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 212
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 27
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 27
Full coverage of the day’s events on 15-07
No need for violence to further localist cause, says Hong Kong academic
Horace Chin Wan-kan is an advocate of the city-state concept. Photo: Jonathan Wong
So-called "localists" should not resort to violence to fight against the government as it was unnecessary, an advocate of a Hong Kong city state said yesterday.
Academic Dr Horace Chin Wan-kan, who teaches Chinese at Lingnan University, said that the public and legislators would not tolerate it if something unjust happened in society.
Citing the recent scare over lead-contaminated water at Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City as an example, Chin, also known as Chin Wan and considered by many as the godfather of localism, said: "If the government fails to solve the issue, you guess how the residents would react. Mildly or violently?"
Chin is head of Hong Kong Resurgence, which uses the slogan "Conserve Hong Kong" and advocates a desire to "revive Hong Kong's golden age".
"[There is] no need to use bombs," Chin said in response to the alleged involvement of a "localist" group called the National Independent Party in a suspected plot to bomb targets on Hong Kong Island last month. Localists earlier distanced themselves from the 10 radicals arrested, and questioned if the party was a genuine localist group.
Groups recently active in social affairs include Hong Kong Indigenous, which gained prominence during sometimes violent protests against cross-border traders in the New Territories, the Hong Kong Independence Party and Hong Kong Localism Power.
Promoting his third book on the city-state concept, Chin said he would continue organising summits and spreading his ideas on social media.
In the upcoming district council elections, Chin said there would be "five to six" localists running for a seat. But he dismissed speculation that he would run in Legislative Council and district council elections.
"I would not join the elections [as a candidate]," Chin said. "As a councillor, you cannot stand firm to your principles because of votes.
"If I say I am against same-sex marriage … I would offend many of the middle-class people. They would not consider my rationale behind [these views]."
He said he would help candidates who shared his ideology to canvass votes.
WHY HONGKONGERS RESENT “DAMA” DANCE?
15th July, 2015
Why Hongkongers Resent “Dama” Dance?
Recent protests targeting Dama dancers have drawn significant media attention: even international media have reported on the protests – particularly on the scuffles between protesters and the authorities and pro-China groups supporting Dama dancers. The majority of the news reports focused on cultural differences and spun the story to hint, if not directly accuse, Hongkongers of discriminating against Chinese or being xenophobic.
Was it discrimination as the media have suggested? Was it simply cultural differences that caused the dispute between Hongkongers and Chinese on this matter? Why did Hongkongers have to protest against “dancing in public”? Was it about distasteful Communist songs being played with disco grade speakers at the loudest possible volume? To understand the reason for these protests, the first question one needs to ask is: what is the Dama Dance?
A little history of Dama Dance
Dama (大媽), a term that was added to Oxford Dictionary in 2014, means rich middle-aged women. Dama Dance is essentially a group of women, typically middle-aged, dancing to Communist music or dancing along to someone’s singing of old tunes. The music and dance resemble Cultural Revolution dances “Zhongzi Wu (忠字舞, Character Zhong Dance)”. “Zhong” (忠) means loyalty, often referring to blind and unquestioning loyalty to the authorities. One must also understand that during the Cultural Revolution, all cultural activities (which the Communist Party labelled as one of the “Four Olds”) were condemned and supposed to be eradicated.
Photo: The Stand News
Along with the rich and landowners, anyone who possessed skill of any sort, including dancers, opera singers, musicians and the like, had to face “struggle sessions” and torture, forcing them to admit that they were “anti-revolutionists”. All of those who refused to “admit their crimes” were tortured to death or simply executed, often by their nearest and dearest. In a cultural vacuum, Communist Party created their own “culture”, including the notorious “Red Song” and “Revolutionary Opera” which praised Chairman Mao Zedong and Communism. China’s communism came from the Soviet Union, a foreign concept that Mao saw fit to indoctrinate Chinese people with by manipulating the poor using their hard living situation and resulting anger at the rich. This “new culture” was created to replace the culture that many – especially Westerners – admire, and which originated in ancient China: Han Empire, Tang Empire, Song Empire, Yuen Empire and Ming Empire were culture was rich, especially in music, poetry, paintings, arts and crafts.
