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Hong Kong democracy in balance as Occupy Movement nears end
Which path will Hong Kong go down? Liberal democracy seemed possible in 1997 but the Occupy movement has tilted the pendulum towards populism
Richard Wong
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong shout at speakers on stage as the city ponders the fate of democracy in one of Asia's premier financial centres. Photo: Reuters
It may be too early to predict political life after the Occupy movement ends. Commentators have mentioned further political tightening by Beijing, urgent attempts to address society’s deep contradictions, political gridlock, and further polarization of the community that could lead to a rise in populism.
These are salient concerns. The future of democracy in our city may well hang in the balance, but will it follow the path of a liberal democracy or a populist democracy?
These two approaches provide different interpretations of the purpose and consequence of voting and elections.
The starting point for liberal democracy is “negative” liberty, which means the absence of coercion or interference by others, especially government, in one’s activities.
The liberal fear is that the government can easily deploy force against citizens to make them support unpopular policies. The liberal hope is that officials will be restrained from such behaviour out of fear of losing the next election. The defense of liberty lies in the discipline of elections.
Liberal democracy requires, firstly, a popular vote to ensure participation and equality and secondly, an election with limited tenure. It makes no claims about the quality of the candidates. The function of voting is to control officials, and no more.
A major challenge for liberal democracy is how to blunt majority rule so as to protect individual liberty and minority interests. The solution is to surround voting and elections with numerous restricting institutions, such as independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and election rules, to curb government powers.
Populist democracy, on the other hand, embraces “positive” liberty, which is the exercise of control over one’s life and destiny. A society is considered free when all its members play an active role in controlling its life and destiny through participation in democratic processes.
Populist democracy presumes every citizen shares a common view of the good and the right thing to do, and that there are no irresolvable personal concerns. The “general will” of society is discovered by consulting citizens and tallying their common interests.
The referendum is the ultimate instrument for discovering the “general will”. The Occupy movement made extensive use of public consultations and an unofficial referendum to reveal the public’s will.
The populist ideal requires elected governments to move swiftly to embody in law the winning election platform. Constitutional constraints and due processes, as seen in liberal democracy, are deemed intolerable because they retard the popular mandate.
But with the constraints removed, it becomes easy to change electoral arrangements. For this reason, populist democracies may revert to autocracies. Fascist Germany is an example.
Liberal and populist democracies also treat government output differently. The populist sees it as an expression of the general will, the liberal sees it as no more than the decree of legislators or judges, accepted by citizens.
Liberal democracy is non-judgmental and respects the plurality of individual values and desires. The only purpose for which state power can be rightfully exercised over an individual is to prevent harm to others.
However, it does have a psychological weakness. Since negative liberty is about not having constraints, individuals can increase their freedom by relinquishing desires that are likely to be frustrated, and cease to aspire to higher goals. For example, slaves who are treated well may cease to wish to be free.
Proponents of populist democracy, on the other hand, say you cannot increase your freedom just by shrinking your desires. Freedom involves being your own master, rather than letting someone or something else control you.
Many of these ideas were delineated by Isaiah Berlin, who worried the ideal of positive liberty might impel revolutionary movements to become totalitarian because they are only willing to tolerate their own conception of what is good and right. By contrast, negative liberty sits comfortably with pluralistic values.
Which path will Hong Kong go down? Liberal democracy seemed possible in 1997 but the Occupy movement has tilted the pendulum towards populism.
The road to democracy is likely to be gradual and hesitant, vacillating between these two ideals. But the vast diversity of values and interests among Hong Kong people can only be accommodated by a liberal system.
Still, populism will have its appeal in a society divided between haves and have-nots, where dreams and destinies are at loggerheads and the people desperately want to hear an uplifting narrative to lift them above the political mess and life’s banalities.
Richard Wong Yue-chim is Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy at the University of Hong Kong
Police fire at protesters with tear spray. Photo: Sam Tsang
At least 80 protesters were detained yesterday amid clashes with police during the first round of court-ordered clearance operations in the Mong Kok protest zone.
Police used pepper spray in a vain bid to clear Occupy protesters after opening part of Argyle Street and last night were locked in a tense confrontation with a crowd in nearby Nathan Road.
Police said they would begin clearing the section of Nathan Road that is between Argyle Street and Dundas Street today.
Protesters attempt to block Ferry Street. Photo: Danny Mok
On the 59th day of the occupation, yesterday's removal of barricades from Argyle Street in enforcement of an injunction had been expected to go smoothly. But displaced protesters quickly moved to Portland Street and the one-way street, where barricades were cleared last month, was once again blocked.
By nightfall, protesters had been pushed back to Nathan Road at the junction of Portland and Changsha streets.
"I was outraged. I was on the footpath, with my feet not touching the road," said student Alfred Wong, 18, who was pepper-sprayed.
Several journalists, including South China Morning Post photographer Sam Tsang Kwok-chung, claimed to have been pepper-sprayed by police while covering the day's incidents.
Police Public Relations Branch Senior Superintendent Kong Man-keung said bailiffs had given repeated warnings "but interference was caused by those at the scene".
He said bailiffs, in line with the injunction order, asked police for help and when warnings by officers were also ignored, they carried out "dispersion measures".
About 7,000 police officers, split into two shifts, were sent to assist in the operation yesterday.
Bailiffs took more than five hours to clear some of the barricades listed in the court injunction, opening up at least one lane of traffic on Argyle Street.
But the scene became chaotic after officers tried to disperse protesters on an Argyle Street footpath outside the Langham Place shopping mall by pushing them into a narrow pavement on Portland Street and then trying to persuade them to leave.
A protester raises an umbrella at the junction of Shangtung Street and Portland Street, behind a new line of makeshift barricades against a police line. Photo: Danny Mok
Clashes later broke out as hundreds of protesters faced off with baton and shield-wielding police on Portland Street. Police raised red warning flags and later fired pepper spray. Three officers were injured during the clashes.
Some protesters criticised police for a lack of organisation. "It's not part of the area in the injunction," 23-year-old audio technician Timmy Wong said of Portland Street.
Police said that as of 8pm, 80 people had been arrested, among them a Now TV engineer who allegedly assaulted an officer. Police had earlier said that six females and 17 males, including League of Social Democrats lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, were arrested for suspected contempt of court. Nine males were arrested for allegedly assaulting police and obstructing a public officer in the execution of duties.
A minibus drivers' group obtained the court injunction to remove road barricades on a small section of Argyle Street. The cleared section accounted for only a small portion of the occupied area, but is a crucial intersection.
Another injunction has been granted to a taxi drivers' association for clearing the much longer Nathan Road.
Pro-democracy protesters sleep at protest site in Mongkok. Photo: Felix Wong
Argyle Street businesses yesterday welcomed the reopening of the road that had been blocked for nearly two months but some were worried that trade would not improve in the short term.
They spoke as a group of residents published a survey indicating that about three-quarters of 160 small businesses in Mong Kok had lower turnover last month compared to the same period a year ago - and about 90 per cent said Occupy was to blame.
Ms Lo, a supervisor of the Green River restaurant, said takings had been down some HK$20,000 a day since the Occupy movement began. "If the traffic is inconvenient, people will not come ... I am very happy about the reopening of the road," she said.
But a staff member at a nearby dispensary was not so optimistic. "I don't think there will be much change in the short term ... I just hope in the long run business will be better than now," the employee, giving his name only as Ng, said.
His remarks matched the findings of the survey by residents who published their report on Facebook. The group said they interviewed proprietors of 160 small shops on streetfronts or in shopping malls in Mong Kok. About 40 per cent were restaurants, boutiques, cosmetics or mobile phone sellers. Most did not have a branch elsewhere.
