POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 19 (03-91-2015)

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.

Occupy Central site in Causeway Bay was cleared as police moved in  ...

POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 19: 

Full coverage of the day’s events

Long Hair allowed to enter Mong Kok temporarily 



League of Social Democrats (LSD) lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, who was barred by a court from entering a large area of Mong Kok after a police clearance operation, has been allowed to return there temporarily on Saturday.

Leung, a vice-chairman of the LSD Raphael Wong and a member Chan Po-ying, were arrested along with other people during the operation on November 26 to clear protesters from some roads in the district.

They later appeared in Kowloon City Court accused of obstructing police officers in carrying out their duties and were banned from returning to Shanghai, Dundas and Fa Yuen Streets, as well as Mong Kok Road, until their next court appearance in mid-January.

However, the three returned to the court on Friday to apply for a temporary lifting of the ban so that they could attend a reception in a restaurant in Mong Kok on Saturday to mark the eighth anniversary of the LSD.

The prosecution said it had no objection provided the application by the three was solely for that purpose.

The Magistrate, Peter Law, granted the application but said it only applied to the time of the reception - from five in the afternoon till midnight the same day.

Although their request was allowed, Leung said he was not entirely pleased. He said it was a waste of the court's time and the three of them will appeal against the ban. 


Protesters may face restrictions outside LegCo

 

The Legislative Council Commission is likely to consider whether to restrict the time protesters will be allowed to stay outside the Council building when it meets on Monday to discuss the possible reopening of the demonstration area.


It may also consider to ban protesters from bringing tents to the area where pro-democracy protesters had congregated during the Occupy movement until the site was cleared last month.


Tsoi - an opportunist or a schemer?



The Occupy movement may be over but a bitter row is brewing in the pro- democracy camp. The figure central to this squabble is Tony Tsoi Tung-ho (蔡東豪).
The seeds were planted in July, when Tsoi shut down the popular pro- democracy website House News.

He did not give a full explanation for the abrupt shutdown, beyond merely saying it was prompted by something terrible, a omission that left supporters guessing. It is still a mystery to this day.

But, just five months later, Tsoi is back, relaunching the website as Stand News yesterday.

In an inauguration statement, he said that while Hong Kong is everybody's house, the stand that Hong Kong is the house won't change.

Did the statement help solve the mystery?

I doubt it. The question remains: why shut the website before the Occupy or the Umbrella movements were even under way and then relaunch it after activists was cleared from the roads, hundreds arrested and clubbed by angry police?

It's only natural that Tsoi's comeback is greeted by a sea of skepticism.

Tsoi, formerly a company executive active here and in the mainland, had signed up as a core member of Occupy Central. However, throughout its early struggles, he was virtually invisible in Admiralty or anywhere else in the occupation for that matter. Instead, he went hiking - as usual.

Tsoi said in his blog that during his hikes his inspiration in the fight for democracy was recharged and referred to an inscription in the Roosevelt Arch of Yellowstone National Park that the first such US facility was created "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people."

Is the explanation valid? I don't think so.

Tsoi still owes Umbrella students an explanation.

According to Stand News, the website is focused on providing commentaries on local news events. Also, it operates as a non-profit making organization free from financial and political control. That, it says, will be the best safeguard of editorial independence.

On board the new website's bandwagon are pop singer and Occupy activist Denise Ho Wan-sze; former Hong Kong Council of Social Services chief Christine Fang Meng-sang; and ex- Civic Party lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee.

But what is more incredible is that in relaunching the website, Tsoi has managed to lure back his former House News staff despite abandoning them without sharing his reasons in the first place.

In this group are people who have taken part in the occupation, so even if doubts cloud their leader, his subordinates are clear - in view of their proven Umbrella street cred.

No matter what the motive he has, it must be admitted that Tsoi is clever in ways that lawmakers Emily Lau Wai- hing or Alan Leong Kah-kit can barely match.

On Ho's part, she said she will be contesting in the 2016 legislative election. The singer is typical of those in the Occupy generation who do not subscribe to the pro-democracy mainstream. It is no wonder the political emergence of the Occupy generation raises concerns among supposedly friendly forces rather than the pro- establishment camp.

Ho disclosed that Tsoi first communicated with her three months ago before tear gas was fired in the first Occupy salvo.


What could this mean? House News was closed in July but in September, Tsoi had already planned its relaunch. Why the quick change and why was it necessary? The mystery deepens.