Staff Writer
Pro-democracy protests,
known as Occupy Hong Kong, have been facing some violent opposition in response
to this act of civil disobedience. The protesters are mostly young people and
students protesting the changes in legislative council and chief executive
elections that will be enforced in 2016 and 2017. They have been residing in
tents in the streets of the financial central district since Sept. 28. The
protesters were angered when police came early in the morning and attempted to
remove blockades that they had set up. Before, masked men had come out of the
subway station with knives and attacked them. They were infuriated because the
police would not come to their aid from the anti-Occupy group, possibly one of
Hong Kong’s triad gangs, which attempted to break up the demonstrations. After
beginning to reconstruct the barriers, protesters began demanding for Chief Executive
Leung Chun-Ying to resign as well as free elections for selecting his
replacement. But, on other demands, organizers are not sure where all of the
protesters stand.
On Sunday, there was a
planned vote to represent the support of democracy and free elections. However,
organizers cancelled the vote due to confusion regarding wording. The vote was
intended to be a display of unity, but it was difficult to tie all of the views
together. Although the protesters want full democracy, which was what sparked
the protest, the execution and what the protesters want varies between each
person.
Since Hong Kong switched
from British to Chinese rule in 1997, they have been following “one country,
two systems,” meaning autonomy and universal suffrage is supposedly given to
both. Yet, Communist Party leaders in China insist on screening candidates. The
party said that they support Hong Kong’s administration and do not want
external forces intervening.
Musicians and actors
have been supporting protesters, and because of this they are not being hired
in the mainland. Denise Ho, a pop singer who gains 80% of her income from
China, has not been allowed to perform since she has shown public support for
Hong Kong. Anthony Wong, a singer, has also joined in these Hong Kong
demonstrations. Due to his participation, his performances in China have been
“indefinitely postponed” with no explanation. Other artists have also been
speaking out about this situation and using social media to spread awareness.
Hong Kong film director Wong Jing posted a message directed to the celebrities
supporting this demonstration, “We have worked
well together in the past and I respect your right to hold your own political
views. But I absolutely do not agree. To avoid embarrassment, your contact
details will be erased from my phone and my computer. Have a happy life.”
In China, these artists
have been blacklisted, and this list of pro-Occupy artists has been spreading
across social media. To further enforce this boycott, Xinhau, the state news
agency, released a statement warning the artists.
At the start of her
support for this movement, Ho performed the song “Raise the Umbrella,” written
in reference to the umbrellas that protesters use to defend themselves from
pepper spray. Umbrellas have become a symbol of this pro-democracy movement and
on Oct. 28, exactly one month after the start of Occupy Hong Kong, all of the
protesters raised their umbrellas. It is unknown how long this protest will
last, even though the government is powerless to go against Beijing rule and
change the “Basic Law.” But it seems that the protesters are attempting to
organize themselves a bit more, and will continue to protest peacefully their
ideas even against those who don’t follow the same non-violent practices. On
the topic of supporting the protests, Wong, who joined protests after the
police used tear gas on the protesters, says, “It
affects us a lot because much of my income comes from China, about more than
half. But I think this is what we have to do. Our markets there and money
aren’t more important than our need to speak our mind.”