Seventy-six per cent said business last month was worse than a year ago, and among those facing decreased turnover, a third said business dropped by more than 40 per cent. Almost 90 per cent said the Occupy protest was to blame as "customers were worried about [the lack of] public order, personal safety issues … and traffic congestion".
On why business turned bad last month, the surveyed shopkeepers were allowed to pick more than one answer from five options. Apart from the Occupy protests, 44 per cent of the surveyed shopkeepers said "customers were less eager to buy".
On their expectations, 54 per cent said they believed business this month would be worse than a year ago, 31 per cent said it would be more or less the same while only 11 per cent believed it would be better.
Citing their finding that 83 per cent of the shopkeepers wanted Occupy to end "immediately", the group said the survey results reflected fundamental differences among different generations and sectors in society.
"The viewpoint that 'fighting for democracy shouldn't [mean] hindrance for other people' is closely related to the question of 'how far are you willing to go to fight for democracy'," the report says. "And as long as the majority of people don't have a consensus on this question, we can expect Hong Kong's democratic movement to be full of tension in the future."
A protester is carried away by police in Mong Kok. Photo: Dickson Lee
As one road opened in Mong Kok yesterday another closed, with protesters declaring they would not give up until there was a political solution to their grievances.
After more than 50 days encamped in Mong Kok, they were not about to give up so easily.
"It's impossible to get everyone to leave," occupier Zero Lam Tat-wing said as police and bailiffs moved in.
"They need to solve what is a political problem using political means, not through the courts," he said, referring to injunctions obtained by transport operators that were enforced yesterday.
After clearing one lane of Argyle Street, police were left in a tense stand-off last night with demonstrators who had closed off Portland Street.
"With Argyle lost, we will simply just occupy another intersection which does not fall under the court injunction. Either way, it will be illegal and we recognise this," protester Kolson Ko said. "The whole point is to block traffic and we need to find another bargaining chip."
The action began at 9.20am when Maggie Chan Man-ki, legal counsel for Chiu Luen Public Light Bus Company, which obtained the injunction to clear the street, showed up to read out the court order urging protesters to leave immediately with their belongings.
An hour later the court bailiff removal team started dismantling the road barricades one by one, starting with those at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street.
The removal was completed in less than an hour, with minimal resistance from protesters, and partial traffic began to flow.
As Chan and the bailiffs entered the Occupy zone to clear out tents, they were surrounded by hordes of journalists and protesters.
Officers use pepper spray on the crowd. Photo: Sam Tsang
The operation was slowed as they were faced down by protesters who demanded they be allowed to personally remove some of the barricades. Some Occupy supporters also loudly complained that the injunction was "not clear enough".
After negotiations between student activists and the removal team, the demonstrators were given 30 minutes to do the job.
"Occupiers should pack up and leave now. Otherwise, [their belongings] will be dealt with as disposed items and rubbish," Chan said. She warned protesters not to interfere with bailiffs' actions or police might step in. Protesters would face contempt of court charges, she added.
In response, protesters in masks and helmets shouted: "We want real suffrage." Some also held up three fingers - a reference to the sci-fi film The Hunger Games, in which fictional denizens rise up against an authoritarian regime.
When police reinforcements arrived they issued warnings to protesters demanding that they obey the injunction and leave or face arrest for contempt of court.
"Police should explain when it's right to intervene," argued the Federation of Students' Yvonne Leung Lai-kwok, adding the court document required police to disclose when and if their assistance had been requested by the bailiffs. "Protesters have the right to know," she added.
Chaos ensued as protesters regrouped on Portland Street, just outside the Langham Place mall, where the new stand-off went on into the night.
Jasper Tsang has shown an understanding of the concerns and demands of both Hong Kong and the mainland. Photo: Sam Tsang
The Occupy movement has been dragging on for over 50 days now and many are watching anxiously to see when and how it will end, and how our society, now so divided, can heal, as well as how we can move forward on political reform.
To break the deadlock, we need renewed efforts by different camps and different sectors. Two political figures have stood out in the recent chaos for their ability to think beyond the boundaries of the camp to which they belong, and remain sensible.
The first is president of the Legislative Council, Jasper Tsang Yok-sing. After the attempted storming of the Legco building, Tsang said that he believed the attack was led by a group of people different from the Occupy protesters, even as pro-establishment legislators were linking the attack to the movement.
When he was interviewed recently by The New York Times, Tsang provided a balanced analysis of the current political scene, how the relations between the mainland and Hong Kong have changed since the return of sovereignty, and what may happen if there is no universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017.
In all this, he showed an understanding of the concerns and demands of both Hong Kong and the mainland. When commenting on the Occupy movement, he did not speak ill of the participants or resort to stereotypes, such as by repeating the claims that the students were "being manipulated".
The other standout is Ronny Tong Ka-wah. Unlike those who have twisted some concepts to justify the defiance of court injunctions, he has pointed out the dangers in doing so, and has placed the emphasis on the rule of law.
Before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress laid down the framework for the 2017 chief executive election, Tong had put forward proposals that did not focus on the single element of public nomination, with a view to finding a middle ground.
Confrontation and antagonism will lead us nowhere. If Hong Kong does not achieve universal suffrage in 2017, the effectiveness of governance will of course suffer, and so will the whole of society, as no place can thrive with ineffective governance and without good leadership.
READ MORE: To view all the latest Occupy Central stories click here
In addition, society will suffer long-term damage from having two or more camps not only holding different political views but also bearing grudges against one another.
In 2012, we were able to broaden the electoral base of the functional constituencies and therefore have a more representative Legco because the Democratic Party, with strong support from the late Szeto Wah, was able to withstand pressure from others who disapproved of the government's reform proposal to ensure its passage.
For Hong Kong to emerge stronger and better following the Occupy movement, we need leaders who are liberal-minded, willing to listen to others with different views, who have the courage to stand up against pressure and are willing to give and take.
The government should work with people like Tsang and Tong, and utilise the principled idealism of the late Szeto Wah to encourage these people to speak up more.
Susan Chan is secretary general of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong
Police officers scuffle with protesters in Mong Kok in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: AP
Angry stand-offs at the Occupy Mong Kok protest site in Kowloon lasted until the early morning of Wednesday amid attempts by police to return occupied streets to traffic and protesters’ growing frustration with a court-ordered clearance operation.
Scuffles on Reclamation Street, Dundas Street, Shantung Street led to the arrest of 86 people, mostly men, for offences including unlawful assembly, assaulting police and obstructing police officers, police said.
Police said they arrested one man in possession of an axe, an iron hammer and a crowbar.
An unknown number of protesters and police officers were injured in the scuffles.
Demonstrators said they would not give in to court orders and police warnings and end their now 60 days-long protest for democratic reform in Hong Kong.
Programmer Paul Lee, 29, was one of many driven by police from his original protest base near Argyle Street to the intersection of Reclamation Street and Soy Street.
"Of course the occupation has to be continued,” he said. “This is definitely not a time to retreat as none of our goals has been achieved yet."
Shortly after 9pm on Tuesday, protesters occupied the junction of Reclamation and Soy Street, bringing traffic to a standstill there. Commuters stuck on blocked buses, minibuses and cabs had to find other means of transport.
In an effort to the reopen the junction to traffic, police pushed some of the protesters against walls and pinned them to the ground before leading those arrested away from the intersection, further infuriating an already angry crowd.
At 10.45pm, scores of protesters attempted to block a lane of Ferry Street near Soy Street with roadside construction material, but were dispersed minutes later by police.
