It has been a turbulent time for Hong Kong - starting out as a Anti-Extradition Law protest in June, one quarter of a 7 million population gathered on the streets and occupied the city, lifting up banners saying "No Extradition to China", "Carrie Lam, Step Down" while chanting slogans furiously. The protest has then been publicised internationally on headlines in over 20 countries, when at the same time, the tension between citizens and the government has become more uncontrollable. The contradiction soon grows into aggression, where police were authorised to assault unarmed protestors with unnecessary force: firing pepper spray and tear gas, shooting rubber bullets with no warning and striking protestors with metal batons. Many were hurt, including journalists and citizens who were not even involved in the protests. In the relatively recent metro station attack, masses of evidence exposed the fact that the police were working with the triad thugs. All these incidents, however, only led to utterly disappointing declarations from the government: translating the words used by the officials, the Extradition Law is "on hold" or "dead", and the protests were "riots" that the police should be congratulated for handling very well. Up until last week, more than 180 people were arrested, with 40 people sentenced for rioting and the youngest being only 16 years old.
As soon as the movement has started, my Facebook page was flooded with live updates, videos and news articles. Catching up with the news hasn't been very easy for me, especially with the time zone difference between the UK and Hong Kong. It was especially depressing to read the reports of casualties: 6 people ended their lives but the government persisted to turn a blind eye, and blame protestors for vandalising the Legislative Council as well as devastating Hong Kong. For more than two months, the government has yet to come up with a reconcilement, denied all allegations of corruption and refused to confront protestors. It was shocking to see my home city is actually being ruled by a puppet government.
Hong Kong was a colonial state. It was returned to China in 1997, but Hong Kong is not just another city in China. Because of our rather unusual history, we were given the freedom to have our own political, juridicial and economical systems. We are ruled under the "One County, Two Systems" policy that dictates we are guaranteed to have a democratic government with a high level of autonomy, as well as the freedom of speech, to vote and assembly for 50 years. However, since 2014, our lawful rights have been exploited bit by bit: the Universal Suffrage system for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong has never been enacted; then in 2016, although the Legislative Council members are lawfully elected by the general public, the Chief Executive at that time abused his authority to disqualify some of members with opposing political opinions. These crises thus brought to the Umbrella and the Fishball Movement, and regrettably both ended with bureaucratic distaste.
Five years after the Umbrella Movement, most of the citizens realise that there is no turning back: if we don't voice our concerns now, we will never have another chance. In spite of the government's ignorance, the protestors show their perseverance and resilience. They are determined not to step down unless the government is willing to show their sincerity to reconstruct. Last month, I was fortunate enough to be able to go back to Hong Kong and experience the protests myself. In the face of a momentous demonstration, the protestors managed to retain the subtle humour and silliness of our mother-tongue in the written banners, while some others insisted on retaining discipline during the march. What I can see from the movement is unity: people are acknowledging their identities and pride as a Hong Konger – it is an attribute that myself, being born and raised in Hong Kong, have never experienced before. I could sense hopefulness among the chanting crowd; their demands were loud and clear, that they wished for a society-wide revolution. Changes, however, often come with criticism; most of the older generation hold the protests in disrepute, and criticise the protestors for sabotaging Hong Kong's reputation. On the second month of the movement, not only do people realise that they are fighting against the government, but they are also facing the challenge of dealing with different opinions in society.
Nonetheless, the movement has enlightened people to understand and emphasise politics, as well as pay more attention to the governing system. It is only the first step for Hong Kong to explore its new role in the world; while establishing our true democratic government is, hopefully, not a long way away.
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