Author:
Hundreds of tents and yellow umbrellas have covered roads, walkways and pavements around the government and legislative buildings in Admiralty area of Hong Kong since September 26, 2014. The Occupy Central movement for democratic rights, to elect oneâs own representatives through universal franchise, has been the focus of much speculation and excitement not only in Hong Kong and China, but around the region and the world. Following a scuffle between students and police on the night of Sunday November 30, and stern warning by the political leadership of the island next morning, three âelderlyâ gentlemenâtwo professors and one priestâcalled a press conference to announce their surrender and end of the occupation on Tuesday December 2. Benny Tai, the spokesperson of the trio, admitted that fear of further violence by police forced their decision.
On the afternoon of Wednesday December 3, there was, however, no sign of students âsurrenderingâ; tents and umbrellas were in place; youngsters, some 15-16 years old, were there, some of them even reading their school books. The two networks of students leading the movement for democracyâScholarism and Federation of Studentsâdenied that they had surrendered or withdrawn their occupy movement for democracy. They are clear that âdemocracy is a long marchâ, as one of the posters yelled from the side.
The youth of Hong Kong are courageous and futuristic indeed; they are facing relentless criticism of authorities, professors, businessmen and media. Not just the China TV, but even BBC correspondent in Hong Kong pushes these students to admit that the movement is a failure by shouting at them, "What have you gained? Nothing? China would never concede such democratic rights, you knew?â The mainstream media is projecting these youth as âkids on the blockâ, getting astray. The Standard , Hong Kongâs biggest circulation English daily, screamed on its front page on December 3, "We Failed: Studentsâ. The storyline on social media, however, is something else; hordes of young people are manning video cameras, audio machines and messaging their own fraternity âreal news from ground zeroâ.
The middle class, well-to-do residents of Hong Kong felt that the movement has served its limited purpose, and students should now return to classes, and there should be no further âwinter of dispost_contentâ. It was reported in such conversations that the students from the mainland did not understand what this fuss was all about, since residents, especially the youth, in Hong Kong were so much better off? Born in middle class families, the youth of Hong Kong are quite concerned about their future. Over the past decade, rich visitors and residents from the mainland have been pushing up the cost of living in Hong Kong, especially property prices. In addition, the pressure from mainland China authorities has begun to erode their local Cantonese language, to be replaced with Mandarin, in classrooms as well.
In the meanwhile, local election results from Taiwan show that the ruling KMT party has been routed; an independent, apolitical professor won hands down the seat of the mayor of Taipei. The tweets from Taiwan indicate that youth there saw the increasingly cosy relationship between ruling party KMT and the authorities in Beijing as real threat to their freedoms. The irony, of course, is that KMT is the party which led to independence of Taiwan from China after the long march of Mao!
It appears that many such stirrings for freedom to practice oneâs own culture, language and religion are taking place in Macau too. Though financially dependent on the mainland China, Macao has had its own share of local pro-democracy struggles of late. Struggles to protect freedom of language, culture and religion are also waging regularly in Tibet and western regions of the mainland China.
The phrase âOne China, Two Systemsâ seems to narrowly imply two economic systems only (as it refers to Hong Kong alone), while language, culture, governance and politics are assumed to become one throughout the empire.
I had the privilege to take a âdip in the river of democracyâ last week in Hong Kong. It has been the most powerful citizenship learning experience in recent years. If for nothing else, the youth of Hong Kong deserve salutation for re-kindling our faiths in freedoms and democracy. Their voice may be heard loud and clear around the world!
There are important lessons for the new Indian government in Delhi as it attempts to build new bridges in the north-eastern region, Jammu & Kashmir and the tribal hinterland. The youth of these regions want to have a stake in their future; they want to have a say in how their future is shaped; and, they would like to do so by maintaining their distinctive culture, language and religion. From the largest democracy (India) of the world, it is this challenge of âunity in diversityâ that the largest country (China) and the largest economy (USA) of the world may well be learning about?
 |
 |
Rajesh Tandon
December 8, 2014
PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