Scuffles at the junction of Shantung Street and Nathan Road were frequent. Police baton-charged the crowd and pepper-sprayed protesters after they tried to break through a police cordon there.
Protesters, geared with helmets, protective goggles, improvised shields and cushions, set up a new barricade there.
The nightly confrontation ended after a last stand-off at the intersection of Nathan Road and Shantung Street around 3.15am on Wednesday.
Protesters then returned to Nathan Road, where around 7am a group of about one hundred awaited court bailiffs, who were expected to execute a court order to clear barricades.
Many protesters said they would not give up their struggle for democracy, but said they would respect the court's order.
Nathan Road on Wednesday morning. Photo: Ernest Kao
"I will continue to be here as long as other people are here," said Philip Yung, 18, a Chinese University student who spent the night "protecting Shantung Street".
"Most will respect the bailiffs actions and leave, but they will just go somewhere else not listed in the injunction orders."
Yung said police had not used minimum force in the night to Wednesday. He said many of his friends had been beaten and injured.
Echo Lee, 26, said she would also stay until bailiffs instruct her to leave Nathan Road.
"Where will go next depends on consensus," she said. "I will see what grounds we have to occupy it and what groups are leading the move before making a decision."
"Just because we lose [Nathan Road] doesn't mean the end of the entire movement."
Nathan Road on Wednesday morning. Photo: Silvio Carrillo
A protester in Admiralty checks his laptop last month. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong residents who primarily find their news online and regularly comment on the internet are far more likely to support the city’s ongoing pro-democracy protests, a new survey has found.
Nearly 75 per cent of respondents who regularly comment online support the campaign, known as the “umbrella movement”, while more than half of those who primarily read their news online are supporters.
The protests, now in their ninth week, were organised by Occupy Central and student groups and have been led by students.
Of more than a thousand people surveyed by the University of Hong Kong’s public opinion programme, 55 per cent said that they often read news online. That proportion grew to 95 per cent among respondents aged between 18 and 29.
The survey was commissioned by the Institute of Education. Isabella Ng Fung-sheung of the institute thinks there is a direct link between online activities and political activism.
“For instance, some of the Occupy protesters are organised by Hong Kong Golden, an online forum,” Ng said.
Almost half of all respondents, irrespective of where they get their news from, said they do not have faith in the Hong Kong government. Just under 26 per cent said they trust the government.
Overall, nearly 48 per cent of respondents said they are against the umbrella movement, while just over 36 per cent are supporters.
Television and radio remain the major news sources, with more than three in four respondents saying they regularly watch or listen to TV or radio news.
Ng said it would be “detrimental” for such TV and radio news to be censored. “We have to make sure we still have freedom of speech given most people still get news from TV and radio,” Ng said.
READ MORE: To view all the latest Occupy Central stories click here
A survey by the Journalist Association last year found that public trust in some traditional news sources was on the wane.
The institute’s survey, released on Wednesday, also found that Hongkongers are unlikely to let politics come between them. Nearly 65 per cent of respondents said they would not be alienated from friends with different political views.
“Hong Kong people are still rational and tolerant of different opinions,” says Dr Alex Chan Lih-shing of the institute, who led the survey.
The survey was conducted between October 23 and November 6.
Victor Fung and Allan Zeman both spoke at the summit on the future of Hong Kong. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
While young people remain in pro-democracy protest camps on the streets of Hong Kong, several prominent businessmen say the solution to their grievances is to build affordable housing in country parks.
If people had greater prospects of owning a home, the city could become more like the mainland - "where young people are very happy and their lives are getting better", a business summit heard yesterday.
Land pricing must be reformed to make property affordable for young people, said Vincent Lo Hong-sui, chairman of Shui On Land, a Hong Kong-listed property developer. "We have to give hope to young people that they will be able to have a decent place. Otherwise, why do they want to stay here?"
Part of Hong Kong's country parks should be released to develop affordable housing, Lo said at the annual business summit of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
"If you have no house, it is no use having nice country parks. Land supply is the biggest issue. If we have more land supply, property prices won't rise the way they have done.
"Singapore has visionary leaders. We should learn from Singapore in providing public housing. The problem facing Hong Kong is high property costs. I'm a beneficiary of that," Lo added jokingly.
Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, said about 3-5 per cent - "a small fraction" - of country parks should be converted to affordable housing.
Hong Kong had room to release more land for housing, since it uses 17 per cent of its developable land for housing - less than Singapore's proportion of 34 per cent, said Dr Victor Fung Kwok-king, chairman of the Fung Group, a leading Hong Kong supply chain and trading conglomerate.
Both Zeman and Lo urged the protesters to withdraw from the streets in order to respect the rule of law.
"Young people have made their feelings known. We have to see how we can help young people. Disobeying the law, where I come from, it doesn't work," said Zeman, who is originally from Canada.
Zeman urged pan-democrat lawmakers to allow passage of an electoral reform package that complies with the strict framework laid down by Beijing, because it was important for Hong Kong to have some form of universal suffrage in 2017.
"It's important we don't miss 2017," the entertainment entrepreneur said. "Young people [in Hong Kong] don't see hope for their future. In China, there is an economic miracle. The young people are very happy and their lives are getting better.
After 2017, the electoral system should be reformed to allow a broader range of chief executive candidates in elections, Zeman suggested.
* A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Allan Zeman said 20 per cent of country park land should be developed. The figure has been amended to 3-5 per cent.
'Democracy or nothing' is no choice for a better Hong Kong
Franklin Koo says the debate on what Hong Kong needs for a better future has been too narrowly framed from the start. Pro-democracy activists should rethink their method for success
Students are led to believe there is only one formula to a better future for Hong Kong, but there is no evidence to prove that the formula is sound.
When we were young, we were often taught to solve problems with only one clear and correct answer. There was a reason for that; it was much more efficient, easier to grade, and the solution safeguards against any evaluator harbouring prejudices or subjective views. For instance, we were often given multiple-choice questions.
However, while this method is a cost-efficient way of testing, real-life problems are never solved in such a fashion. The methodology is too simple to account for other important factors and, in many ways, it hinders our ability to make objective and informed judgments.
Consider this question: Please choose one of the following that may lead to a positive future for Hong Kong: A. Fascism; B. Anarchy; C. Democracy.
The majority are likely to choose C, simply because the other alternatives are not desirable for a positive future. However, the framing of the issue has already limited the scope and complexity of other pressing issues. This is a common conceptual problem, leading us to believe that C is the only correct solution for a positive future. But is democracy really what the doctor ordered to cure ailing Hong Kong?
The definition of a "positive future" is different for everyone. A utilitarian would favour happiness; an economist, wealth; a youth may look for steady employment opportunities and affordable living; and, an elderly person, health care, clean air and free space.
Democracy itself is just as unclear. There are pros and cons to it, just like any other form of government. Ironically, even with democracy in 2017, there is currently no leader or candidate in Hong Kong that could win the popular vote. One thing is for sure, universal suffrage does not guarantee a positive future; no democratic country has reached utopia - not even close.
With that in mind, consider the basic underlying argument of the Occupy Central movement based on the following formula: Democracy = A Positive Future for Hong Kong. This is the foundation of the protests and the essence of what demonstrators are fighting for. However, democracy cannot be switched on with a simple push of a button, so supporters believe civil disobedience is required, so this formula has evolved into: Democracy + Civil Disobedience = A Positive Future for Hong Kong.
