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 254
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 69 (26-08-2015)
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 69 (26-08-2015)
Full coverage of the day’s events
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Hong Kong is ranked the freest place in the world but its personal freedoms are deteriorating due to Beijing's interference. Photos: HKEJ, Bloomberg
Hong Kong freest in the world but personal freedoms under threat
Hong Kong is the freest place in the world thanks to rule of law inherited from the British, according to the Human Freedom Index.
The ranking by the Cato Institute, a think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., gave Hong Kong a score of 9.04 out of 10, citing data from 2012, the latest year for which figures are available.
Switzerland comes in second at 8.8, followed by Finland (8.63), Denmark (8.62), New Zealand (8.61), Canada (8.6), Australia (8.55), Ireland (8.54), Britain (8.51) and Sweden (8.5).
The United States (8.26) is ranked No. 20 while Taiwan (8.22) is No. 24 and Singapore (7.79) is No. 43. China (5.86) ranks 132.
Hong Kong tops the list mainly due to economic freedom, not personal freedom.
The Economic Freedom Index gave Hong Kong a top score of 8.98, ahead of Singapore (8.54), New Zealand (8.25), Switzerland (8.19) and Mauritius (8.09).
All top 10 countries in the Personal Freedom Index are from Europe.
These are Denmark (9.58), Sweden (9.53), Norway (9.43), Austria (9.42), Finland (9.42), Switzerland (9.4), Iceland (9.37), Netherlands (9.34), Luxembourg (9.34) and Germany (9.34).
Hong Kong (9.09) is ranked No. 18 for personal freedom while Taiwan (8.73) is No. 29 and the US (8.71) is No. 31. Singapore (7.05) is No. 75 while China (5.33) is No. 135.
“Hong Kong is unique in that it long enjoyed high levels not only of economic freedom but also of personal liberty and income without transitioning to democracy,” according to the Cato Institute report published on Monday in the US.
Hong Kong’s close adherence to the policies and institutions it inherited from the British, including rule of law, explains the stability of its system until recently displayed, it said.
However, the think tank expects a decline in Hong Kong’s freedom ratings due to intensifying interference by Beijing if data in the past few years are taken into account.
“The 2014 pro-democracy protests represent a political agenda not acceptable to Beijing and are a reaction to interference and perceived interference by mainland China in Hong Kong’s policies and institutions including infringements on freedom of the press and the independence of the legal system,” it said.
Hong Kong tops the Human Freedom Index chart. Photo: HKEJ
Hong Kong beats Singapore as the freest economy in the world. Photo: HKEJ
Hong Kong is ranked No. 18. in personal freedom. People in European countries enjoy more personal freedom. Photo: Reuters
Pro-democracy protesters hold up their mobile phones to kick off the Occupy campaign on Aug. 31, 2014. Photo: Reuters
Don’t forget the anniversary of the 831 Resolution
Leung Chun-ying, who has survived wave after wave of pressure to oust him from power, has been busy seeking a second term — secretly and step by step.
In contrast, his nemeses, including the pan-democrats and the business elites who supported Henry Tang Ying-yan in the last election, are indulging in wishful thinking that Leung will be replaced by Beijing sooner or later.
If they don’t get rid of this “slave’s mindset”, they are bound to repeat their mistake in 2012, when Leung, who had been widely considered a long shot in the race, surprised everyone by beating Tang and getting the top job.
To most Hong Kong people, last year’s Umbrella Revolution was a social movement of immense scale and heroic proportions.
However, in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, it was just nickel-and-dime affair, especially when seen in the larger context of the state of affairs across China.
During the 79-day protests not a dumpster on the street was burnt nor a shop window broken; only a few children were reduced to tears. That’s the worst that could ever have happened to the city.
To Beijing, the protesters were just a bunch of wimps and definitely not a force to reckon with.
Compared to other global events, the “unrest” in Hong Kong was just a sideshow.
Next month will mark the first anniversary of the Umbrella Movement, not to mention the first anniversary of the “831 Resolution” which will be upon us in just a few days.
It is understandable that the pan-democrats are deliberately giving this memorable day the cold shoulder because for them, it was a day of humiliation in the fight for democracy.
They probably wish Hong Kong people would forget the entire thing and continue to vote for them in the upcoming elections and rely on them wholeheartedly to achieve democracy.
On the other hand, Leung Chun-ying is marking the run-up to the first anniversary of the “uprising” by beginning to press criminal charges against the four student leaders.
It is obviously a calculated move and the Department of Justice seems to be at his complete disposal.
The fact that Leung is still in the mood to take care of these little things suggests that he is still firmly in power, at least for now.
The prosecution of the student leaders, which is obviously being carried out with sheer malice and at a carefully chosen time, also serves to show Leung’s victory in the struggle against the pan-democrats and student leaders who spearheaded the Occupy Movement.
In fact, not a single individual has ever been sentenced to a jail term for organizing an illegal assembly since the 1980s.
Legislator Wong Yuk-man was once convicted of organizing an unlawful assembly, but he was only given a three-month suspended sentence. After he successfully appealed to the High Court, all he needed to do was to pay a fine.