One thing many do not know is that China’s General Administration of Sports (GAS) has recently formalised the choreography of the Dama Dance, which means China’s Communist Party has endorsed Dama Dance. China’s GAS is also actively promoting Dama Dance. What does this mean? This means that China’s Communist Party is using this “new form of performing art”, under the banner of promoting sports, as a united-front propaganda across China as well as overseas.
How do others response to Dama Dance?
Dama Dance started in China many years ago. During the last couple of years, Dama Dance has been spotted in major cities around the world including New York and Paris (outside the Louvre). With the population of Chinese new immigrants (estimated at one million over the past 18 years), Hong Kong is not being spared the invincible Dama Dance, and “performances” are often, if not daily, spotted at public parks, cycling paths, streets and pedestrian areas, accompanied by extremely loud music. In New York, police arrested some of these Damas after numerous complaints were filed.
What about China, where Dama Dance was founded? Besides throwing night soil at Damas, Chinese also deploy anti-Dama Dance sound system (mega speakers as expensive as RMB260,000 per news reports) to counter the dancing Damas, Tibetan Mastiff was sent to attack Damas, even blank bullets were fired at parks where Damas dance every day.
What about China, where Dama Dance was founded? Besides throwing night soil at Damas, Chinese also deploy anti-Dama Dance sound system (mega speakers as expensive as RMB260,000 per news reports) to counter the dancing Damas, Tibetan Mastiff was sent to attack Damas, even blank bullets were fired at parks where Damas dance every day.
News report on man sending Tibetan Mastiff to attack and firing bullets at dancing Damas (full story)
Why do Hongkongers protest against Dama Dance?
The resentment across China and in the West is directed at the astounding volumes of noise Damas create at any given time of the day disregarding the disturbance their dance (or as some call it, “exercise”) causes the neighbourhood.
In Hong Kong, however, it is a very different story. Of course the “music” still pierces people’s eardrums, but the reasons Hongkongers protest and campaign against Dama Dance are: (1) prostitution; and (2) cultural invasion.
In Hong Kong, however, it is a very different story. Of course the “music” still pierces people’s eardrums, but the reasons Hongkongers protest and campaign against Dama Dance are: (1) prostitution; and (2) cultural invasion.
(Story of Dama prostitution)
Hongkongers are used to people exercising in public parks. Prior to the 1997 sovereignty handover, elders or mid-age people doing Tai Chi, Chi Kung (or Qi Gong) or stretching were often seen at public parks with Oriental classical music playing in the background. Footage used in theUrban Council’s 1996 advertisement shows that exercising in public parks is widely accepted in Hong Kong.
There have been number of cases of local performing artists, including portrait artists and musicians, being prosecuted for accepting money in public, which is regarded as illegal begging. Damas, as demonstrated by videos and news reports, have been receiving money from the public but are not being prosecuted by the police, instead police is often sighted protecting these Damas. In addition to the police, pro-China groups that are linked to and funded by the government of China support these Damas too. This once again highlights that Dama Dance is not only an innocent cultural activity, but a new version of “Zhongzi Wu” that China’s Communist Party forced upon others.
A Hongkonger questions police for arresting protesters at anti-Dama Dance protest
Photos and videos of flamboyant Damas dancing hyper-energetically in public parks near residential areas in the New Territories (multiple videos on YouTube) with loud Chinese Communist music have raised many eyebrows amongst the locals. News reports and eye witnesses have shown that these Damas are offering not just dance and songs to the public, but targeting old widowers and pensioners who pay a few bucks in exchange for “touching and kissing” Damas. These Damas are labelled as “god daughters” (契女) by these elderlies, a coded-term used in Hong Kong to describe young mistresses. The “leaders” of Dama dances, who charge Dama dancers for each “tour”, also admitted that these Damas are new immigrants from China married to old Hongkongers with young children.
A Dama taking money from a patron. Full video here.
(Apple Daily’s undercover story on Dama prostitution and English summary)
Recently, after congregating in public housing playgrounds, these Damas have danced their way into Mong Kok’s pedestrian zones in the evening, right in the centre of one of Hong Kong’s oldest and most traditional neighbourhoods, but the nature of their dancing remains the same.