Students are led to believe this is the one and only formula, but there is no evidence to prove that the formula is sound. Also, democracy is also often equated with words such as liberty and freedom, but this concept is not without its critics. As a quote widely circulated on the internet says: "Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99 per cent vote." After over a month of occupation, it appears that the formula lacks its most important element - the essential conclusion for Hong Kong's future, as the leaders are becoming increasingly unsure as to where the protests will lead. The Occupy movement is still going on because the students sincerely believe democracy and civil disobedience are required to secure Hong Kong's future.
Who can blame them when our school system is notorious for its emphasis on a single correct answer and rote learning? Hence, when faced with the limited political options available, democracy becomes a desirable fall-back choice. But, given the current circumstances and Hong Kong's unique relationship with mainland China, can democracy realistically guarantee Hong Kong a positive future and solve its many political and social problems? Or is democracy the simple answer to choose, one that avoids the difficult task of addressing each problem individually?
Let's consider other possibilities. Indeed, we could substitute many other variables for "Democracy + Civil Disobedience" - within the confines of the Basic Law - just as there are infinite possibilities for, say, X+Y=10. Democracy + Civil Disobedience was never the formula for success before 1997, and Hong Kong did just fine. Singapore is also doing fine under an "authoritarian democracy", which suggests that any formula will evolve and change to meet the current environment.
If anything, there is probably only one constant in the development of Hong Kong, and that is the rule of law. So we could say that: Rule of Law + X + Y = A Positive Future for Hong Kong. This is why any injunctions and laws ought to be obeyed, because this is the basic foundation on which our livelihoods are governed.
With each day of the prolonged occupation, the rule of law is being eroded, risking Hong Kong's one constant and consistent factor in its rise from a fishing village to an international economic hub. Based on the above formula, this is one variable Hong Kong cannot erode, as any degradation in the rule of law would also degrade the positive future.
Hong Kong is at an important juncture. The government, the protesters and other residents will need to think deeper and identify the real causes of frustration, since there is no one "be all and end all" formula. Whatever the future holds for Hong Kong, solving its problems will not be as easy as answering a multiple-choice question. Reality does not offer the opportunity to simply guess the correct answer if you don't know the answer. The risk of being incorrect is too great, and our rule of law too important to risk.
There is no certain formula that can ensure our future, so it is time to end the civil disobedience and mend the divide, protect our rule of law, and move forward as a society to find all the "Xs" and "Ys" necessary to secure Hong Kong's future.
Franklin Koo is an accredited mediator and author of Power to the People: Extending the Jury to the Hong Kong District Court. [email protected]
Police force arrests seven of its own over alleged beating of Occupy activist Ken Tsang
Seven police officers who were allegedly caught on camera beating Occupy activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu arrested on charges of assault
Ken Tsang Kin-chiu speaks to the press outside the police headquarters in Wan Chai. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Seven suspended policemen alleged to have beaten Civic Party activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu during violent clashes with protesters in Admiralty last month have been arrested.
The arrests, on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm, came a month-and-a-half after the alleged attack on Tsang, a member of the Election Committee that chose Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in 2012. But police last night denied there had been any attempt to delay the case.
Police also said that Tsang had failed to appear in an identification parade scheduled for yesterday and urged him to cooperate.
Tsang said he did not show up because the arrangements were "unusual" and involved "unresolved" legal issues. He and his lawyer Tanya Chan refused to elaborate on what these issues were.
Members of Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union, protest against the police in Wan Chai in October, 2014. Photo: Nora Tam
"At the moment I still [cannot] say I am happy or [feel] safe … but we are willing to do anything to actively cooperate with the police's investigation," Tsang said. He complained about the time it had taken to make the arrests, adding that neither he nor his legal team had been officially informed.
Police said the investigation by the Complaints Against Police Office, with a view to finding if any criminality was involved, was in progress and advice would be sought from the Department of Justice when it was finished.
A spokesman last night could not say whether the seven had been detained or bailed.
A group of officers was shown on television apparently kicking and punching Tsang after his arrest on October 15 during the violent clashes on Lung Wo Road in Admiralty during which the thoroughfare was briefly occupied.
The force also responded sharply to calls from activists to overwhelm them with a spate of individual complaints about the Tsang case.
The force described such actions as "inconsiderate and selfish" saying they would affect normal service to the public.
The seven police officers have been released on bail. They are due to report back in mid-December.
Legal-sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok said police had failed to comply with the court's instruction. Photo: Dickson Lee
Lawyers and demonstrators lambasted the police's clearance of the Mong Kok protest site - an exercise in which at least 148 people were arrested in what pan-democrats called questionable circumstances.
Police also raised legal eyebrows when they arrested three volunteers carrying materials from Mong Kok to the Admiralty sit-in zone on suspicion of theft.
In Mong Kok, officers cleared road blocks located outside the area stipulated by the injunction.
The swift intervention by police in Mong Kok, just five minutes after the bailiffs started their work, stirred the emotions of protesters, who said the minibus drivers' association that launched the injunction had reneged on a promise to remove objects rather than people.
More surprising to the protesters was the presence of about 100 "helpers", said to be authorised by the association.
Student Wil Mak said the rule of law had been trampled on.
"If [police] want to clear us, they could announce we're [breaking the law] and make arrests. There is no need to use the injunction order to hide their intention," he said.
The Federation of Students said the action showed that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's administration "attempted to borrow the name of the injunction to carry out what is in effect a clearance".
Legal-sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok said police had failed to comply with the court's instruction. "I think the police action has not followed the procedures ... to explain the gist of the injunction order to the people at the scene, before they start the arrests."
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said police were entitled to carry out their duties in accordance with other ordinances aside from those stipulated in the High Court.
"If there is any person who takes the view that the bailiffs are not performing their duty properly, I am sure they can take the matter to the appropriate venue," Yuen said.
He added that the plaintiff of the injunction could authorise people to help clear the site.
Seventeen people arrested during the police clearance on Tuesday night and during the early hours yesterday appeared in Kowloon City Court. Two men - a student, 19, and an unemployed 20-year-old - were charged with assaulting a police officer. The others, aged 19 to 69, were charged with obstructing public officers. All were granted bail of HK$100 to HK$500 on condition they would not enter an area enclosed by Dundas Street, Shanghai Street, Mong Kok Road and Fa Yuen Street before they return to court on January 14.
Occupy co-organiser Benny Tai Yiu-ting avoided a small-claims action as the plaintiff, Kwun Tong district councillor Marco Ma Yat-chiu, wrongly stated his tour bus company name in a claim of HK$450 lost business.
Mapping Hong Kong's future beyond Occupy Central
The sit-ins have to end sooner or later and protest organisers are starting to think about how to keep the spirit of the movement alive
Police remove barricades along Nathan Road in Mong Kok, one of three sites that have been occupied for two months. Photo: Sam Tsang
Sixty days into the unprecedented pro-democracy sit-ins, the government's intransigence and the protesters' persistence have led to a stalemate.
As the sit-ins drag on with several surveys suggesting public support for the movement is waning, Occupy Central's co-founders are planning to surrender to police next Friday. Dr Chan Kin-man, the Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and Benny Tai Yiu-ting hope their arrests will answer critics who say the protesters' defiance of injunctions in Admiralty and Mong Kok have eroded the rule of law and signal to those still occupying the demonstration sites that it is time to go home.
They also hope, as Chan says, to "search for ways to keep the spirit of the movement alive" at a time when it has splintered into factions, with Chu saying "the unhealthiest phenomenon" of creating fake enemies has emerged in the pro-democracy fight.
Pressure has mounted on the sit-in organisers since courts cleared the way for bailiffs and police to dismantle some of the protest areas in Admiralty and Mong Kok, and the Bar Association warning that Occupy protesters' defiance of injunctions to clear the streets posed a threat to the rule of law.
