Hong Kong Erupts In Protest Over Electoral Influence

On Sept. 28, 2014, an unprecedented protest against the Chinese government flared up on Hong Kong. Thousands of students and young adults descended upon the city’s government and financial center. The protest quickly became known as the Umbrella Revolution, as protesters shielded themselves from pepper spray and tear gas with umbrellas.

Some Hong Kong natives, while not present in Hong Kong, have been able to voice their support through social media. “#prayforhk, #occupycentral, and #umbrellarevolution have been popping up all over Twitter.

Because of this inundation of social media on not only Twitter also but Instagram, use of any related words, such as “yellow” or “umbrella,”  are blocked search terms in mainland China. Instagram has also been blocked from mainland access.

The presence of thousands of people has also disrupted day-to-day life for people not participating. The use of brutal oppression tactics by Hong Kong police, and violent clashes between pro-Beijing residents, also created a temporarily unstable environment for Hong Kong residents.

“I have a cousin who is a securities lawyer at a firm in Central, which is where the movement began,” said Susana Liu, a native of Hong Kong and UST alumna. “[She said that] crowded streets made it difficult to get to work.  I remember asking her if she was headed into the office the day after policemen used tear gas on protesters.”

The 2014 protests are the largest to date with over 1000 protestors as of Oct. 8, but they are not the only protests against Beijing that have occurred: simmerings against perceived oppression of democracy in Hong Kong have existed for the past few years.

“When I visited late November, early December 2012, there were already rumors of something like this, but there wasn't enough traction,” Liu said. “People were worried about the effects it would have on tourism and the economy, in general.”

 In spite of the disruptions that have occurred, that did not deter the protestors that amassed and continue to remain until negotiations have been satisfied.

“The driving motivation behind the protest is essentially ‘democracy.’” Liu said. “In July 2014 of this year, the Hong Kong Chief Executive proposed amendments to the electoral process.   In essence, these amendments allow the Beijing/mainland government to select their own pro-Communists Party candidates for Hong Kong residents' to vote - something obviously against Basic Law because Beijing would be intervening.”

The “one country, two systems” has benefitted both Chinese and Hong Kong financial sectors. This system goes back to the time of Hong Kong’s return to China from British rule in 1997.  

“The goal of Mao and his successor was to bring Hong Kong back into the Motherland,” Prof. Jon Taylor, chair of the UST political science department, said. “Hong Kong would be allowed to have their own government with Chinese oversight, and they became a special administrative region.”

Taylor visits China several times a year, and has done extensive academic research on Chinese public administration and governance, as well as Chinese Communist Party ethics.

“The question right now has become: what kind of election process does Hong Kong have to choose its leader?” Taylor said. “Now, do Hong Kong residents have the ability to elect their leader, or is it a Beijing appointed committee that is doing so for them? The assumption is that the pro-Beijing candidate will win, and has won every time.”

Negotiation talks between government officials and student protest leaders were announced to take place on Oct. 10. However, the Hong Kong government called off those talks, on Oct. 9.  Protest leader Lester Shum has stated that "practical measures (have) been forged between the government and the people," according to an Oct. 7 Reuters news report.  

“The students have made their point. And this has been the most peaceful, clean protest: they have apologized for disrupting,” Taylor said. “And this protest is not the only one; there have been protests in the past, sometimes very violent protest, in the 90’s and 70’s. This is not unique; the difference is that now Hong Kong is under Chinese rule, not British rule.”