As mentioned above, Damas are foot-soldiers in the vanguard of China’s Communist Party. Their participation in political events has also been spotted in Hong Kong in recent years. For example, Damas occupied Apple Daily’s headquarters (Next Media Building) to prevent the newspaper’s publication during the Umbrella Revolution. Although some may claim that these Chinese middle-aged women are uneducated paid pawns of the CCP, it is undeniable that the same type of women can be easily mobilised by the CCP regardless of what the mission is. By following the bread-crumb trail, one will find that these Damas are not innocent disadvantaged women, but in fact no different from the paid thugs who appear violent and ferocious. It is also worth noting that CCP have been using women and children to fight in the frontline to win battles – taking advantage of their enemies’ moral and decency.
An example of Dama Dance classes offered by pro-China organisations
Taiwan’s example
Perhaps many will be disgusted by this theory, yet it is important for us to acknowledge that sometimes the old tricks are the best tricks. China’s strategy of “virginal united-front troops”: As the name suggests, China has been using women as their frontline united-front spies, and there are reports about military secrets or classified information being compromised.
China Production Party (CPP, 中華生產黨) in Taiwan is a registered political party that worships Mao Zedong, with the majority of its members being the spouses (mostly female) of Taiwanese. The Party’s key manifestos are the unification of Taiwan and China, to spread the founder’s beliefs and that “Chairman Lu Yeuxiang (founder of CPP) is our savour”. Leaders and affiliates of CPP openly said that they will colonise Taiwan, for example funding overseas Taiwanese to travel back to Taiwan for an election to secure the party’s (Kuomintang’s) victory. Besides hosting Dama dances in Taiwan’s parks, CPP also violently confront Falun Gong practitioners.
As news reports in Taiwan show, Taiwanese worry about Taiwan’s political Hongkong-isation. This article explains how the sudden increase of political parties and organisations in Taiwan has raised concerns, and compares the newly-formed parties with the pro-China parties in Hong Kong (the majority of these new parties in Taiwan advocate the unification of Taiwan and China). Many have demanded an investigation into these parties’ sources of funding.
Taiwan SETN: 116 new parties formed in 6 years. Blue flag is CPP’s flag, very similar to China’s (full story)
SETN: Hong Kong’s pro-China organisations’ operation model is being replicated in Taiwan (full story)
CPP’s founder Lu Yuexiang who is now a Taiwan citizen (her name in Taiwanese Romanisation is Lo Yud-Heng) has done and said many things that are loud and clear warning messages: That she knelt down in front of Mao Zedong’s preserved body and kowtowed to him three times together with her CPP followers, is only one example. In an interview, Lu said that, “in the future, all Taiwan generals and officials should be doing the same thing.” She also explained that “members of CPP learn and practice to dance (Dama Dance)… and perform after they master the dance moves. Every time the members finish their performance, they will declare to the audience that ‘we are the CPP’s dance troupe’.” Lu also admitted in the interview that when she first founded CPP, members sought help and approval from the CCP Internal Affairs Department.
Besides Dama Dance, CPP’s members are often wives of Taiwanese men who are much older. Astonishingly similar to the situation in Hong Kong: old Hongkonger men marrying young Chinese women.
Another remarkable similarity between the Damas in Taiwan and Hong Kong is clearly explained in a speech delivered by a Taiwanese Kuomintang businesswoman, “we must focus on collaboration between Kuomintang and China’s Communist Party for the stability of both lands. It is not about two or three million people (in Taiwan)… over 350,000 Taiwanese businessmen/women are married to Chinese. Assuming that each of these Taiwanese and Chinese couples have two children each in Taiwan and that these children will apply for their Chinese parents to move to Taiwan. This means that there will be one million more voters in Taiwan for us to target. If we manage to lure them to vote for Kuomintang, it is impossible for us to lose.” This resembles the pan-democrats in Hong Kong who have been working on luring the Chinese new immigrants to vote for them. After all, politicians do not necessarily work for the betterment of the society but quite possibly just for a permanent job in the legislature.
Perhaps the Damas in Hong Kong are being used by China with or without their knowing. Regardless, Dama Dance is not merely a “new cultural activity” or “an exercise” that Hongkongers should “respect”. The complexity of the background, agenda and political motives behind are much more that it seems on the surface.
