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 267
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 82 (08-09-2015)
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 82 (08-09-2015)
Full coverage of the day’s events
Beijing hears about new path to reform
The Hong Kong and central governments need to reach a consensus on understanding the principle of "one country, two systems" before political reform can be launched.
It is also important for the two sides to have matching views on articles in the Basic Law relating to local elections, says former Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah.
Tong said he conveyed these views as convener of think tank Path of Democracy when he met Beijing officials last week while attending the celebrations marking the 70 anniversary of the end of World War II.
He said Feng Wei, the deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, asked him whether his think tank would genuinely stick to the principle in the pursuit of democracy.
Tong also discussed the necessary conditions for the relaunch of political reform with liaison office director Wang Guangya and other senior officials.
They indicated they would not want to see a repeat of this year's failure when the government's proposed reform package was voted down.
Feng met Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, vice chairmen Lo Kin-hei and Andrew Wan Siu-kin, party chief executive Lam Cheuk-ting and lawmaker Wu Chi-wai in a surprise ice-breaking meeting last month.
Tong does not believe central government officials will be contacting pan-democrats again in the short term.
This is because they will not want to affect the chances of the pro-Beijing parties in the upcoming district council and Legislative Council elections.
As such, it is unlikely there will be any major improvement in the relationship between Beijing and pan democrats in the next 12 months, he said.
But in the long run, the central government should build a normal relationship from more one- on-one meetings.
Democratic Party member Tik Chi-yuen, who says he will soon quit the party, has tried to persuade Tong to take part in the Legco elections next year by representing moderate voters. Tong has so far stood firm in his decision not to take part.
Legislator Yiu Si-wing (inset) said the protests were aimed at wooing voters in the District Council elections. But activist Ronald Leung (holding mike) said the protests were going on for the past three years. Photos: HKEJ, CNSA
Anti-parallel trading protests linked to upcoming elections
Legislator Yiu Si-wing, who is also a director at China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Ltd., said the recent protest against mainland parallel traders in Sheung Shui was part of efforts by some people to solicit voters’ support in the upcoming District Council elections.
Yiu, who represents the tourism sector in the Legislative Council, said in a radio program on Monday that he felt it was strange that anti-parallel trading protests re-emerged in the past few days even though the government is addressing the problem through tighter customs inspections and a plan to build a shopping facility at the border.
Yiu said the protests were hurting the local tourism industry.
But Ronald Leung Kam-shing, a spokesman for the North District Parallel Imports Concern Group, disagreed with Yiu’s comments, noting that such protests have been going on for the past three years.
Leung said it was laughable that someone would think the protests were related to the elections. He said those who are saying so are simply trying to discredit legitimate protest.
Legislator Vincent Fang Kang said the wholesale and retail sector which he represents is going through a difficult period that is worse than the situation during the SARS outbreak in 2003.
He blames declining retail sales in the city on protests targeting mainland visitors and shoppers.
According to the Census and Statistics Department, retail sales for the first seven months this year dropped 1.7 percent from a year ago, but plummeted 6.1 percent during the same period in 2003, when Hong Kong was hit by SARS.
Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing refused to speculate on whether the protests were related to the District Council elections, but stressed that such mass actions would not help any election campaign.
Leung said it was Yiu who was taking an overly political perspective on the protests, which should not be regarded as part of an election campaign.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Hong Kong Trade Unions in Tourism issued a statement blasting the anti-parallel trading protesters for being “uncivilized” and hurting the interest of the local tourism sector.
The union said it feared such protests would lead to more layoffs in the industry.
District councillor finds her voter address changed without her knowledge
A Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions district councillor has discovered that her address was changed on the voter register without her knowledge. The incident is among numerous voter address controversies in the lead-up to the District Council election.
Lau Kwai-yung changed her voter address to Belvedere Garden in Tsuen Wan in early 2015 after moving. However, she found that her address on the register was changed back to Tin Heng Estate in Tin Shui Wai—her residence before moving to Tsuen Wan—by an anonymous individual in April. She discovered the change in late August, reported The Sun.
Lau Kwai-yung. Photo: Lau Kwai-yung/Facebook.
Lau is a district councillor for the Fu Yan constituency in Tin Shui Wai. Tin Heng Estate is under another constituency in the same district, where another member of her party is the current district councillor. She told the newspaper that she was worried that the change was planted to make people suspect it to be an act of vote-rigging. She has asked the Registration and Electoral Office to change the address to her current one in Tsuen Wan.
In August, a voter’s residential address was changed to his office address by an unknown individual using a forged signature, meaning he became a registered voter in another district.
Cases of suspected fraud where voter addresses were deemed suspicious include voters registered to dismantled buildings, non-existent floors and a five-star hotel. The growing number of dubious registrations has raised concerns that the “voters” may have been planted to manipulate election results.
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