The number of occupiers - and their morale - has been falling as Beijing remains unwilling to bend to their core demand - that the public be given a voice in deciding who will be the candidates in the 2017 chief executive election.
Sies Chan Kwan-yin, an occupier in Admiralty, said he would answer the calls of the movement's founders to retreat after they have turned themselves in to the police.
"I am a supporter of Tai's campaign; that is the reason why I came forward in the first place," said Chan, who has been camping at the site for almost two months. "I agree with him that the movement has to end one day, and this is the right time."
But another occupier, Yves Leung, said she would stay put. "The government has not answered our demands and shows no intention of negotiating with the student activists at all. We have to stay to put pressure on the authorities. If we leave now, the whole purpose of the movement would be gone," she said.
Her attitude is matched by that of the student leaders, who say it is "unjustifiable" to retreat as the protests have yet to achieve anything concrete.
The two-month-long occupation may have attracted the world's attention but it has yielded only minor concessions: a government report to Beijing that will reflect the public's sentiments and a platform that would be set up to gauge views on further constitutional changes beyond 2017.
Occupy Central co-founders Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man. Photo: May Tse
Despite the lack of measurable gains, Chan Kin-man, a sociologist at Chinese University, already has ideas on how to keep the movement alive in the post-occupation era.
Hongkongers have used the occupied sites in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay to project how their ideal society should be - a place where everyone has an equal say, Chan says, adding that the spirit should remain and play a role in district council elections, which have long been dominated by pro-Beijing figures.
"District councils should no longer be only about repairing pipes," he said. "It's time to rejuvenate the councils and let people participate in building our community."
Chan envisions a social charter where different sectors of society voice the values that they think should be upheld from a bottom-up approach. Different groups - designers, environmentalists, students, blue-collar workers and many others - had come together during the protests to voice support for the pro-democracy cause, said Chan, adding that he hoped such alliances would not dissipate with the crowds.
"We should not talk about vague plans anymore. [The different sectors] should also come together and put forward an action plan for their own areas under the charter - and implement it without relying on the government but with the help of civil society," said the sociologist, who predicted that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's administration would be a lame-duck government in the coming years.
"That is why [Occupy Central] wants to go beyond the occupied sites. There are so many things we can do that should not be put on hold," he said, adding that all these plans would be announced soon after the trio hand themselves in to police.
Fellow Occupy leader Chu said: "People have started to create fake enemies and have failed to direct their rage towards the real one - Leung - as the campaign has lost its direction. This is the saddest thing to see ... a great movement - which has attracted hundreds of thousands people - wilt in this way."
He saw the upcoming district council elections as one of the ways to fulfil the protesters' slogan - "reseize our future".
Pro-establishment lawmaker Felix Chung Kwok-pan, of the Liberal Party, who once called on the government to make concessions to resolve the impasse, said the city's political landscape had definitely changed over the past 60 days, although the protesters have seemingly won no real concessions from the government.
"From the pro-democracy supporters to those who oppose Occupy … everyone is more aware of politics and has become actively involved in it. They have realised politics is not something distant," said Chung, who represents the textile and garment sector in the legislature.
He said the protest had inevitably posed threats to the city's economy and perhaps shaken the foundation of the rule of law, but he believed the effects "might not be too bad".
While the student leaders have accused the Hong Kong and central governments of "losing a whole generation" in this battle, the prolonged protest has also left society severely divided.
Chan, who specialises in social movements, said the sit-ins had unintentionally strengthened the pro-Beijing factions in Hong Kong, driven people to the radical fringe and marginalised middle-ground pan-democrats such as the Democratic Party.
But he believed the moderate Hongkongers who are now against Occupy would eventually swing back to becoming involved in a push for more progressive politics.
Chan also brushed off the idea that the protests had failed to bear any fruit.
"What the 'umbrella movement' has achieved has already gone beyond anyone's imagination," he said, pointing out that the city's desire for democracy and the principle of non-violent struggle was unprecedented, strong and deep-rooted.
A cultural studies scholar at Lingnan University, Chen Yun-chung - a key supporter of the protests and the proposed social charter - however, warned that the Occupy trio's retreat at this moment might have an adverse impact on the city's future protest culture.
"Basically we have achieved nothing substantial so far," he said. "Pan-democrats have staged numerous protests before which have proved useless. If we still fail to achieve anything this time with a rally of this scale … protests in the future would no longer be that peaceful."
Lawmaker Chung, however, said he saw signs of a better future for the city because of the protests, a view that puts him at odds with his pro-establishment colleagues.
"To be fair, the quality of this group of youngsters [who are leading the protests] is actually pretty high," he said.
"Hong Kong's future might not be that bad with them around, as long as these students get back on the right path."
The clean-up begins after protesters were moved from Nathan Road. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
This time the end came quickly.
Occupiers camped out in Nathan Road, Mong Kok, were taken by surprise when a special police squad stormed their site and ended their 60-day sit-in.
"I was really frightened," said a female protester. "I saw a group of officers suddenly push in.
"They didn't give us enough time to retreat. It could have caused a stampede."
The clearance was in stark contrast to Argyle Street a day before, when protesters were given time to negotiate with bailiffs and legal representatives from the Chiu Luen Lightbus Company before the matter went to police.
Joshua Wong is taken away by police. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Yesterday police stepped in almost immediately after a failed attempt by protest leaders to stop people wearing red hats and "I Love Hong Kong" T-shirts from clearing the barricades.
"All those that needed to be arrested had been arrested the night before," said a police source close to the matter when asked how the entire road could be cleared in several hours.
It started at about 10am when Scholarism's Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Hong Kong Federation of Students' Lester Shum and Raphael Wong Ho-ming, from the League of Social Democrats, questioned the identities of the group, who were said to be authorised helpers.
Among them were familiar faces from the two taxi groups, the Taxi Association and Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, and anti-occupy supporters seen from previous clashes.
Efforts by protesters to force the group to declare their identities descended into chaos.
A police special squad in helmets soon stormed the scene, sealing the area off Wai Fung Centre and arresting the two student leaders as well as Raphael Wong. The squad then pushed protesters along Nathan Road in the direction of Tsim Sha Tsui, using cutters and bare hands to dismantle tents.
Shops were cautious following resistance and arrests. Photo: Dickson Lee
All that was left of the makeshift Guan Yu temple during the action was the altar, while the "church" was dismantled. Books and couches in the abandoned community "library" were removed. As the police pushed forward, some protesters in helmets, goggles and masks held makeshift wooden shields in anticipation of a baton charge. The retreating bunch - some holding hands - appealed to the squad to advance slower, only to find their request went largely unheard.
"Police kept pushing us back, shouting at us and threatening us with arrest. It was obvious they were using scare tactics," said Ah Sum.
It took roughly an hour for police to push protesters to the zebra-crossing near Dundas Street, the borderline the injunction covered.
They were dispersed about 90 minutes later.
The clearance on Tuesday lasted almost all day, as police faced an immense challenge to disperse a crowd that formed in Portland Street after the clearance in Argyle Street.
A number of clashes continued into the night and the early hours of yesterday.
Photo: Dickson Lee
Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said police officers encountered "strong resistance" when they were assisting the bailiffs in dispersing the crowd on Tuesday.
There were 14 clash points between the protesters and police around Poland Street, Nathan Road and Argyle Street throughout the night since 4pm on the day, during which many protesters attempted to obstruct the roads.
