Simon Denyer
By Simon Denyer
Twenty-one-year-old student Choi doesn’t tell his parents when he heads off to join the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. It’s simply not worth the aggravation. “We had a few discussions, but it never ended well,” he said, using only one name to avoid more trouble with his family. “We avoid talking about it now. Lots of my friends have a bad situation at home as well.”
These days the Chinese territory of Hong Kong seems full of divisions. There is a generational divide between young people who support the protests and older people who don’t; there are tensions between Hong Kong and the government of China and between the peoples of Hong Kong and mainland China. There are even divisions between protesters about the best way forward.
Police have used tear gas and pepper spray on the protesters, who have responded with abuse and insults thrown back at the police over the barricades.
Groups of old men turn up at the protest sites and taunt the students as “traitors” who are fulfilling a Western agenda to bring China down; pro-democracy protesters jeer at their opponents as agents of the Beijing government, betraying Hong Kong’s unique values and Cantonese-speaking identity.
This once apolitical enclave has suddenly become a polarized place, and not everybody is comfortable with the change. “I have lived in Hong Kong since 1948 and I can’t remember a single issue that has so divided society,” said Anson Chan, the 74-year old former chief secretary of the territory who has joined those calling for democracy. “Even within my family there are such strongly held views.”
There is growing talk that Hong Kong police will soon move in to clear the protest sites. But whenever and however the protests end, the legacy of polarisation, recrimination and retaliation is likely to endure far longer.
Public relations director Davis Man laments that there is little room left for people in the middle, who he says now get “pressure from both sides.” Man says he “appreciates” the students for fighting for what they believe in, but he argues that the occupation has gone on too long. Leaders on both sides, he says, seem to have little interest in cooling down the situation.
As the blame game intensifies, pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip accuses student leaders of acting like “rock stars,” increasingly distanced from reality, and making ever more extreme demands. Yet many others disagree, arguing that the protesters have, by and large, been remarkably peaceful, and that most of the vitriol seems to have come from the establishment side.
Robert Chow, leader of the self-proclaimed “Silent Majority” opposed to the protests was recently quoted comparing the pro-democracy occupation to the wartime occupation of Hong Kong by Japanese forces.
Government figures and tycoons have also warned that the civil disobedience movement could undermine the territory’s financial — and social — stability, and invite economic punishment from China.
So far, those fears have proved to be nothing but “alarmist propaganda” and”hokum,” argues columnist, businessman and broadcaster Steven Vines. Indeed, Hong Kong’s stock market was one of the strongest developed markets in the world in October.
“If there really is deliberate action under way to undermine the Hong Kong economy by the very people who are supposed to provide responsible government, the question needs to be asked: Who is it that really cares about Hong Kong?” he wrote.
Within the democratic camp, legislators and leaders blame a deeply dysfunctional political system, where Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying seems to answer not to the people of Hong Kong but solely to the government in Beijing. Instead of acting as a bridge between Hong Kong and China, he has, at times, seemed to stoke the polarisation, they say.
There is now a growing fear within that pro-democracy camp of retribution from the authorities and pro-establishment allies.
Already, pro-democracy Professor Joseph Cheng has faced what he calls a “smear campaign” from a pro-Beijing newspaper that cast doubt on his academic integrity. Entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, whose Apple Daily newspaper has strongly supported the protesters, is facing a corruption investigation for, he says, merely channeling funding toward politicians who believe in free speech and democracy.
Protesters have tried to prevent his papers from being distributed, while Apple Daily also faced a cyberattack that brought down its network for hours. Indeed, the Internet has become a new battleground: Over the month of October the number of distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attacks in Hong Kong doubled compared to the previous month, according to U.S. Internet security company Arbor Networks.
Late last month, police arrested a 23-year-old man for posting a message online that encouraged others to join the pro-democracy protests and paralyze public transport. Many see that arrest as a politically motivated warning to the protesters from a police force rapidly losing its tradition of political neutrality. “We expect a very tough time ahead,” said Cheng.
