As of Monday morning, police attempted to disperse protesters camped outside Hong Kong’s Central Government Complex using pepper spray and tear gas, with many protesters abiding by orders and some refusing to move. Occupy Central, the official name given to the protest movement concerning Hong Kong’s recent electoral reforms, has swept international headlines since Sept. 22; it has prompted speculation about whether China’s new leader will continue to clamp down on protestors, as they did during the notorious incident of Tiananmen Square, or compromise and allow for democratic progress.
To give some background, Hong Kong was historically a British port colony from 1841-1997, and established itself as one of the most important Pacific ports, as well as one of the leading financial centers in East Asia. In 1997, the United Kingdom relinquished its control of Hong Kong and handed it over to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)- a.k.a. the mainland Chinese government- as it had agreed to in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Part of this deal was that there was to be a 50 year guarantee that Hong Kong would exercise autonomy over domestic affairs separate from Beijing’s oversight, which included allowing freedom of the press, power to maintain its own currency, multiple political parties, regional elections and a general laisse-faire attitude towards the economy, all of which are restricted in varying degrees within the rest of mainland China.
On Aug. 31, the PRC announced restrictions for elections in Hong Kong; instead of allowing free elections, Beijing would choose the Legislative Council in 2016, and the Chief Executive (similar to a governor in the US) in 2017. One of these restrictions includes setting up a nominating committee to select two to three candidates rather than allowing an open ballot, and that regardless of popular vote, the PRC would have final say on the selection of the Chief Executive.
Residents in Hong Kong, in particular students from the groups known as Scholarism and the Hong Kong Federation of Students, took to the streets starting mid-September to protest what they view as an overstep of power by Beijing and what they view as a loss of democratic power among the people of Hong Kong. Occupy Central, the Hong Kong auxiliary of the international Occupy movement, declared on Sept. 28 a civil disobedience encampment in the Central Government Complex; they refused to leave until Hong Kong secures truly free, democratic elections free of the PRC’s oversight in addition to the resignation of current Executive Chief Leung Chun-ying.
Despite a heavy response by the police, the protests have remained largely peaceful, and protesters have taken community action in maintaining the peace and overall cleanliness of the sites they are temporarily occupying.
The fact that high school and college students in Hong Kong have played such a huge part in this campaign to ensure democratic rights exemplifies the impact young people can have on public opinion and awareness on such issues. Like Hong Kong, the United States also faces a crisis with its democracy.
Since the Supreme Court upheld the Citizen’s United case in 2011, corporations, wealthy individuals, and unions are protected by the first amendment to donate as much as they please to various candidates’ campaigns via political action committees. This has enabled government officials to pass laws that reflect their donors’ opinions, rather than the opinions of their constituents to such an extent that the 2014 Princeton University study “Testing Theories of American Politics” considers the US a de facto oligarchy rather than a functioning democracy.
One would assume that such a scenario would cause mass upheaval among American students, who historically have played a huge role in progressive causes such as the Civil Rights movement, anti-Vietnam protests and the Feminist movement during the 1960s. However, students today are not as politically active.
According to the United States Census Bureau, in 1964, over 50 percent of Americans 18-24 years of age voted whereas in 2012, only 38 percent did so. Not only is American democracy at stake, but young people also face an economic scenario where over 30 percent of college graduates are underemployed, while unemployment for those with only a high school diploma remained at 7.5 percent in 2013 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If anything, we as students and recent graduates have more of a reason to take to the streets than our peers in Hong Kong. Thus far, students in Hong Kong have filled the streets, barricaded major roads, blocked access to central offices and even held high level negotiations with the Hong Kong government. Like them, we must start educating ourselves better about our political system, and begin to tackle the blatant and legal bribery that is eroding our democracy and causing our representatives to cater to corporate interests rather than our own, especially as we face a much bleaker economic future than our parents and grandparents did.
If the students of Hong Kong can shake up their government to the point of receiving international attention, so can we.
