Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.
Hong Kong reform vote
The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 213
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 28
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 28
Full coverage of the day’s events on 16-07
Coconuts
Equal Opportunities Commission responds to complaint over LegCo president’s racist joke
The Equal Opportunities Commission has responded to a formal complaint issued by the Refugee Union about a racist joke Hong Kong LegCo President Jasper Tsang’s made in November last year.
posted to the Refugee Union’s Facebook page, the commission noted the concerns of the union and restated their view that anyone making race-related comments in public, regardless of context, should be sensitive to the feelings of others to avoid misunderstanding.
The Union last week in response to a of comments Tsang made in November about how best to clear the Occupy Central protest sites.
His full quote:
“I had lunch with a number of my… schoolmates last Friday. One of them is a doctor. And he said: ‘I tell you how to get people off the street. There are many Africans staying in Chungking Mansions. You go there. Get half a dozen Africans. Tell them – look, go there. Go to Harcourt Road, you have beautiful tents there, you can go sleep there without paying any rent. Get three meals every day. Free. Tell them to go there.’ … Just a joke.”
Attached to the letter was a newspaper clipping of the same EOC statement in Chinese, which was published in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on July 4.
posted to the Refugee Union’s Facebook page, the commission noted the concerns of the union and restated their view that anyone making race-related comments in public, regardless of context, should be sensitive to the feelings of others to avoid misunderstanding.
The Union last week in response to a of comments Tsang made in November about how best to clear the Occupy Central protest sites.
His full quote:
“I had lunch with a number of my… schoolmates last Friday. One of them is a doctor. And he said: ‘I tell you how to get people off the street. There are many Africans staying in Chungking Mansions. You go there. Get half a dozen Africans. Tell them – look, go there. Go to Harcourt Road, you have beautiful tents there, you can go sleep there without paying any rent. Get three meals every day. Free. Tell them to go there.’ … Just a joke.”
Attached to the letter was a newspaper clipping of the same EOC statement in Chinese, which was published in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on July 4.
Protest demands prosecution of officer for confirmed assault during Occupy
Dozens of protesters have demanded the prosecution of a police officer whose alleged misconduct during Occupy protests last year has been confirmed by the Independent Police Complaints Council.
On Thursday, around 20 protesters led by the Civil Human Rights Front, including Osman Cheng, the man who was hit in the video (below), protested outside the Wanchai Police Headquarters. The group called for the prosecution of superintendent Chu King-wai, who was filmed hitting pedestrians in Mong Kok in November last year.
Civil Human Rights Front protested at Wanchai Police Station with Osman Cheng (right of the officer). Photo: CHRF.
“We think that police need to prosecute Chu King-wai immediately,” Chan Shu-fai, spokesperson for Civil Human Rights Front, told HKFP. “Since the IPCC has already made a decision, the police have no further excuse for the delay.”
Chu’s case was discussed by the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) last week. According to local media, the council voted12:6 in favour of substantiating the case of assault. The case was returned to the Complaints Against Police Officers department within the police force for further processing.
Superintendent Chu King-wai hitting pedestrians in Mong Kok during Occupy. Photo: Apple Daily.
Following the meeting however, chairman of the IPCC Kwok Lam-kwong said there were “differing opinions” between the IPCC and the complaints department. Kwok was also reported to have said that he is unsure whether the complaints department will accept the IPCC’s conclusion. He also said since the complaints process is still ongoing, results of the investigation will not be published yet.
Chu is scheduled to retire on July 23. It was reported that in Chu’s response to the investigation, he said that he had no intent of hitting anyone but his baton touched others during the incident.
In the IPCC’s work report from April 2013 – March 2014, among the 1,318 cases that required full investigations, 6.5% (86) were substantiated. Of 1,056 allegations of assaults received in 2011 – 2014, none were substantiated by the IPCC.
In March, the IPCC announced that they had received more than 2,427 complaints related to Occupy, including 709 cases of alleged assault by police. However, only 159 cases were reportable and required investigation, as many were reported from media coverage rather than first-hand experience.
Students march against political interference in local universities
Students from local universities marched from the University of Hong Kong to Government House on Thursday to protest against the chief executive’s power to appoint members to the councils of universities.
Around a hundred protesters participated in the march, which was led by HKU Student Union and the Hong Kong Federation of Students.
Protesters demanded amendment of the laws that make the chief executive the head of all publicly funded universities. They also urged the government to review the composition of the schools’ governing bodies in order to “safeguard institutional autonomy.” Students also chanted slogans such as “resist political interference” and “the chief executive does not represent me.”
HKU Student Union president Billy Fung Jing-en told HKFP, “We hope that each school can establish a review committee on relevant articles of the university ordinance and statutes [which stipulate that the chief executive acts as the chancellor of all universities].”
“We want to raise public and student’s awareness with this demonstration since there has been a lack of discussion on the university ordinance in the past,” said Fung.
Organisers did not seek the approval from police for the demonstration and the march took place under heavy police presence. Fung said that organisers consider the right to protest a human right and hence does not require approval.
At one point during the protest on Arbuthnot Road, police refused passage for the procession and instead attempted to force students to pass through an underground tunnel. The stalemate ended after 30 minutes as protesters conceded to the arrangements proposed by police.
On arrival at Government House, police only allowed ten student representatives to reach the main gate as others were guided to the rear gate.
A few pro-government protesters were present to support the chief executive, and called students who were protesting “wild chicken [meaning useless] students from wild chicken universities” and that students are not qualified to talk about autonomy.
The protest occurred in the wake of apparent political interference in the appointment of a HKU pro-vice chancellor. Former law dean Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun was recommended for the position by a search committee but the appointment has been repeatedly delayed. The official reason given by the Council is that they have to wait for the appointment of a new deputy vice chancellor before proceeding.
A petition was also launched earlier this week to protest the deferral. The petition is open to alumni of the University of Hong Kong, as well as to the general public.
By law, the chief executive acts as the chancellor of all tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, a vestige of the colonial era that remained following the handover. The chancellor also has the power to appoint a portion of the members to the governing body of the institutions.
According to an article by legislator Ip Kin-yuen and Helena Wong Pik-wan, over 70 members have been appointed to various institutions since Leung Chun-ying took office, with almost 30 percent of those individuals being current or former members of China’s political consultative committee or its legislature.
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