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By Simon Denyer
Twenty-one-year-old student Choi doesn’t tell his parents when he heads off to join the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. It’s simply not worth the aggravation. “We had a few discussions, but it never ended well,” he said, using only one name to avoid more trouble with his family. “We avoid talking about it now. Lots of my friends have a bad situation at home as well.”
These days the Chinese territory of Hong Kong seems full of divisions. There is a generational divide between young people who support the protests and older people who don’t; there are tensions between Hong Kong and the government of China and between the peoples of Hong Kong and mainland China. There are even divisions between protesters about the best way forward.
Police have used tear gas and pepper spray on the protesters, who have responded with abuse and insults thrown back at the police over the barricades.
Groups of old men turn up at the protest sites and taunt the students as “traitors” who are fulfilling a Western agenda to bring China down; pro-democracy protesters jeer at their opponents as agents of the Beijing government, betraying Hong Kong’s unique values and Cantonese-speaking identity.
This once apolitical enclave has suddenly become a polarized place, and not everybody is comfortable with the change. “I have lived in Hong Kong since 1948 and I can’t remember a single issue that has so divided society,” said Anson Chan, the 74-year old former chief secretary of the territory who has joined those calling for democracy. “Even within my family there are such strongly held views.”
There is growing talk that Hong Kong police will soon move in to clear the protest sites. But whenever and however the protests end, the legacy of polarisation, recrimination and retaliation is likely to endure far longer.
Public relations director Davis Man laments that there is little room left for people in the middle, who he says now get “pressure from both sides.” Man says he “appreciates” the students for fighting for what they believe in, but he argues that the occupation has gone on too long. Leaders on both sides, he says, seem to have little interest in cooling down the situation.
As the blame game intensifies, pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip accuses student leaders of acting like “rock stars,” increasingly distanced from reality, and making ever more extreme demands. Yet many others disagree, arguing that the protesters have, by and large, been remarkably peaceful, and that most of the vitriol seems to have come from the establishment side.
Robert Chow, leader of the self-proclaimed “Silent Majority” opposed to the protests was recently quoted comparing the pro-democracy occupation to the wartime occupation of Hong Kong by Japanese forces.
Government figures and tycoons have also warned that the civil disobedience movement could undermine the territory’s financial — and social — stability, and invite economic punishment from China.
So far, those fears have proved to be nothing but “alarmist propaganda” and”hokum,” argues columnist, businessman and broadcaster Steven Vines. Indeed, Hong Kong’s stock market was one of the strongest developed markets in the world in October.
“If there really is deliberate action under way to undermine the Hong Kong economy by the very people who are supposed to provide responsible government, the question needs to be asked: Who is it that really cares about Hong Kong?” he wrote.
Within the democratic camp, legislators and leaders blame a deeply dysfunctional political system, where Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying seems to answer not to the people of Hong Kong but solely to the government in Beijing. Instead of acting as a bridge between Hong Kong and China, he has, at times, seemed to stoke the polarisation, they say.
There is now a growing fear within that pro-democracy camp of retribution from the authorities and pro-establishment allies.
Already, pro-democracy Professor Joseph Cheng has faced what he calls a “smear campaign” from a pro-Beijing newspaper that cast doubt on his academic integrity. Entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, whose Apple Daily newspaper has strongly supported the protesters, is facing a corruption investigation for, he says, merely channeling funding toward politicians who believe in free speech and democracy.
Protesters have tried to prevent his papers from being distributed, while Apple Daily also faced a cyberattack that brought down its network for hours. Indeed, the Internet has become a new battleground: Over the month of October the number of distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attacks in Hong Kong doubled compared to the previous month, according to U.S. Internet security company Arbor Networks.
Late last month, police arrested a 23-year-old man for posting a message online that encouraged others to join the pro-democracy protests and paralyze public transport. Many see that arrest as a politically motivated warning to the protesters from a police force rapidly losing its tradition of political neutrality. “We expect a very tough time ahead,” said Cheng.
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