READ MORE: To view all the latest Occupy Central stories click here
On Tuesday night there were frequent scuffles at the junction of Shantung Street and Nathan Road. Police baton-charged the crowd and pepper-sprayed protesters after they tried to break through a police cordon there. Protesters, geared up with helmets and protective goggles, also set up new barricades.
The nightly confrontation ended after a last stand-off at the intersection of Nathan Road and Shantung Street at around 3.15am yesterday.
Chris Lau, Ernest Kao, Emily Tsang, Danny Mok and Timmy Sung
Left: Nathan Road is packed with protesters before the clearance action. Right: Traffic returns to normal by early evening. Photos: Sam Tsang
About 6,000 police officers will be assigned to the cleared streets and nearby areas in Mong Kok until Sunday to prevent a reoccupation by protesters angered by removal tactics yesterday, according to a police source.
Clashes erupted again in Mong Kok last night. From 10pm, hundreds of people made repeated attempts to reoccupy roads, hours after traffic on Nathan Road returned to normal following the two-month occupation by pro-democracy activists.
There was pushing and shoving between the crowd and police. One man was left with a bloodied head and several people were subdued and taken away. Police reinforcements were sent in and red flags were raised warning people not to charge.
A total of 148 protesters were arrested during the two-day operation in which the occupied area in nearby Argyle Street was reopened on Tuesday.
The source said police would have 3,000 people on the ground at any time until Sunday, when a reassessment would be made.
"The police will continue to make their best effort to prevent people from obstructing the road again," Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said.
Occupiers said they were not deterred. "I will come back later. We cannot lose Mong Kok no matter what," Kumi Lam said.
Those arrested yesterday included Wong Ho-ming of the League of Social Democrats, Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Scholarism and Szeto Tze-long and Lester Shum from Hong Kong Federation of Students. They were arrested for various offences including contempt of court and obstructing police.
The police source said Mong Kok was still considered "high-risk" and there was a hint last night of what might be in store. Several hours after the barricades fell, part of the road had to be closed again as police moved to break up new crowds.
Alex Chow Yong-kang, of the Federation of Students, said his group felt the Occupy movement "still had energy", but further action would continue to embrace the principle of non-violence.
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit, Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan, the Labour Party's Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung and the Professional Commons' Charles Mok said they would not support any violence.
All six lanes of Nathan Road, northbound and southbound, were reopened at 3pm yesterday after the clearance supported by about 3,000 police including the crack Police Tactical Unit.
Police took over from bailiffs enforcing an injunction by taxi groups - who said their business had been damaged by the protests - after tension flared over the involvement of clearance workers said to have been authorised by the taxi groups.
Samuel Chan, Ernest Kao, Chris Lau, Timmy Sung, Emily Tsang, Joyce Ng
Protests expose vulnerability of an unloved government
Howard Winn
The protests proved a point.
One point that is frequently made in conversations about the protests is that they have achieved nothing. In a banal sense, that is true. The protesters have not achieved their key aims, which included the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and significant electoral reform.
That said, the large numbers of protesters that turned out - far more than most people imagined - was a big demonstration of the dissatisfaction that has been growing in Hong Kong in recent years, particularly among young adults and students. This has made the government sit up and take notice although it has yet to formulate a credible response.
People have been genteelly protesting for months on Saturday and Sunday afternoons but have achieved nothing. People want political reform because they believe it increases the chances of having a government prepared to do something about their concerns rather than heeding or second-guessing Beijing. However, the white paper and the August 31 decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress left many with the sense that the mainland was attempting to wind back Hong Kong's freedoms.
There has been an outpouring of discussion about the political economy of Hong Kong, its contradictions and divisions, the inbuilt institutional biases favouring the tycoons, and the government's interaction with the central government. People are more politicised and aware. The "high degree of autonomy" that was presumed to exist under one country, two systems has turned out to be a lot lower than people assumed. The police can clear the streets, but this a stopgap measure. There needs to be a political solution.
Social tensions were cooled in 2004 with a change in government and a booming economy. That won't work this time. People are clearly fed up with the disruption to business and transport that has been caused by the protests and the government may think it has been clever by allowing them to drag on, thus driving a wedge between the protesters and the public at large. The hope is that this will deter further support for those proposing to demonstrate for electoral change.
Another way of looking at the government's strategy of dealing with the protests is that it reflects its lack of legitimacy. The government had little choice in accepting the widespread public obstruction that accompanied the protests and severely disrupted the normal business of Hong Kong. In other countries with a government elected by popular mandate, the protests would have been cleared almost immediately with the public's backing. It is unthinkable that these protests would have been allowed to drag on for this long in Europe or the United States.
The big fear of the government and presumably of the central government is that a tough crackdown in the initial stages of the protest might have led to a popular backlash - a risk these governments were not prepared to take. The protests have exposed the vulnerability of an unloved government.
The government's hard-line stance against political reform also demonstrates the mainland's horror of making concessions to demands for broadening democracy in Hong Kong. The problem is the Communist Party thinks concessions might be the start of something on the mainland. The one country systems arrangement contains a fundamental inequity. It divides Chinese people into two groups: those with rights and freedoms and those with less.
Since the central government is not going to make concessions, it leaves the Hong Kong government even more paralysed and unloved than it was before all this started. In other words, with no way out.
Protesters and police clash in Mong Kok. Photo: Felix Wong
The Federation of Students has threatened to target government buildings in response to the police clearance of the Occupy camp in Mong Kok following violent clashes overnight.
"I think we have made it very clear that if [the police] continue the violent way of clearing up the place, we will have further actions," Federation of Students core member Yvonne Leung Lai-kwok said on an RTHK radio programme this morning.
"The further actions include a possibility of some escalations pointed at government-related buildings or some government-related departments," she said.
Leung, president of the University of Hong Kong students' union, said details would be released later but not before tomorrow.
The students’ idea is in direct opposition to the plans of pan-democrats and Occupy founders, who at a joint meeting yesterday advocated ending the occupation. The Occupy trio, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Dr Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming plan to turn themselves in to police early next month, even if others do not follow.
The government, meanwhile, said there is no prospect of further dialogue if the students insist that the August decision of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee for Hong Kong’s political reform be revoked.
Police patrol quiet Mong Kok streets on Thursday. Photo: Samuel Chan
Clashes broke out between protesters and police in Mong Kok in the early hours of Thursday, hours after traffic resumed on a key section of Nathan Road following two months of blockages by pro-democracy activists.
Some 200 protesters regrouped in the area overnight, angered by removal tactics yesterday, and began staging a sit-in on Sai Yeung Choi Street South. Some 100 police officers, not wearing riot gear, stood watch to prevent the protesters from spilling onto Nathan Road.
At around 4am, they peacefully followed police instructions and moved back to the pavement. Traffic resumed soon after.
Things remained peaceful until an unmarked police car was intercepted by protesters at the junction between Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Soy Street.
Scuffles ensued after police and protesters became engaged in a heated verbal exchange. Officers struggled with protesters before chasing them and hitting them with their batons. Officers pinned about a dozen protesters down to the ground or against walls. Some protesters were handcuffed with plastic ties and hauled away by police. A number of protesters sustained facial injuries.
Protesters and police quarrel. Photo: Sam Tsang
Terry Chiu, a Year 2 student at Hong Kong University’s School of Economics and Finance, said he joined the sit-in on Sai Yeung Choi Street South because he believed police had gone beyond the scope of court injunctions to clear the protest site.
“This is not rule of law, but rule by law,” he said. “We came out to shop today, just as [Chief Executive] Leung Chun-ying called on people to shop more here after the clearance to give Mong Kok a boost. I don’t understand why the police interfered with us.”
