Memoirs of a Loser 186: The Days and Nights of the Umbrella Movement

After Leung Chun-ying became the chief executive, the rights and interests of Hong Kong people were put aside and the policy of "taking care of the whole mainland" was fully pursued. The Occupy Street movement, also known as the "Umbrella Movement", broke out in September 2014.

The idea of occupying the streets was first put forward by Tai Yaoting, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong in January 2013. He advocated mobilizing citizens to occupy the streets of Central, the core area of Hong Kong, and forced Beijing to grant Hong Kong true universal suffrage by paralyzing the political and economic center of Hong Kong in an extraordinary way. His proposal originally received a more positive response from the society, but it was protracted, and after many discussions, rehearsal and other activities, the supporters were all fatigued. At this time, the student organization suddenly rushed into the "Citizen Square" of the government headquarters after the general strike ended. Student leaders were arrested, and a large number of citizens came to support. In the early morning of September 28, Dai Yaoting announced that "the occupation of Central is officially launched". In the evening, the police began to use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, and citizens held up umbrellas to block the tear gas. A large number of umbrellas appeared, and the Occupy Movement became known as the "Umbrella Movement".

The tear gas fueled public outrage. The next day, 200,000 people took to the streets, occupying the streets of three districts in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Occupy movement lasted 79 days. The movement ended on 15 December amid slogans for the police to gently clear the field and the arrest of those left behind in the occupied areas.

I have been to the three occupied areas many times, and I have seen the occupiers set up tents on the road and stay behind day and night; I have seen some teachers or college students voluntarily tutoring middle school students; I have seen many creative images with slogans and slogans everywhere. motto. The Occupy movement was peaceful, the participants were friendly, and they took the initiative to remove trash and keep the streets clean.

I keep getting articles about the umbrella movement. After the campaign ended, I said that I saw the awakening and rise of the younger generation, and the awareness of "self-determination of destiny" sprouted in society, which made me see a little hope in the pessimism.

However, young people do not share my views. The 18-year-old Hong Kong youth leader Huang Zhifeng said: "I won't say that the awakening of many Hong Kong people is a result... It's not trying to get out of the game to achieve results. Everyone is not reconciled, we have nothing! I won't say this is called winning. ”

I feel really old. Satisfying the feeling of self, but not seeing the thirst of young people, and the courage to move forward unwillingly to achieve the goal.

Why did the Occupy Central Movement break out suddenly and on a large scale when it was almost dying? Why is it that nearly 30% of the citizens still support the continued occupation in the late period of the occupation even though it has brought many inconveniences to the lives of the citizens? If there are no arrests of students and no police violence, will there be a three-district occupation?

A few months before the Umbrella Movement broke out, there was a debate between netizens in Hong Kong and the mainland about defecation in the streets. Hong Kong's "Apple Daily" reported a pair of mainland parents holding a child to defecate on the streets of a busy city, causing an uproar in Hong Kong society. Due to the reaction of Hong Kong people, mainland netizens initiated an action not to go to Hong Kong from June 1, claiming that "we are consumers, we are God", and they want Hong Kong people to know the consequences of losing mainland tourists.

The response of Hong Kong netizens was "great". I hope that the mainlanders can say that they can do it, never come to Hong Kong, and let Hong Kong return to the way it used to be.

The mainland Sohu website conducted a public opinion survey on the defecation scandal, and the results showed that 64.65% of the people believed that "it is understandable for children to urinate in the street" and "Hong Kong people are prejudiced against mainlanders."

This civil confrontation between Hong Kong and China shows that the society in mainland China has undergone transformation in the past 20 years. People who smuggled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the past still have traditional morals, and they all cherish and cherish the rule of law and freedom in Hong Kong. Now, those who come to Hong Kong have grown up in a society that has destroyed traditional virtues. When they come to Hong Kong, they feel that there are people who do not follow the rules. Free to do anything. When you come to Hong Kong for consumption, you have the mentality of the nouveau riche, and do not understand that this is a fair trade.

The official mainland media is on the side of mainland public opinion. The Global Times published an article saying that Hong Kong people should tolerate the defecation behavior of mainland tourists, and taking pictures of them shows that Hong Kong people are uncivilized; the overseas edition of People's Daily criticized Hong Kong people for "doing not care about other people's feelings." It is by no means an expression of civilization to not be considerate of the difficulties of others.”

Hong Kong officials also cooperated with the CCP’s official wishes. The Secretary for Commerce called on Hong Kong people to be tolerant and considerate, and "peace is the most precious thing".

Although the defecation scandal is not a big deal, it reflects that the conflict between China and Hong Kong is not only between Hong Kong people and those in power in the CCP, but also because of the transformation of Chinese society, there is an unprecedented conflict between people in the two places. This is also the basis of the social consciousness on which the Umbrella Movement took place.

The Umbrella Movement took place. Although the comments from all over the world affirmed that the Hong Kong protesters were peaceful and kind, the mainland media slandered the Hong Kong movement to the extreme. Among the overwhelming comments on Weibo, the most widely circulated one is "Hong Kong, what does the motherland owe you? ", describing the trade between Hong Kong and China as the mainland's "extra-preferential trade policy, special economic support, and special care for tourism... But some Hong Kong people are not grateful and don't know that this is what their (mainland) parents have lost and found (Hong Kong)" Instead, the child's doting is thought to be a 'privilege' derived from being a foreign slave." He also threatened, "When necessary, the central government can withdraw certain authorizations or even direct management", "My troops stationed in Hong Kong have to show their swords... ...".

Regrettably, the pan-democratic majority of the Hong Kong Legislative Council has still not awakened from the Umbrella Movement. The day before the clearing, the Legislative Council voted on the "Hong Kong people first" motion put forward by local lawmakers. The motion requires the SAR government to give priority to "Hong Kong people" when formulating policies on immigration, education, economic development and welfare. The result was rejected with 4 votes in favor, 31 pro-establishment members opposed, and 14 pan-democratic members abstained.

Giving priority to local residents and citizens is the basic principle of governments around the world, including the local governments of provinces and cities in mainland China. It does not give priority to Hong Kong people who have paid taxes for a long time, does not have the right to approve entry to immigrants from the mainland, and provides various benefits to new immigrants who cannot check their mainland assets, which is tantamount to discrimination and bullying against local Hong Kong people. Most pan-democratic MPs abstained from voting. No wonder some people say that the most obvious phenomenon of the whole movement is that almost all political forces within the system (government, establishment and mainstream pan-democratic parties) are closely related to the "Umbrella Generation". out of touch.

In this atmosphere, the unwilling young people became more radical. Thus, the "Fish Ball Revolution" occurred in the 2016 Lunar New Year.

(Original post published on August 19, 2022)

"Memoirs of a Loser" serial catalog (continuously updated)

177. Hong Kong people’s feelings have been overturned in five years

178. Mainlanders arouse the local consciousness of Hong Kong people

179. Documentary of the Occupation of Hong Kong

180. Situ Hua's Compromise in His Later Years

181. The origin of local consciousness

182. The battle between the chief executive and the wolf

183. The Jasper I Know

184. Can Hong Kong believe this person?

185. Anyone except Leung Chun-ying

186. Days and Nights of the Umbrella Movement