Faced with constant calls from Hongkongers to step down, Leung Chun-ying should consider retiring to London, where people are far more tolerant of poor public services. Photo: Bloomberg
Why CY Leung should consider moving to London
In a week dominated by fears about the Greek debt crisis and Chinese stock market crash, I took a holiday in London, where the only thing that really bothered me was a tube strike.
Dubbed the worst in London in 13 years, the strike by workers on the London Underground lasted over 36 hours, which left me stranded on the street until almost midnight but also got me thinking about Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
Unlike what would have been reported in the Hong Kong press had the union action occurred in our city, the strike was treated in London almost like a non-event.
Not just because Londoners are prone to strikes, but also because it could no nothing to upset their summer mood.
On a beautiful day, with the temperature at 25 degrees Celsius, no one minded walking an hour to the office.
And when they finished work, they could still reach home before sundown, which only occurs after 9 p.m.
This apathy of the Londoners caught me off guard.
I decided to venture to the West End, knowing that the strike would be over by the time the show ended.
Unfortunately, I did not know that strikes in London, like the weather, are unpredictable.
The strike went into extra time, and I was stuck in the middle of Piccadilly Circus with no cab in sight.
Taking a bus was an option, but after two fully loaded buses passed me by in 30 minutes, I gave up.
People were still quietly waiting on the street.
I hailed a tricycle rickshaw, but the rider wanted to charge me 45 pounds (US$69.80), triple the price of a cab ride.
So don’t blame Hong Kong taxi drivers for overcharging you during typhoons – they are all the same.
I decided to walk to my hotel, which would have taken an hour.
However, I managed to jump in a cab after a tiring 30 minute walk.
The next day, I met two Hong Kong friends who had settled well into London.
Both were taken aback by the calmness of Londoners in this difficult period.
“Imagine what would have happened if the MTR had stopped for just two hours,” one said.
The answer is, of course, that CY Leung would be asked to resign.
That is the repeated call by Hongkongers, who are in uproar basically every week, most recently when they lambasted the Hong Kong Observatory for hoisting the No.8 signal for a typhoon that turned out to be a damp squib.
Even in Singapore, where the media is less vocal, similar calls for accountability from senior government officials have been heard when the MRT system breaks down.
Why are Chinese people outside mainland China growing more impatient with their governments?
They seem to have forgotten what the old colonial government taught us.
In this part of the world, the culture of complaint is becoming more prevalent because the media is ready and willing to highlight complaints from the public.
By contrast, it is rare to see Britons shouting at a firm’s employee even if they are not happy with the service.
They will patiently wait an hour in a line-up at HSBC without asking for a cup of tea.
In this light, spare a thought for CY Leung, who has rarely seen a day without a bad headline three years into his term of office.
The unpopular chief executive, who is widely speculated to be leaving his job early next year because of his poor relationship with the pan-democrats, will probably find it more relaxing in the home of the former colonial power.
There he could buy a palace with the payout he received upon the sale of DTZ and live happily with his three kids, enjoying the respect he deserves, in the world’s most tolerant country.
Coconuts
Poor quality of life goes with poor government performance for Hong Kong youth
The Centre for Quality of Life at the Chinese University of Hong Kong has published its annual Youth Quality of Life Index Report, explaining exactly what kids today are moaning about. Phew!
According to the results, Hong Kong’s young people have perceived an overall drop in quality of life over the past 12 months.
The total score for 2014-15 was 100.65, dropping 0.59 points from last year but still 0.65 point above the base year in 2012-13.
, sponsored by the MTR Corporation, gathers it’s scores by compiling government statistics and subjective telephone surveys with Hongkongers aged 15-24.
The index measures the quality of life for youth in Hong Kong through 28 indicators, which are grouped into eight domains consisting of physical health, psychological well-being, society, economics, education, politics, living environment and overall well-being.
This year, the domains of society, economics, living environment and education showed improvements, while the realms physical health, politics, overall well-being and psychological well-being saw lower scores.
Among the indicators that experienced the most improvement were current economic conditions, youth crime rate, social services participation and drug abuse behaviour.
(The latter means they’re taking fewer drugs, we assume.)
However, many indicators also experienced a noticeable drop, especially in the domain of politics and physical health.
