enable an end to the occupation.
Such a mechanism could strengthen the movement, he said, forging consensus among the diverse array of opinions about what should happen next.
Two months in and some protesters say they answer to neither the student or Occupy Central leaders, never mind pan-democratic lawmakers.
Zhou said the situation shared similarities with the Beijing movement in 1989.
“I was never named as a leader until I was on the most-wanted list,” he said. The overwhelming majority 25 years ago were following their own convictions more than any leaders – much like the current situation in Hong Kong.
While he admires the self-sustained and diverse communities that protesters have built in the occupied sites, Zhou warned that if protesters act “purely spontaneously”, they might lose control of the outcome.
Zhou Fengsuo, a former student leader of Beijing's democracy movement in 1989, poses for a picture at protest site in Admiralty. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Zhou agreed that it was common for there to be radicals and moderates in large-scale social movements, but hopes that the protesters will have the wisdom to embrace those differences.
In 1989, Zhou opposed protesters going on hunger strikes to pressure the central government. Standing amid the artwork and makeshift homes of the Admiralty camp, he said he could appreciate more what compelled the hunger strikers, as the government refused to offer concessions.
“In political issues, [protesters] need to be flexible and sometimes pragmatic while being idealistic in their end goal,” he said.
After the June 4 crackdown, the pursuit of real democracy became a rare topic of public discussion on the mainland.
Zhou said people there had been through a “painful experience”, forced under duress to reject the Tiananmen protest. He believes that history will not repeat itself in Hong Kong.
“Society [in Hong Kong] has more resources to keep the memory and ideals [of the protests] alive,” he said, adding that the new generation of protesters had also grown up with many different political and cultural influences.
Zhou is most impressed by young Hongkongers, particularly Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Scholarism. He has followed Wong on Twitter for three years, he said.
“The student leaders are way more mature than we were back 25 years ago,” Zhou said.
“[President Xi Jinping and the Hong Kong government] are making a big mistake by drawing a hard line without any reasonableness. They risk making an enemy of this whole generation,” he said.
These young people will eventually “seize their future” in 20 or 30 years time, said Zhou, when Hong Kong will pave the way to Chinese democracy.
Benny Tai said Leung should dismiss the entire legislature if the voting reform framework handed down by Beijing failed to pass in Legco.
Occupy protesters started off winning massive public and international sympathy. But now, with no real policy alternatives or endgame in sight, their demands have become increasingly bizarre. These include trying to get everyone to resign.
Initially, they wanted Chief Executive Leung "The Wolf" Chun-ying's head. Fair enough, as the buck stops with him. Over the past month, I was told by two members of the Executive Council that protesters had asked more than half a dozen Exco members to quit, either because they were perceived as too pro-Beijing, not doing their job or to show they supported democracy. Not content with just the enemies resigning, the student leaders now call on fellow pan-democrats in the legislature to resign in order to trigger a "referendum".
The idea, according to Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, is that a mass resignation by pan-democrat lawmakers would prompt a by-election, which in turn would serve as a platform for people to express their views on the constitutional reform package yet to be proposed by the government for the 2016 and 2017 elections.
Not to be outdone, Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting said Leung should dismiss the entire legislature if the voting reform framework handed down by Beijing failed to pass in Legco. Tai's idea, presumably, is that after all the lawmakers are dismissed, Leung would fall on his own sword. Tai and the student leaders have said repeatedly that Leung's resignation is one way to send Occupy protesters home.
I have never understood why resigning from Legco and getting elected again amounts to a referendum vote. The act itself proves nothing other than that you have enough voters willing to send you back to Legco repeatedly. Don't referendums usually involve well-defined questions to be voted on by the entire electorate? There is also the small matter that, according to a recent HKU survey, some pan-dem lawmakers have hit rock-bottom in their approval ratings in the past two decades so they might not be voted back.
Do people like Tai and Chow really want to empty our legislative and executive branches so no one is left to do the work? That would be beyond gridlock.
Pro-democracy protesters gather at protest site in Admiralty during "Occupy Central with Love and Peace" (OCLP) movement.
During my nine years in Hong Kong, I have appreciated and respected this vibrant international city where innovation and entrepreneurship thrive within the framework of the rule of law and a civilised society.
