Demonstrators against Beijing's restrictions on elections for Hong Kong's chief executive gathered Sunday evening near the territory's government complex.
ALEX OGLE / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
By MICHAEL FORSYTHE
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
China’s leaders are onto something. Hong Kong citizens pushing for more democracy are indeed, as People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, said, colluding “with external forces.” At the top of the list of foreigners influencing the movement: Gandhi, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ.
All three of those men made their presence felt Sunday night at a harborfront park in Hong Kong, as thousands of people gathered in intermittent rain to protest a decision by China’s legislature to put firm restrictions on a plan to expand the franchise to allow all adults in the territory to vote for their leader, the chief executive.
The demonstrators, many of whom wore headbands emblazoned with the Chinese characters for “civil disobedience,” said they drew inspiration from thinkers and practitioners of nonviolent protest, including Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Dr. King.
For Angie Lam, 21, a student at Hong Kong Baptist University who took part in Sunday’s rally, it was Gandhi who drew her attention.
“His self-sacrifice really moved people who before were indifferent,’’ said Ms. Lam, who wore a black T-shirt with the phrase “Nothing Comes Without Struggle.” She only recently learned about Gandhi’s history after joining the protest movement, which has vowed to stage civil disobedience actions, including sit-in protests in Hong Kong’s financial district, to protest Beijing’s decision.
Dr. Joshua Fok, 40, a neurosurgeon at a Hong Kong hospital who was manning a first aid station, was wearing a T-shirt with a quotationfrom Dr. King: “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
Dr. Fok said he was, like Dr. King, committed to nonviolent protest. He had just been reading about the plight of African-Americans in the United States prior to the civil rights movement.
And the movement also has the support of many Christians, like Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Roman Catholic bishop of Hong Kong.
Edward C.K. Chin, a former hedge fund manager who works to buildsupport for the movement in the financial community, expresses his faith in messages to supporters. His updates on the messaging application WhatsApp have biblical references.
“Stay calm and have faith in the Lord,” he texted Sunday night.
One participant wore a T-shirt featuring the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MICHAEL FORSYTHE / THE NEW YORK TIMES
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