Chiu said he didn’t want to see Sai Yeung Choi Street become a new Occupy site. He said protesters should change their tactics and occupy mobile sites instead of fixed locations.
Clashes erupted from 10pm as hundreds of people made repeated attempts to reoccupy roads. There was pushing and shoving between the crowd and police. One man was left with a bloodied head and several people were subdued and taken away. Police reinforcements were sent in and red flags were raised warning people not to charge.
Some 169 arrests have been made in the Mong Kok clearance since yesterday, police said, with 21 men aged between 19 and 42 held overnight on suspicion of, among others, criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons, unlawful assembly and assaulting a police officer.
A protester is hauled away by police on Sai Yeung Choi Street South. Photo: Felix Wong
Hours after the last batch of protesters disappeared from the streets, police were taking no risks, with two to three officers stationed every 50 metres on Nathan Road and the nearby streets with plastic restraints at the ready.
Police Tactical Unit officers were also seen patrolling the streets in groups of six.
Independent Police Complaints Council chairman Larry Kwok Lam-kwong declined to comment on whether police had used excessive force in the clearance.
"About what has happened in Mong Kok in the past two days, we got most of the information from the media. We have not received reports to understand the whole situation and so it is not suitable for us to comment at this stage," Kwok said.
The council said that the police’s internal watchdog, the Complaints Against Police Office, had received 13 complaints regarding the Mong Kok clearance. Complainants accuse officers of assault, being rude and swearing.
Kwok said some members of the council had been to the Occupy sites to make observations in a personal capacity. The council had not officially sent members to the sites because it may not be suitable, he said.
The council meanwhile has received some 17,000 complaints against its own members during the Occupy movement. Some complaints are about what council members have said in public.
About 6,000 police officers will be assigned to the cleared streets and nearby areas in Mong Kok until Sunday to prevent a reoccupation by protesters, a police source said.
The source said police would have 3,000 people on the ground at any time until Sunday, when a reassessment would be made.
“The police will continue to make their best effort to prevent people from obstructing the road again,” Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said.
Occupiers said they were not deterred. “I will come back later. We cannot lose Mong Kok no matter what,” Kumi Lam said.
Those arrested yesterday included Wong Ho-ming of the League of Social Democrats, Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Scholarism and Szeto Tze-long and Lester Shum from the Hong Kong Federation of Students. They were arrested for various offences including contempt of court and obstructing police.
The police source said Mong Kok was still considered “high-risk” and there was a hint last night of what might be in store. Several hours after the barricades fell, part of the road had to be closed again as police moved to break up new crowds.
Protesters stage a sit-in. Photo: Felix Wong
Alex Chow Yong-kang, of the Federation of Students, said his group felt the Occupy movement “still had energy”, but further action would continue to embrace the principle of non-violence.
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit, Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan, the Labour Party’s Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung and the Professional Commons’ Charles Mok said they would not support any violence.
All six lanes of Nathan Road, northbound and southbound, were reopened at 3pm yesterday after the clearance supported by about 3,000 police including the crack Police Tactical Unit.
Police took over from bailiffs enforcing an injunction by taxi groups – who said their business had been damaged by the protests – after tension flared over the involvement of clearance workers said to have been authorised by the taxi groups.
Police stepped up patrols of Mong Kok on Thursday. Photo: Samuel Chan
Meanwhile, a Now TV engineer who was arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly assaulting police was released unconditionally late last night.
Speaking to the press, he said his hands were not in contact with any officer when he was covering the conflict in Mong Kok on Tuesday. He claimed he did not know why he was arrested.
Police said the 34-year old was released because he did not request bail, but the force reserved the right to prosecute as they were still investigating the incident.
The seven police officers who allegedly beat Civic Party member Ken Tsang Kin-Chiu last month have been released on bail. They are due to report back in mid-December.
Samuel Chan, Ernest Kao, Chris Lau, Timmy Sung, Emily Tsang, Joyce Ng, Danny Mok, Eddie Lee
Joshua Wong had eggs thrown at him by two men outside Kowloon City Court. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung was pelted with eggs outside court after he was banned from entering parts of Mong Kok as a condition of his bail. Wong had earlier been charged with obstructing a bailiff who was clearing barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters.
Wong was barred from setting foot in the area bound by Fai Yuen Street to the east, Dundas Street to the south, Shanghai Street to the west and Mong Kok Road to the north – a condition sought by the prosecution.
Before the egg attack outside Kowloon City Court on Thursday afternoon, Wong said he was disappointed by the behaviour of police, who he accused of “attempting to injure him in the groin” while he was being dragged away on Wednesday.
“A team of 12 helmeted police officers rushed towards me and pushed me to the ground,” he said. “I was injured in the neck.”
Wong also said he was taunted and swore at by officers while in custody and was told at 3am on Thursday that he would go to court seven hours later.
Getting carried away: police remove Joshua Wong from the scene of the Nathan Road clearance
The court heard that the Mong Kok no-go area for Wong is larger than the area covered by an injunction granted by the High Court.
But Principal Magistrate Peter Law allowed Wong, who was not asked to enter a plea, to travel through the area “on transport or in transit” after he was informed by the Scholarism convenor’s counsel, Michael Vidler, that his client needed to go to university via Mong Kok.
Vidler also said Wong would like the court to make an exception for him to go to a blood donation centre in the area. Law turned down the request.
Clad in a dark green jacket, the student activist kept his hands in the pockets as he listened to the hearing being translated to him.
Vidler said the prosecution’s request to adjourn the case until January 14 was a delaying tactic. The size of the no-go zone was also disputed by Vidler.
Joshua Wong is flanked by police officers as he arrives in court this morning. Photo: SCMP
The evidence against Wong was “thin”, said Vidler, who questioned if the prosecution had brought Wong to court in order to keep him from taking part in Hong Kong’s ongoing pro-democracy street protests.
“My client did not obstruct the plaintiff and bailiffs undertaking their duties, nor did he obstruct the police undertaking their duties,” he said.
Prosecutor Angus Lee Ka-hung said more time was needed for enquiries and legal advice, adding that the prosecution treated each defendant equally.
“The prosecution has no intent to delay the trial proceedings,” Lee said.
About 31 defendants, including lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and student leader Lester Shum, will face various charges today arising from the police clearing of the Mong Kok protest site on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The charges include obstructing officers on duty, possession of weapons and assaulting police officers.
Protesters cry as officers try to stop them blocking the road in Mong Kok. Photo: AP
On Tuesday morning, I had half an eye on the TV news from Mong Kok, where bailiffs and police were preparing to dismantle pro-democracy protesters' barricades. For a long time, little happened. Bailiffs read out the court injunction, and activists shouted back.
Suddenly, I looked up and saw buildings and police cars being set alight. The action had turned to Ferguson, Missouri, where serious disorder had broken out after a grand jury decided not to indict policeman Darren Wilson over the shooting of Michael Brown. Then the news switched back to Mong Kok. People were slowly moving a tent to the roadside.
The first few days of the Occupy Central civil disobedience campaign were chaotic and worrying. Scenes of tear gas being fired were shocking and made headlines around the world. That aroused public sympathy for the mainly young demonstrators, while the police - in a difficult situation - were left looking less good.
Things could probably have been handled better. But the students acted on the spur of the moment, and it was an unprecedented situation. In the following days and weeks, the protest sites were mostly calm. International coverage even made the street camps into tourist attractions. The police mainly kept a low profile.
One journalist with local roots wrote a moving account of the first few weeks of the protests in a leading international magazine. The tear-gassing of unarmed civilians, he wrote, reminded him of scenes in Islamabad, Cairo and Ferguson.