But the recent occupation of roadways by protesters has brought great concern. The occupation of streets by force is illegal, uncivilised and undemocratic - and should cease immediately.
The protesters clearly believe strongly in their views, but do not believe in the rule of law and do not believe in democracy. They are a small minority forcing their will upon others.
The thousands who have been significantly inconvenienced never gave their permission to have the roadways blocked.
There was no vote of the people who live and work in the areas affected, giving their agreement to close roads. The protesters took the roads by force, imposing their views upon the rights of many others.
The underlying issues in the current situation are complex and important. But the protesters essentially support an uncivilised, undemocratic principle of governance: policies should be determined, according to the protesters, by views of a small minority who have strong opinions and are prepared to act as mobs of people. Some 70,000 people may be able to occupy key roadways, but comprise only 1 per cent of the population.
The underlying principle of the protesters is that when 1 per cent of the people feel strongly about a topic, they should be allowed to close key roadways, interfering with the daily lives and rights of the other 99 per cent, and the government should follow the dictates of the mob. That is certainly not legal, or civilised, or democratic.
Hong Kong will have a better future in many ways if it acts firmly to protect its rule of law and its civilised society. The government could make it clear that parks can be available for assembly to express views, and that it will give serious attention to petitions properly signed by large numbers of Hongkongers, without infringement on the rights of others. The city could assure that all necessary actions are taken promptly, in accordance with the law, to open all roadways and pavements that have been taken by force.
Hong Kong can make it clear that it is prepared to seriously consider alternative views on issues, but its policies will not be determined by crowds acting in violation of the law, impinging on the rights of others.
Leung said that social order in Hong Kong must return to normal to protect the city’s standing as a global financial hub. Photo: Felix Wong
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he would try to get the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock market "through train" scheme rolling as soon as possible, while warning that Occupy Central protests could harm the city's role as a global financial centre.
Leung said he would raise the issue of the cross-border share trading plan if he gets the chance to meet state leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing next week. It is understood he will be in Beijing from Saturday to Wednesday.
Leung spoke as Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah began the second day of his three-day annual official visit in Beijing. Tsang's meetings with finance officials today are expected to touch on the through train scheme. Tsang yesterday met China Securities Regulatory Commission chairman Xiao Gang and banking regulator head Shang Fulin .
Before the Executive Council meeting yesterday, Leung said social order must be restored to protect the city's standing as a global financial hub.
"As an international financial centre, we have two very important [advantages]: social order and the rule of law [business] environment. We know that in the past month, there's a problem with our social order, and some people are destroying our rule of law environment," Leung said.
"So in our work in getting the [implementation of the] Shanghai-Hong Kong through train and Hong Kong to continue to develop as an international and national financial centre, we need the entire society to work with us."
The stocks through train would allow investors to conduct cross-border share trading up to a quota of 550 billion yuan (HK$700 billion). Though the regulators never officially announced a clear-cut date for the scheme's its launch, it was widely believed to be October 27. But no announcements were made that day, to the disappointment of the markets.
While some brokers speculated that Beijing is punishing Hong Kong for the Occupy movement, others have blamed the volatility on global markets.
Members of the Federation of Students and Scholarism address the media after talks with the government last month. Photo: Reuters
The Federation of Students is the city's most popular and best-known political group, according to a University of Hong Kong poll carried out amid pro-democracy street protests that the federation has been leading.
The poll, conducted from October 20 to 23, found 89.2 per cent of 1,013 people knew of the group and gave it an average support rating of 47.7 points out of 100.
But in a poll by Polytechnic University, nearly three-quarters of respondents felt that now was the right time to stop the civil disobedience action. Nearly half wanted the campaign to end because they said it had affected the economy and livelihoods.
The prolonged protests have apparently dragged down the pan-democratic and pro-establishment camps, with every political group except the federation recording drops in popularity in the HKU poll.
James Tien moved up two positions to third place in terms of popularity. Photo: Sam Tsang
"All political groups have become losers in the Occupy movement," said Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, head of the HKU public opinion programme.
The federation's poll showing was remarkable, considering it had never ranked among the 12 most recognised political groups before - and so had never had its popularity rated.
