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 282
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 97 (23-09-2015)
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 97 (23-09-2015)
Full coverage of the day’s events
Coconuts HKFrontline
Legco history witnessed in court role
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing has made history by becoming the first Legislative Council president to appear in court as a witness.
Tsang appeared yesterday as witness for the defense in a trial involving 12 people who face charges of barging into the Legco premises on June 13 last year to protest against government plans for new towns in the northeastern New Territories.
In a 90-minute meeting of the Legislative Council Commission yesterday morning, all members present agreed that Tsang should appear before the court.
Tsang finally appeared in Eastern Law Courts at 4pm.
Defense lawyer Douglas Kwok King-hin described Tsang as the most important witness.
Tsang said he understood he was called to court as chairman of the commission and agreed not to discuss the case with his lawyer and members of the commission outside of court.
"But I will discuss other work with commission members when I have to."
He also denied having any intention to use the Powers and Privileges Ordinance to be exempted from appearing in court.
Kwok did not question him further, citing insufficient time. Tsang will return to court at 2.45pm today and he is expected to be called again tomorrow.
He left after less than 10 minutes in court, saying: "I am not nervous for sure, I am not the one being judged."
Kwok asked a prosecution witness, former Legco secretary general Pauline Ng Man-wah, if Tsang had misused his power under the ordinance. Ng replied she was unable to confirm this.
The 12 defendants are accused of attempted forcible entry into the Legco complex with bamboo sticks and umbrellas in a protest against funding for the northeastern New Territories Development plan.
The activists pleaded not guilty to unlawful assembly and attempted forcible entry into the legislative building.
Silent protest to mark Umbrella date
Activists are calling on citizens to return to Admiralty for a silent protest on the first anniversary of the Umbrella movement.
Last September 28, police started firing tear gas at the large crowds of pro-democracy supporters gathering in Admiralty near the Central Government Offices.
A year on, the Civil Human Rights Front and various groups have organized events to continue the movement.
They asked citizens to gather near the "Lennon Wall" a spot beneath the footbridge at the junction of Harcourt Road and Tim Mei Avenue to join a 15-minute silent protest from 5.58pm on Monday against the use of tear gas and violence on demonstrators last year.
"Citizens can come and go without talking to each other or chanting slogans," the organizer said. Instead, they can write their reflections and demands on banners.
The main purpose of the event is to reflect on the movement, said the front, which did not provide an estimated attendance figure.
James Hon Lin-sham, from the group 6.17 Social Contract, also said police approved a gathering on Tim Mei Avenue outside Civic Square from Sunday afternoon to Monday night.
"Many groups have not coordinated their activities yet. We booked the location first, so that Umbrella supporters can organize their activities there peacefully and safely," Hon said.
"Using this anniversary, we want to reflect and explore a new way out amid perplexity."
Pro-government "blue ribbon" supporters will gather in Tamar Park, Hon said.
Anti-Occupy leader warns that student activists may die ‘like Osama bin Laden’
Robert Chow, Beijing loyalist and founder of the anti-Occupy Silent Majority movement, said on Monday that student leaders behind last year’s pro-democracy Occupy movement could “die violent deaths… just like Osama bin Laden.”
In an interview with digital broadcaster DBC, the former radio host warned that “if Joshua Wong, Lester Shum and Alex Chow go on like this they’ll likely end up in prison or even dying a violent death. Everyone knows that this is the outcome once you become a terrorist, just like Osama bin Laden.”
Robert Chow (right) with a member of the Silent Majority for Hong Kong.
Chow emerged as a vocal opponent of the pro-democracy movement that occupied parts of Hong Kong from September 28 last year.
During the Occupy Central campaign, Chow’s Alliance for Peace and Democracy launched an anti-Occupy signature campaign to denounce the protesters.
When students first began a class boycott in support of democracy on September 22, Chow also set up a telephone hotline for members of the public to inform on students who participated in the movement.
In June 2014, Chow’s Silent Majority group attracted ridicule online for producing a video warning that Occupy Central would “kill” Hong Kong, turning the city into an anarchic war zone.
HKFP Lens: One year ago – Hong Kong’s pro-democracy class boycott gathers pace
A local photographer who goes by the pseudonym “Cloud” shares pictures from last year’s pro-democracy student class boycott with HKFP.
Hundreds gathered at the legislative building in Admiralty as part of a week-long student “strike” for universal suffrage.
The students remained throughout the week and into the weekend when the movement merged with the Occupy Central plan to give rise to the “Umbrella Movement”.
Half of the Hongkongers surveyed have no confidence in the 'one country, two systems' principle. Photo: HKEJ
Hongkongers most pessimistic since SARS, poll shows
The last time Hongkongers were so pessimistic about the city’s future was during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, a new survey shows.
Half of them lack confidence in the Basic Law’s “one country, two systems” principle, which guaranteed that Hong Kong would retain its institutions and way of life for 50 years after the British returned the colony to China in 1997.
Only 44 percent of the more than 1,000 respondents to the survey, done by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Program (POP) from Sept. 9-17, said they thought Hong Kong’s future was bright, down from 49 percent in a similar survey three months earlier, Apple Daily reported Wednesday.
Half of them did not think the future was bright, up from 43 percent.
That brought the net confidence in Hong Kong’s future (the difference between positive and negative responses) down to minus 6 percent, the lowest since 2003, from positive 6 percent.
The respondents’ net confidence in China’s future also dropped, to 26 percent from 48 percent.
While the survey was being conducted, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said in a speech Sept. 12 that the chief executive has a constitutional status higher than that of the three branches of government — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary — and has “overriding” authority over the judiciary.
Unlike developed countries, Hong Kong does not have real separation of powers, Zhang said.
The survey found that Hongkongers’ net confidence in the “one country, two systems” principle stood at minus 7 percent.
Half of the respondents, including seven in 10 of those aged between 18 and 29, said they have no confidence in the principle.
Five in 10 of those aged 50 and above said they have confidence in “one country, two systems”.
Among the three governments in the Greater China region, 37 percent of respondents said they do not trust the Hong Kong government, 44 percent do not trust the Chinese government and 31 percent do not trust the Taiwan government.
Robert Chung Ting-yiu, the director of POP, said the results of the survey showed the younger the respondents, the less trust they have in Beijing and the “one country, two systems” principle.
Civic Party legislator Kenneth Chan Ka-lok said the survey indicated that many Hongkongers found Zhang’s remarks repulsive.
But fellow legislator Wong Kwok-kin, of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, said that was only one of the many reasons leading to the decline in public confidence, which can be restored if the government strictly follows the Basic Law.
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