The largest indicator drop was government performance evaluation, which fell by 18 percent, stooping to a measly score of 2.2 out of 10, compared with 2.7 in 2014 and 3.1 in 2013.
According to the results, Hong Kong’s young people have perceived an overall drop in quality of life over the past 12 months.
The total score for 2014-15 was 100.65, dropping 0.59 points from last year but still 0.65 point above the base year in 2012-13.
, sponsored by the MTR Corporation, gathers it’s scores by compiling government statistics and subjective telephone surveys with Hongkongers aged 15-24.
The index measures the quality of life for youth in Hong Kong through 28 indicators, which are grouped into eight domains consisting of physical health, psychological well-being, society, economics, education, politics, living environment and overall well-being.
This year, the domains of society, economics, living environment and education showed improvements, while the realms physical health, politics, overall well-being and psychological well-being saw lower scores.
Among the indicators that experienced the most improvement were current economic conditions, youth crime rate, social services participation and drug abuse behaviour.
(The latter means they’re taking fewer drugs, we assume.)
However, many indicators also experienced a noticeable drop, especially in the domain of politics and physical health.
The largest indicator drop was government performance evaluation, which fell by 18 percent, stooping to a measly score of 2.2 out of 10, compared with 2.7 in 2014 and 3.1 in 2013.
An Aussie’s memoir: Watching the SAR grow
I embarked on my very first overseas trip in 1984 to Hong Kong and China, the latter still a land of grey and blue Mao suits. Ten years on, in 1994, as I was just about to finish a degree in Asian Studies at the University of Sydney, I obtained a scholarship for a year’s study at Fudan University’s language school in Shanghai. Before arriving in Shanghai, I had a few days “sinicizing” in Hong Kong. I took a trip up to Victoria Peak to overlook the city and bought a key ring with “Hong Kong” on it. Little did I know that three years later I would be in Hong Kong, a result of seeing a notice for a job as an editorial assistant atRenditions, a translation journal of Chinese literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
However, the job would not start till late October. In the interim, I watched the lead up to Hong Kong transitioning to a Special Administrative Region of China. I watched the “global media spectacle” on TV and read about it in newspapers. Would Hong Kong change completely overnight? Would the PLA’s tanks come rumbling in under cover of darkness and arrest Martin Lee? The speculation in the world’s media ranged from nuanced to way over the top. I had the impression that some commentators really wanted Armageddon to happen. Nothing much happened.
Like a new boss who promises “things will remain the same”, and despite the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law promising “maintenance” and “continuance” of most of Hong Kong’s pre-handover systems, things did change. Arriving in the newly minted SAR, I watched these changes slowly take place. I certainly feel like a part of history.
Seeing how people talked about these political changes and the promise of future democratization in the form of universal suffrage was interesting from someone who came from the stable, prosperous and democratic country of Australia. I am always intrigued why flourishing Hong Kong was always talking about stability and prosperity as if it would all collapse tomorrow. I think that this is because of turmoil next door in China during the Cultural Revolution and also the Confucian cultural ethos of harmony and stability, which is why being pragmatic is seen as a desired virtue in Hong Kong.
Pro-democracy supporters shut down the heart of Hong Kong last year. Photo: Pasu Au Yeung via Flickr.
I became interested in how people “talked” about these changes and this led me to take up linguistic studies and research “social change through language change” – how people talked about democracy and universal suffrage among other issues. I started to become involved in political talks, activities and organizations, wanting to show people that they should have confidence in themselves to handle political and social change.
Of course there will be “birth pangs”. No change is smooth. Largely, I think that the current issues of “localism” relate to uncertainty about identity, the complex historical relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong, and the feeling that mainland concerns takes precedence over Hong Kong’s concerns.
Sometimes I grow depressed about Hong Kong’s journey, but I am glad that I can share Hong Kong’s “teenage” years with it.
Jennifer Eagleton
Jennifer Eagleton, a Hong Kong resident since 1997, is a policy committee member of the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation and was an adviser to the University of Hong Kong’s “Designing Democracy Hong Kong” project. Her PhD analyzed how Hong Kong talks about democracy through metaphor. She is a teacher of English and linguistics as well as researcher and editor.
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