The Umbrella Movement: A Guide for the Perplexed

 
The Umbrella Movement: A Guide for the Perplexed

For several weeks, thousands of protesters have been occupying major roads and paralysing traffic in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, demanding for the 2017 election for the city’s top leader to be free of China’s influence.

 

Some commentators have dubbed the civil disobedience movement as the ‘umbrella movement’ as the humble umbrella was widely used by protesters to repel the police’s pepper spray and quickly became an icon for the protests.

 

If you are puzzled by what is happening, here’s a guide to help you understand one of the biggest protests in Hong Kong’s recent history.

 

 

The History

Since the handover in 1997, the Chief Executive has been elected by an election committee. The committee is dominated by pro-Beijing loyalists, meaning that Beijing effectively hand picks the top official in the Special Administrative Region.

 

Article 45 of the Basic Law, the SAR’s mini-constitution, however, states that the CE would ultimately be selected by ‘universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures’.

 

Calls for the implementation of universal suffrage has been continuous since 1997, and in 2007, the authorities in Beijing pledged to allow Hong Kong residents to elect their leader for the first time in 2017.

 

But on Aug. 31, 2014, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee outlined new rules and procedures for the nomination of potential candidates that allowed the central government to continue to control who could stand for the chief executive election.

 

The NPCSC’s decision was widely perceived as another step in the erosion of Hong Kong’s high level of autonomy under the ‘one country, two systems’ agreement as guaranteed by the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 before the handover. Furthermore, the nomination procedure is also seen to ensure the next chief executive will be to the economic elite’s liking, as the committee is likely to be dominated by pro-business members.

 

 

The Pro-Democracy Movement

Before the decision came out in August, pro-democracy activists in the city had already anticipated the Central government’s will to interfere with the 2017 election.

 

In January 2013, Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, proposed ‘civil disobedience,’ where the public would illegally occupy roads in Central and paralyse the financial district, to force Beijing to allow democratic elections. Tai further stressed that civil disobedience must be non-violent to succeed.

 

Joined by another sociology professor, Chan Kin-man and a minister, Chu Yiu-ming, the trio formed and led a coalition called ‘Occupy Central with Love and Peace,’ which mobilised support for the movement in the lead-up to the August decision.

 

The sequence of events that transpired following the NPCSC announcement, however, cannot be entirely attributed to the mobilisation of the OCLP alone.

 

On Sept. 22, 13,000 university students led by the Hong Kong Federation of Students commenced a week-long class boycott to voice their discontent. The boycott evolved into a sit-in outside the government headquarters in Admiralty.

 

On the Sept. 28, riot police fired tear gas 87 times at the thousands of protesters gathered in Admiralty and Central. The authorities’ suppression of the protest evoked strong memories of the June 4 incident and the public anger that followed triggered further occupation in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.

 

The pro-democracy camp has since been demanding for the NPCSC decision to be revoked, allowing a full-fledge democratic electoral system for the Chief Executive in 2017 to be implemented.

 

The movement has thus far adhered to the principle of non-violence. While some protesters participate by sitting and listening to speeches, others work tirelessly around the clock to ensure the supply stations dotted around the protests zones are operating smoothly. Groups of volunteers also collect rubbish, ensuring the protest sites are in pristine condition.

 

Nonetheless, there have been clashes between protesters and the police in Mong Kok and Admiralty. Local and international media have condemned the police force for using disproportionate force to deal with protesters.

 

 

Voices From Below

The Occupy movement has evolved beyond the students and pro-democracy activists, and involves people from all walks of life. To uninformed onlookers, it might be a surprise to learn that, despite the high level of organization and coordination on the ground, many taking part in the movement are not seasoned activists. Listening to their stories reveals some of the underlying and more entrenched causes of this historical watershed in Hong Kong.

 

 

Widening Wealth Gap

May works as one of the volunteers at a supply station in Admiralty. Sitting beside a mountain of supplies, May said that while the police’s heavy-handed tactics brought her to the streets, she has been dissatisfied with the government for failing to improve the standard of living for residents long before there were even talks of political reform.