Federation leaders took part in televised talks with government officials in an attempt to resolve the protest stalemate.
Chung said the public ought to review significant events of the past months and "make their own judgments" about the federation's surge in recognition.
The Beijing-friendly Federation of Trade Unions was the second most popular group, despite dropping 8.2 points to 42.6.
The pan-democratic Civic Party, Democratic Party and Labour Party fell the most in support ratings, dropping by around 9 points. The Democrats, Civic Party and Confederation of Trade Unions as well as the pro-establishment FTU and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong all recorded their lowest ever poll ratings.
In PolyU's poll, carried out last weekend, more than a third of the 554 respondents said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his ministers should be responsible for the prolonged protests.
The HKU poll on the support ratings has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 points, while the one for the PolyU poll is plus or minus 4.16 percentage points.
Alex Chow hopes for help to set up a meeting. Photo: Dickson Lee
The Hong Kong Federation of Students has decided to send representatives to Beijing during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the hope of conveying its demands for genuine universal suffrage directly to top officials.
It plans to seek help from local deputies to the national legislature and the top national advisory body to arrange a meeting in the capital.
Federation activist Tommy Cheung Sau-yin said they had yet to decide who would go to Beijing or when they would go.
Fellow student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung said they understood some people objected to the idea, but asked for their support and understanding.
"The trip is neither a show nor a reckless decision," Law said. They had consulted experts who were familiar with mainland affairs.
"It is hard to have a breakthrough under the current framework. This is why we have come up with the idea of a Beijing trip," he said.
Earlier, Alex Chow Yong-kang, secretary general of the federation, said they would write to local deputies to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference today, asking if they could line up a meeting.
Meanwhile, activists from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are planning a joint protest against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's presence at the summit. Zhang Likun, a member of the China Federation for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, said the idea was to protest outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
Zhang said: "We are going to protest against three things. First, Japan's attitude towards its war history. Second, Japanese denial of its wartime history, and Abe's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine."
Abe caused outrage last year when he visited the shrine, which honours 2.5 million war dead, including war criminals.
In Hong Kong, activist Tsang Kin-shing, a member of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, confirmed the group would join the action.
The Chinese Association for Claiming Compensation from Japan, which has been involved in numerous lawsuits on behalf of wartime labourers, wrote to the Japanese ambassador last week calling on Abe to show "sincerity … to earn forgiveness from the Chinese people".
A proposal to trigger Legco by-elections as a "de facto referendum" to break the impasse of the Occupy movement is unlikely to go ahead. Photo: Sam Tsang
A proposal to trigger Legco by-elections as a "de facto referendum" to break the impasse of the Occupy movement is unlikely to go ahead.
The idea, floated by student leaders of the protest movement, has not been welcomed by pan-democratic lawmakers, who are either unsure of their chances of being re-elected or fret over what to do with the voting results.
With the government showing no sign of compromise on electoral reform, student leaders such as Alex Chow Yong-kang and Joshua Wong Chi-fung have said that by-elections would serve as a way to take the movement to the next level.
"The elections will be an opportunity to reach out to those outside the occupation zones, and to educate the public about our cause and the reform," Chow said. Wong's Scholarism, meanwhile, has held discussions with the crowd in Admiralty for the past three nights.
The students propose that either one or five lawmakers resign to trigger a by-election or by-elections, with the main campaign theme whether the government should restart public consultation on electoral reform.
There are two ways to trigger a city-wide vote. Under the first, five legislators, one from each geographical constituency, would resign. Under the second, one of the five lawmakers holding a "super seat", for whom 3.2 million voters would be eligible to vote, would stand down.
Some legislators share the students' vision, such as Labour Party chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, who said he "tended to support" triggering a de facto referendum.
"I agree it would be a valuable opportunity for us and students to work closely together," he said. "The students have told us they would be willing to woo voters."
But Lee said he and some colleagues were also struggling to answer a question: what if the voting results are not favourable?
"We should be bound by the results if we say it is a referendum. But if the turnout is low, should we accept the reform framework laid down by Beijing?"
Even if politicians are ready to be bound by the results, most worry about the risks of them being absent from the chamber, especially if five resign.
