Sep 09, 2014 12:28PM UTC
Protesters rally on Hong Kong's streets after Beijing's decision on August 31. Pic: AP.
In the hours that followed the Beijing’s announcement in late August to deny Hong Kong the open nomination of candidates for the chief executive election in 2017, storm clouds swept in over Hong Kong and thousands of rain drenched activists took to the streets to hear Benny Tai, a key figure in the Occupy Central movement, defiantly announce that a “new age of resistance in Hong Kong” had arrived.
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) proposed framework is that candidates for the 2017 election, as predicted, will be nominated by a 1,200-strong Election Committee made up of Beijing sympathisers hand-picked from Hong Kong’s business elite. No more than three candidates are expected to be nominated, and each one needs backing from at least 50 percent of the committee, which effectively rules out the possibility of a democrat getting nominated.
Beijing’s decision effectively calls out Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp – particularly the Occupy Central movement – to follow through on their threats of civil disobedience. Despite Benny Tai’s words of inspiration on August 31, many in the media feel that Hong Kong’s motivation to challenge the decision has waned due to no immediate response and what appears to be a loss of public support.
Less than 48 hours after Beijing’s decision, Benny Tai’s fellow co-founder of the Occupy Central campaign, Chan kin-man, announced that “our (Occupy Central) goal to achieve genuine universal suffrage in 2017 and a reform of the system is close to failure.” Chan hinted that support for the movement, whose intentions are to shutdown Hong Kong’s financial distinct to provoke political reform, is waning and suggested that “many people in Hong Kong are being pragmatic.”
With the ball deep in the pro-democrats court, there is a divide in their camp on how best to respond to it.
Some suggest a more conservative approach in resisting the proposal would be more effective in the long term. As the CCP’s proposal still has to pass through the Hong Kong’s Legislative Council with two-thirds of the vote, the pro-democracy movement can block the bill if all 27 pan-democratic legislators vote against it. Although an alternative approach to mass protests, the CCP has announced that if their proposal is blocked, then Hong Kong’s current system will remain in place. Therefore, there is an argument that Hong Kong should accept the illusion of “democracy” on offer as a stepping stone towards the real thing.
However, others refuse to accept this, and believe that a show of force is necessary in order to attract Beijing’s attention and gain support on the international stage. Despite his comments earlier in the week, Chan informed Asian Correspondent on Friday of his hopes for the occupy movement’s future, which would suggest the latter option is gaining momentum.
“We (Occupy Central ) are very confident that thousands of people will join our occupy action to be taken in the near future. As long as the spirit of democracy persists, our movement is not and will not be defeated,” he said.
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Occupy movement will launch a civil-disobedience campaign in early October, according to a source within the movement, and that the finer details of the protest were still in the planning stage.
Hong Kong students announced on Thursday their plans to hold a week-long strike starting on September 22 in response to Beijing’s decision. This strike will likely be the first and key action for the civil disobedience movement in gaining support.
“The upcoming student strike is primarily focused on securing support for the pro-democratic movement,” Yvonne Leung, the president of the Hong Kong University student union, said during a phone interview on Friday. “We hope to lower the threshold on younger people being able to join the civil disobedience movement, and will call upon more people to support their cause for a better future in Hong Kong.”
Kong Tsung-Gan, a pro-democracy activist and volunteer for Occupy Central, believes the success of the pro-democracy movement relies heavily on Hong Kong’s youth.
“Groups like the Hong Kong Federation of Students are the greatest hope of Hong Kong,” said Kong. “They are the most passionate and committed in the pro-democracy movement…. they have everything to fight for, namely, their future.”
Kong emphasised the difficulties that the younger generations face in Hong Kong today, who are frustrated with low-paying jobs that are incommensurate with their education and skills.
“The vast majority of young Hong Kong people have no opportunities to simply leave and go elsewhere. Unlike many of their parents (who emigrated), they were born in Hong Kong and consider it their one and only home,” he added.
The significance of the younger generation in the fight for Hong Kong’s democracy suggests that the struggle will be conducted over a sustained period, possibly even decades. The question for the present though, is whether a show of force on the streets or a passive approach in the Legislative Council, will shine the greatest ray of hope through Hong Kong’s foreboding storm clouds.
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http://asiancorrespondent.com/126526/hong-kong-weighs-up-options-after-beijings-election-decision/