Therefore, student leaders who are facing criminal charges basically have nothing to worry about except that they might have to bear criminal records once convicted.
However, some of the less well-known or unknown protesters who had taken part in the Occupy Movement as average citizens, and who had been convicted of various other charges, were sentenced much more severely, not least because the pan-democrats had denied any form of association with these frontline protesters and refused to provide them legal assistance.
In fact, the pan-democrats will have a price to pay for turning a blind eye to these so-called “rioters” because once swift and severe sentences have become the norm with the court in dealing with anti-government protesters, the result is likely that the police will get even tougher on them, putting the pan-democrats themselves, who gained their popularity mainly by taking to the streets, on the receiving end.
Undoubtedly, due to the lukewarm response of the pan-democrats and the present stalemate in the pro-democracy movement, August 31 is almost forgotten.
However, will the people of Hong Kong still remain forgetful when September 28 arrives?
People might think I am deeply pessimistic about the future of the pro-democracy movement. I am not.
To the contrary, I have never been more optimistic, as the Occupy Movement has already raised the awareness of our fellow citizens, especially people from the younger the generation, who no longer rely on the hypocritical pan-democrats to get them democracy.
I am sure our future is promising. The “direct actions” spearheaded by gallant and fearless individual protesters have given rise to a new breed of resistance movement, which has caught the Leung Chun-ying administration completely off guard.
While the pan-democrats might regard the upcoming elections as a race to gain more seats, activists of “direct actions” and members of the indigenous faction might see them as an ideal opportunity to get their message of revolution across, and the result could be staggering.
Hong Kong exchange students visit the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing. Travel is a good part of our education, but be careful of hidden political motives. Photo: Passing On The Torch
Why CY Leung wants students to visit China more frequently
It is better to travel far than to read voluminously. As they say, seeing is believing.
However, for those who want to know China well, a huge dose of independent thinking may come in handy.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has called on Hong Kong youth to travel to the mainland more frequently to gain a better understanding of the nation.
Speaking at the inauguration of a pro-Beijing youth association on Sunday, Leung said it’s not enough for Hong Kong secondary school students to visit China only twice during their school term.
As Chinese citizens, Hong Kong youth have the responsibility to know more about their country, he said.
And since China is growing fast, they should travel to the country more frequently to be able to catch up with the frenetic changes happening across the border.
Leung concluded his speech by saying that the government is working on a plan to enable students to know more about China’s glorious history and current development in an objective and comprehensive way.
The plan, of course, includes enabling students to visit the mainland more than twice during their school term.
From an educational perspective, there’s nothing wrong with such a plan.
Anyone who is interested in knowing the real China should visit its bustling urban areas as well as its vast rural villages.
Their travels will allow them to gain a first-hand perception of the rapid changes occurring across the land.
However, there is a lot to be suspicious about when the government, which is unabashedly pro-Beijing, wants to spend aggressively to enable students to visit China more often and for local schools to organize study tours for the purpose of experiencing life over there.
In fact, the government has allocated HK$100 million to allow Hong Kong students to visit China at least once.
Some media have labeled these study tours as brainwashing tours as they are not designed to allow the students to gain an independent understanding of China.
Instead, they will only show the pleasant aspects of life in China and bombard the students with propaganda about the country’s glorious past and proud present, and what the Communist Party is doing to ensure its bright future.
Since 1949, when it came to power, the Communist Party has used education as a tool to maintain its iron grip on the people.
As such, these study tours won’t allow the young generation to know more about the disasters that it created in the past decades, including the Cultural Revolution in the ’60s and ’70s as well as the June 4, 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy students at Tiananmen Square.
Of course, students could benefit from these study tours. Their experiences in China will prompt them to know more.
It is this inquisitive nature and independent-mindedness of the students that prompted them to raise questions about the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland.
And that could be the reason why many young people don’t want to embrace Beijing’s rule over Hong Kong.
Students and teachers are also concerned about the injection of politics into the city’s education policy. This violates the independence of the academic community and wreaks havoc on the professionalism of its administration and faculty.
However, the Leung government seems keen on breaking these time-honored values and tradition and turn the campus into a political battlefield, where both students and teachers feel growing pressure to toe the Beijing line.
One instance is the introduction of teaching materials on the Basic Law, the city’s constitutional foundation under Beijing rule.
These materials promote the Beijing’s interpretation of the “one country, two systems” principle, which is that Hong Kong’s “high degree of autonomy” comes from the authority of the central government.
In effect, the government wants to reshape the thinking of Hong Kong youth so that they will recognize Hong Kong as part of China.
Under the Leung administration, schools are an important battlefield for the chief executive to implement Beijing’s patriotic education, which is part of the goal to turn Hong Kong youngsters into Beijing supporters.
Teachers are also keen on pushing this type of education as they seek more government funding, turning education into a business operation.
Hong Kong’s success in the past decades was not due to the political games being played by our politicians.
It is a product of individual talents and skills, and an educational system that trains them without any political intervention.
But now the government apparently wants to turn school campuses into political indoctrination camps that will turn students into rabid Beijing supporters.
That is why it is all the more important for students, teachers and parents to join forces and promote the importance of independent and critical thinking.
It’s our only defense against political intervention.
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