Lawmaker Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said if five pan-democrats resigned, the pro-establishment camp would use the opportunity to pass motions to avoid filibustering. At present, pan-democrats hold a bare majority in the geographical constituencies necessary to block such proposals.
Noting such risks, pan-democrats have focused on the second option for triggering a vote. But the Democratic Party, which holds two "super seats" and has been identified as the target, is negative about taking this route.
Democrat Sin Chung-kai said there was no certainty of pan-democrats winning back a "super seat", partly because supporters in functional constituencies such as those for education, legal and health services would not be eligible to vote.
Sin said that while pan-democrats won three of the five new "super seats" in the 2012 election, they only won narrowly. They gained about 800,000 votes, while three slates fielded by pro-establishment groups and independent Pamela Peck Wan-kam took 780,000 votes. Another 80,000 votes were invalid.
Sin is unsure how those whose votes were invalid would vote in a by-election.
The ultimate issue for the pan-democrats, said Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung, is to decide whether they want to be bound by the results of the vote.
"You can always say grand things on how to carry on a social movement. But if you don't respect the voting results, you will only lose the public's faith."
Former governor Chris Patten said he hoped the Hong Kong government could be more flexible and try to reach a deal with the protesters. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Former governor Chris Patten told a parliamentary inquiry into Hong Kong's political development yesterday that the British government had not done a good enough job in introducing democracy to the city before the handover.
But he argued that in the 1990s, the general feeling in Hong Kong was that the city would move steadily towards full democracy and that no one would "feel that the People's Liberation Army would come with tanks into Hong Kong".
Patten was giving evidence at a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which launched the inquiry to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that set out the terms of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty.
"Our introduction of democracy, if I could put it politely, is not a good one," Patten said. But he was satisfied that the Joint Declaration was the best deal that London could have made with China.
On Occupy Central, Patten said he hoped the Hong Kong government could be more flexible and try to reach a deal with the protesters. "What is happening in Hong Kong is that there is an extraordinary lack of leadership. [The government] needs to get into serious negotiation with the protesters."
Yesterday's session followed one in July, when former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and veteran Democrat Martin Lee Chu-ming were invited to testify during their visit to London. At that time, the pair said that if Hong Kong was not granted universal suffrage there would be a real danger it could become ungovernable, which would be a shameful outcome for both Britain and China.
Political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu said democracy activists should not take the committee's inquiry too seriously. "It is just a show," Lau said. "I would be surprised if any foreign country - be it the US or Britain - confronted China over Hong Kong issues at the expense of its own national interest."
An elderly anti-Occupy protester (right) faces off with an pro-democracy protester in Mong Kok. Photo: EPA
A generation gap and different expectations about how the occupation campaign should evolve have pulled student leaders and Occupy Central organisers apart. It has left students - the only group now leading the civil disobedience movement - unwilling to compromise.
Occupy Central co-founder Dr Chan Kin-man, who returned to his job at Chinese University last week, said he and fellow organisers considered an incremental and pragmatic approach in the fight for "genuine universal suffrage" acceptable as they were aware of political constraints.
"We believe the campaign has achieved our original goal of awakening the young generation. But students want to see real and fundamental changes in our political system, instead of a public education campaign," he said.
In talks on October 21, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told leaders of the Federation of Students that the government would submit a report to the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to reflect public sentiment since the protests began on September 28.
The government would also consider setting up a platform for dialogue on constitutional development beyond 2017. But the proposals failed to satisfy student leaders, who insisted that Beijing retract its decision to place tight restrictions on Hong Kong's electoral methods.
"We told student leaders to take the government's proposals more seriously as they are more concrete than what officials offered previously," Chan said.
Chan Kin-man (right) and Benny Tai (centre) with Alex Chow and Lester Shum of the Federation of Students and Joshua Wong (second right) of Scholarism. Photo: Dickson Lee
The Federation of Students has indicated little interest in further dialogue, and the feeling is mutual on the government side.
Since early last month, Occupy leaders have been suggesting that students consider withdrawing as they note a growing backlash from people affected by the occupation of streets.
According to a survey by Polytechnic University's centre for social policy studies, 73.2 per cent of 554 respondents felt now was the right time to stop the protests.