 

“Everything’s been getting more expensive and even middle-class families like mine are struggling,” May explained. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for grassroots families.”

 

May is not the only one feeling the financial pressure. Although Hong Kong is recognised as one of the wealthiest regions in the world, the income gap has been widening. The Gini coefficient, an index that measures income inequality, rose from 0.518 in 1996 to 0.537 in 2011, a figure that’s higher than the UK, US and Singapore. In 2013, a staggering 1.3 million (19.6%) people in the city lived below the official poverty line. The growth rate of the middle class also took a dramatic dive, declining from 81.1% in 1981 to 1990 to 24.7% in 1996 to 2006.

 

While the affluent have been reaping the benefits of the city’s economic success, the rest of the population have seen only marginal increase in their income that barely match the city’s ever-climbing cost of living.

 

The lack of a democratic election system, the protesters believe, is the cause of the economic woes that they are facing. While business tycoons enjoy a cosy relationship with officials, the government is seen to be out of touch with the rest of the public.

 

“The Hong Kong government only serves the rich people,” May stressed. “I’m afraid this will only get worse if there is no genuine democracy in Hong Kong.”

 

 

Disillusioned Youth

A striking number of young people in their twenties and early thirties make up the bulk of the Occupy protest. Protesters from the younger generation are not only motivated to take part in street politics by sheer idealism, but they are also angry at the lack of opportunities they face in a city that purports to reward hard work. According to a poll in 2013, young people are the most pessimistic about achieving social mobility.

 

As William, a recent university graduate explained, “I thought if I studied hard, I would be able to get a good job and have a decent future. I’ve only been working as an office administrator after I graduated and I can’t see many options for my future.”

 

With sky-rocketing property prices, William said he can’t afford to move out on his own and starting a family is beyond the question.

 

Recent university graduates, particularly, say they no longer belief they can achieve the same kind of mobility as people from their parents’ generation. “The government doesn’t care about our future,” Vicky, another recent graduate said. “I want to be able to choose a government that really listens to us.”

 

 

Identity Crisis

Aside from disillusionment about their future, young adults are also troubled by what they perceive to be an erosion of a distinct local Hong Kong identity and values.

 

“I was educated under the British system and my values are very different from those in the Mainland,” Ling said. The 30-year-old yoga teacher added that she also took part in the 2012 protests against the implementation of national education. The proposed national education curriculum for secondary schools was criticised by many as an attempt by the central government to foster patriotism and brain wash youngsters.

 

In recent years, values engendered under British colonialism, such as judiciary independence and freedom of speech, are perceived by locals as fading fast and Ling also feels the city is losing its distinctiveness: “I’m scared if I don’t come out to demand for freedom and democracy today, I won’t be able to tomorrow.”

 

 

The Anti-Occupy Camp

The debate surrounding the Occupy movement has been divisive, and the protests have received heavy criticisms from some segments of society. Critics, including business tycoons and the political elite, claim that the civil disobedience movement is harming the local economy. In a recent blog post, the Financial Secretary John Tsang claimed the occupy movement would lead to long-term damage to the city’s image and scare foreign investors away.

 

One of the most vocal groups from the anti-Occupy camp, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, claims that while the majority of the local residents want democracy, they do not want to see their daily lives disrupted by the civil disobedience movement.

 

 

The anti-Occupy camp, however, has been criticised for merely defending the uncomfortably close relationship between the business and political elite. Rallies organised by this side of the political divide have also been derided for paying individuals to join, falsely creating an illusion of widespread discontent with the occupy protests.

 

Nonetheless, there are residents who genuinely feel they have been affected by the civil disobedience movement. Some shop owners within the vicinity of the occupied zones in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay said their business suffered losses as a result of the protests. Workers in the transport sector also claimed that the road blockades have affected their income. Some members of the public have also criticised the protesters for jeopardising public interest in the name of democracy.

 

As the protest enters its fourth week, it is hard to tell how the current political crisis will conclude, even after student leaders and government officials began the much-anticipated dialogue yesterday. Only time will tell if the long sought-after democratic reform will become a reality in Hong Kong. But one thing is for certain: the umbrella movement will leave an indelible mark on the city’s collective memory.