Laura Hilgers, in the NYTimes, as “A democracy movement ponders its next move“: On the final night of Hong Kong’s largest Occupy camp, a crowd of protesters swelled along an empty highway. It had been 74 days since the first canister of tear gas hit democracy supporters armed with only umbrellas, setting off what the …
Long Read: “Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution Isn’t Over Yet”Post + Comments (12)
A result of this system, according to Tai and many protesters, is growing economic inequality — and a hated chief executive: Leung Chun-ying, a former real estate surveyor with a penchant for insensitive comments. Leung was elected to the position in 2012 by the 1,200-member committee that decides the office, most of whom are not subject to popular elections. After a campaign in which he accused his opponent of having an illegal structure in his home, Leung turned out to have illegal structures in his own. He later pushed an education-reform package that emphasized a rosy, more patriotic picture of Beijing (it was ultimately dropped). Leung, who is better known as C.Y. Leung, is so reviled that toilet paper was sold with his face on it; at an appearance at LegCo, a legislator threw a bun at him. In an interview with foreign media during the protests, he warned that democracy would turn Hong Kong over to the poor. “Then you would end up with that kind of politics and policies,” he said, ominously…
Somewhere, Scott Walker’s aides are furiously taking notes for a presentation to the Koch brothers. And yet, in Hong Kong, while the economic situation seems familiar, the immediate personal risks are obviously far higher:
Leung’s administration has also presided over a slide in the standard of living. Hong Kong’s businesses are increasingly tied to mainland China and seen as beholden to leaders in Beijing. Over the past 10 years, the median income in the city has increased by 30 percent, even as G.D.P. has grown by 60 percent. Twenty percent of Hong Kong’s population is living under the official poverty line, but the city’s 50 richest people, according to the annual list compiled by Forbes, are worth a total of $236 billion (Hong Kong’s entire G.D.P. in 2013, by comparison, was $274 billion). Tai paid lip service to economic inequality in the name of his movement — Occupy — but his demands were more modest, limited only to the election of the city’s chief executive. “It’s just getting Hong Kong people to have that right to vote and have a true election,” he said. “It’s a first step only.” By the time I arrived at the camp on Harcourt Road, comparisons with other global protests had started to grate on the leaders; they did not aim to overthrow a government, they pointed out, or to challenge an entire economic system. The movement’s name changed to the Umbrella Revolution to reflect not just the literal image of umbrellas as shields but also how participation had expanded…
For the party, the protests have threatened to become a powerful symbol of liberalization and economic prosperity. In arguing for democracy, Tai was pitting himself not against Leung but against leaders on the mainland (“Leung Chun-ying is widely understood as an underground C.C.P. member and a puppet of Beijing,” reads an introduction on the Occupy Central website). The only way to measure Beijing’s response has been through crackdowns. In mainland China, those thought to be supporters of the protest — even those who just expressed support online — have been thrown in jail. Late in the protest, when China’s president, Xi Jinping, made a trip to Macau on a rainy day, journalists were not allowed to carry umbrellas…
For more details, personal stories, slideshows, and future possibilities, read the whole article.