Amongst the pageantry of this most polite and photogenic of movements, it has been easy to overlook the actual demands of the Hong Kong protestors. The initial impetus of this particular uprising was propelled by the announcement of the Chinese government that its promise of “Universal Suffrage” for Hong Kong by 2017 would come with the caveat that all candidates for the position of Chief Executive (Prime Minister) must gain the approval of a nominating committee, one that is dominated by pro-Beijing voices. Thousands of residents joined the pro-democracy student protestors outside the government buildings, including protestors organized by the “Occupy Central with Peace and Love” party led by Benny Tai. The group has been promising civil disobedience on a grand scale. Their protests are calling attention to the perceived slide of Hong Kong under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as revealing potential fears about what this slide could mean for the political, social and cultural freedoms which Hong Kongers currently enjoy compared when with their mainland counterparts.
Chief Executive CY Leung was clearly caught by surprise of the initial force and scale of the demonstrations, and this unpreparedness lead to the deployment of tear gas by police on the opening night of the protests. Since that PR gaffe, which provided his opponents with international attention (no international observer wants to support the big, bad police in their gas masks, especially versus the cling-film, swimming goggles, and umbrellas of the protestors), Leung has been much smarter, allowing anger with the protestors to build up within the rest of the population as the demonstrations disrupt daily life by continuing to block main roads and inconveniencing the law-abiding majority. By promising talks with the protestors, only to cancel them once the protest numbers started to die down, Leung has regained the advantage. Rumours abound that the violence meted out upon protestors last week by apparently spontaneous members of the public may have been orchestrated by triad (organized criminal gangs) elements in collusion with government figures. However none of this can be proved and Leung can maintain his image as the voice of the silent majority in Hong Kong.
It is difficult to see how the protest leaders’ calls to re-occupy every inch of the streets in response to the government’s cancellation of talks will succeed. New tactics are needed – calls are being made to occupy the parks, rather than the highways, to prevent the danger of turning normal Hong Kongers against the protestors and their pro-democratic message through continued disruption. The difficulty here lies in the privatisation of previously public space, limiting legal protest to the margins. Here “soft power” is the protestors’ strongest weapon – continuing to fix the gaze of the world upon Hong Kong through continued creative, peaceful and appealing styles of protest. Pro-democracy demonstrators should continue to seize the stylistic initiative and use their freedom of speech to keep the issue alive in the international media, using what power they have to make their voices heard.
Stephen Westlake
History
United Kingdom
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