I have checked. Islamabad this year has had scores of deaths in terrorist attacks. Some 800 people died in Egypt's 2011 revolution, and anti-regime protests in Cairo this year have claimed yet more lives. Ferguson, as we have seen, has burning vehicles and rock-throwing. Whatever strife we have in Hong Kong, there is simply no comparison.
That writer went on to mention some of the background to Hong Kong's unrest. Demand for more accountable government is very strong, he said. Poor public trust in the government, a rising wealth gap, unaffordable housing and the dominance of tycoons left ordinary people with little choice but to take to the streets to be heard.
Maybe he was being a bit dramatic, but I think we all recognise - or should - that he is basically right. Not everyone agrees that blocking streets was the best way of doing it, but the protests have certainly succeeded in getting these messages across.
This should mean it is time for the protesters to pack up and leave. In the past few weeks, more and more of my contacts locally and overseas have asked why the Hong Kong authorities have been so lenient. My response is that while public opinion has increasingly wanted to see the protest end, most people oppose anything that could lead to violence. It is best to be patient.
It is wrong to see the protesters' occupation of the streets, or their eventual departure, in terms of a victory or a defeat for anyone. Society has been split over these tactics. But we must come together to solve some fundamental questions - about political reforms, about our economic structure, and about how to achieve a society that everyone can accept as basically fair.
The TV news on Tuesday afternoon showed police in Mong Kok facing uncooperative crowds, using pepper spray and making arrests. In Ferguson, meanwhile, stores were being looted, buildings were going up in flames. Later on, there were shootings, and National Guardsmen were sent in.
I am sure Hong Kong will see more bickering and protests, and that demonstrators will remain mostly orderly and our police professional. If everyone accepts a need to keep it peaceful and rational, we should succeed in solving our problems.
Clearance operation at Mong Kok on Tuesday. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
A pepper spray-based solution used by police on pro-democracy protesters was "much more powerful" than pepper spray and tear gas, according to a South China Morning Post photographer temporarily blinded by it.
The first-hand testimony contradicts police descriptions of the solution's "mild" chemical effects, as the force remained coy about its new riot control agent.
"I lost my sight for 30 minutes and the solution just wouldn't go away. I even tried washing it out with water," said Sam Tsang Kwok-chung, who was hit by the substance as he covered the operation to clear protesters in Mong Kok on Tuesday.
Friendly fire: A policeman is treated after being hit with pepper spray in Mong Kok last month. Photo: May Tse
Tsang said he had been hit by tear gas and pepper spray during his work covering the Occupy Central protests, but his goggles offered little protection against the solution.
He added that he was standing about 10 metres from the officer who sprayed him in the face.
"The effect of tear gas only lasts for two to three minutes, but there's nothing you can do with pepper spray solution except wait until it dies down," Tsang said.
"During those 30 minutes, I could only tell vaguely where the light source was and I had to rely on my sense of touch to tell what was around me."
The solution also caused a burning sensation on the skin, he said, and it hurt again when he took a shower as the remnants mixed with water.
The critical ingredient used in pepper spray is oleoresin capsicum, a compound commonly found in chilli peppers.
Officially known as "pepper spray-based solution", the police's preferred English translation, the chemical agent was purchased early last year specifically for a massive operation to handle Occupy Central, according to a police source. The Chinese description for the solution is "liquefied tear gas".
It was chosen "because it had a longer effective range, and [when it's used] it's like rain so it can spray a larger area and more people" than ordinary pepper spray, the source said.
The solution and the spray pump, officially known as a "water jet pack", made its debut in Hong Kong on September 28, when police used it to disperse protesters in Admiralty.
Police used tear gas against protesters as Occupy Central kicked off on September 28. Photo: Sam Tsang
Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said the solution was "relatively mild" and its level of force the same as pepper spray.
Hui said police used the liquid solution to lower the mobility of protesters during a confrontation, to create a safe distance between protesters and police, and to minimise the likelihood of injuries.
Pan-democratic legislators must stop hiding behind the students
Albert Cheng says lawmakers should do their duty as the elected voices of the people and resign en mass - to take the fight to the government
Albert Cheng
Student leaders Joshua Wong (left) and Lester Shum (right) hold back a protester during the unrest in Mong Kok. The two students were among those arrested. Photo: Reuters
The student leaders are mindful of their moral obligation to those who have followed their appeal to occupy the streets. They consider it irresponsible to ask their supporters to quit the sites, despite the prolonged stalemate. As a result, no one has taken charge to make a decision to withdraw.
The students have completed their historic mission. They have awakened the majority of the silent majority, especially those who were born in or after 1980. Some critics say the community has been polarised and torn apart.
The fact is nobody can call Hongkongers politically apathetic any more. The umbrella movement has achieved what the democratic camp has failed to do over the past three decades in articulating the people's aspirations for true democracy.
The students can make an honourable retreat from the streets at any time, with or without a consensus of the occupiers. No one is in a position to challenge their integrity. I, for one, am impressed by their courage, persistence and sense of justice.
Beijing has blacklisted even students on the fringes of the campaign and barred them from entering the mainland. Lester Shum of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Scholarism, among others, were arrested during the violent police clearance of the occupied site in Mong Kok this week.
The actions of the police in the Mong Kok clearance were dubious. They were supposed to assist bailiffs, on request, to remove obstacles in the areas specified in the injunction order. Instead, they used the civil injunction as a pretext to clear the entire site. This is in sharp contrast with what took place when a similar court order was executed near Citic Tower, opposite the Legislative Council building at Tamar.
The police are, of course, entitled to clear the site under the law, as Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung has said. And people have asked why they did not do so. However, the police have misled the public and the protesters into believing they were not there to clear the Mong Kok site but only to step in when the bailiffs were not able to carry out their duties.
The police acted as if they were under orders to clear the site at a specific time. The operation happened to take place during Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's trip to Seoul. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was conveniently out of town, too, leaving Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, as deputy chief executive, to face the music. Leung should know by now that the only way for him to regain popularity points is to stay out of sight.
The students have done their very best. They have made enough personal sacrifices and contributed more than their fair share in pursuit of the dream of democracy for the city. It is high time for the elected representatives who claim to be bearers of the democracy banner to step forward and take the campaign to its next phase.
Twenty-seven of the 70 legislators claim to be democrats. They have been hiding in the shadow of the students.
They have not even bothered to condemn the police violence in Mong Kok, despite the many cases of apparent overuse of force being uploaded to social media. Their conspicuous silence is likely to encourage the police to use the same iron-fist tactics against occupiers in Admiralty and Causeway Bay in the near future.
Their so-called pan-democratic camp is ill-disciplined and has been infected with internal bickering, party rivalry and personal conflicts. Its members have been sidelined by the students for the past two months.
Their role in the movement has been insignificant. When they speak, they often send mixed signals.
The democrats have pledged to mount a comprehensive non-cooperation movement in reaction to the government's intransigence over political reform. Yet, 23 of them have put forward proposals as part of the public consultation exercise for next year's policy address and budget. They should have boycotted the process in the first place, if they are serious about being non-cooperative.
They have pledged to bog down the government by filibustering. Given their track record and own personal agendas, the democratic camp is doomed to disagree and split.
Before that happens, all 27 should resign en mass from Legco in protest. Together, they received more than a million votes in the 2012 Legco election. They are the ones who can lay claim to representing the electorate. The government certainly has no claim to legitimacy for any action or policy it makes.
The democratic legislators have done enough ducking and hiding behind the students. The public expects them to assume centre stage and act as they are meant to - as elected voices of the people.