"A civil disobedience movement would risk losing public sympathy if it lasts too long. The backlash against the disruption to people's lives is growing as the government adopts a wait-and-see strategy," Chan said.
The federation believes it would be wrong to withdraw before the government makes any concession. But with the occupation in its sixth week, Chan said students should reconsider.
"If no compromise can be made between the students and government, we should work out some action plans for occupiers to help the spirit of democracy take root in different communities and not just focusing on the occupation per se," he said.
The protests have veered dramatically from the script prepared by Occupy's co-founders.
Chan, 55, admitted the original leadership now had only "slight" control of the movement. He said there was a generation gap between Occupy leaders and student leaders.
"Sometimes we don't know if we are helping students or getting in their way. But we are always ready to help students whenever necessary," he said.
Fellow Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who raised the idea of the civil disobedience movement in January last year, is 50. Another co-founder, Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, is 70.
Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political scientist at Chinese University, said Occupy leaders and pan-democratic lawmakers were more pragmatic because of their memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
He said student leaders had become overconfident, asking for more concessions after their dialogue with top officials.
" "The students' intransigent stance has dealt a serious blow to doves within the Hong Kong government," Choy said. "If the hawks within the government who prefer tough action to clear protest sites gain the upper hand, Hong Kong society will face retrogression for a long time."
The protesters are mostly young, idealistic, intelligent and willing to sacrifice for a cause they believe in. They love Hong Kong as their home. Photo: AFP
A reporter for Radio Sweden recently flew in to report on the "umbrella movement". She said the movement is like a breath of fresh air to many in Europe, where people feel depressed because of failures in government, the economy, education and uprisings in Europe and the Middle East. They are hopeful that Hong Kong, with its "can do" spirit and pragmatism, will show the way in rising above the conflict to arrive at a positive outcome.
The umbrella movement has indeed struck a chord in the hearts of many in and outside Hong Kong, in its striving for a better society that is more honest, fair and kind. However, while such a purpose is highly laudable, the means employed to bring it about have so far been controversial, and threaten to shake the foundations of society.
The protesters are mostly young, idealistic, intelligent and, what's more, willing to serve and sacrifice for a cause they believe in. They love Hong Kong as their home. These are citizens we can be proud of. The only issue is how to harness that energy towards constructing a better future for Hong Kong.
It is time for the government to stop viewing the umbrella protesters as its opponents, but to see them as the city's valuable future assets.
It has been said that to tame a wild horse, there are many things that one can do, including harsh treatment, soft treatment and letting it exhaust itself, but there are two things one must never do. First, never let go of the reins, or the horse will control the rider. Second, never break the horse's spirit, otherwise, you may end up with a tamed horse that will never gallop with the vigour and speed of its full potential.
It would be a mistake for the government to drag out the impasse. Prolonging the stand-off will heighten contradictions within the community, deepen distrust of the authorities, breed cynicism about life, and engender a sense of helplessness antithetical to our "can do" spirit.
Police eviction would be an even bigger mistake, as it would arouse even stronger negative sentiments.
In either case, Hong Kong stands to lose a generation of promising young people, by turning their spring of hope into a winter of despair. The way out is through rapprochement.
The government needs to keep hold of the reins and provide leadership for Hong Kong, instead of relying on the protesters to come up with one list after another of multiple demands. It should seek ways to arrive at a settlement with the protesters. To do this, there must be a willingness to engage, discuss, make compromises and find creative options.
Also, channels should be set up to tap into the talents of our youth, and to address their concerns, both social and political. There is a general feeling among the youth in this movement that no adult can claim to represent them, as their plight is ill understood.
Hong Kong needs creative ideas on many matters. If we can channel the fresh outlook of youth to mould our future, then we will reap the benefit of the umbrella movement, instead of just working on snuffing it out.
Options range from forming a youth forum for regular discussions, holding youth camps, appointing a youth minister, to establishing a youth seat in the Legislative Council. The important thing is to engage and discuss, and not stand aloof.
The impasse can be broken with more flexibility from each party. We look to the government to courageously take the initiative to forge a consensus and unity across the community.
Stephanie Cheung participated in the student movements in the 1970s, and is currently a solicitor and mediator, and volunteer in youth work and education
