In Hong Kong, fears over a
lost identity are manifesting in very different ways.
What
started off as a government enforcement action against unlicensed street
hawkers selling fishballs and tofu in Hong Kong on the first night of the Year
of the Monkey ended in the most violent clash
between police and protesters since the Hong Kong protests in 2014, known as
the Umbrella Movement.
But the
“Fishball Revolution” was not about fishballs. To a younger generation, these
street hawkers symbolize Hong Kong’s identity, slowly coalescing toward the
mainland. The protesters want Hong Kong to become more, rather than less, of a
democracy. But their demands from the Umbrella Movement’s peaceful resistance
fell on deaf ears and now these young activists are seeking more drastic
measures. Some are moving toward violent resistance, whilst others seek to
enter the political establishment. Either way, both camps focus as much on
local symbolism and pro-Hong Kong causes as on the ‘China factor.’
When Hong
Kong was handed over by the British to China in 1997, China agreed to a “one
country, two systems” model under which Hong Kong’s civil liberties and
political system would be guaranteed at least until 2047. But the erosion of
the “one country, two system” model is happening faster than Hong Kongers could
fathom – most recently highlighted by what looks like the secret abduction and
arrest of booksellers who had been working on a controversial book about
Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Concerns
over the mainland’s influence and Hong Kong’s identity help explain why a
political, satirical, low-budget movie called Ten Years outperformed the release of the
latest Star Wars movie in Hong Kong. The movie plays into
fears of Hong Kongers of what the territory could look like ten years from now
– completely absorbed by the mainland, with local culture and the Cantonese
language both marginalized.
“If Ten
Years had been released earlier, even a year before, it would have sounded
so unrealistic [and] unimaginable, but now it seems more and more possible,”
says Victoria Hui, an associate professor at Notre Dame University, who has
appeared before U.S. Congress to testify on the future of democracy in Hong
Kong.
It is
this sense of urgency that leads a younger generation to act – it is their
future at stake, but it is currently in the ruling hands of an older
generation. Some young activists are seeking to change that by joining the
system themselves.
This
year’s Legislative Council elections in September will be critical, Hui
believes: “What happens in the next few years rather than 20 years down the
road is more important … and I think the upcoming elections are going to be the
most important.”
One of
those seeking to enter the political system is Joshua Wong, the face of the
Umbrella Movement. He is currently barred from running in the Legislative
Council elections, because he is only 19 years old. He is challenging a rule in
court to lower the age threshold for running for office.
Whereas
an older generation often left the city whenever they had the possibility, a
younger generation has no choice and is committed to the future of democracy in
Hong Kong, he says in an interview with The Diplomat. “After the
Umbrella Movement, more of the new generation care about Hong Kong, [because it
is] the place they were born and it is quite easy to let them to show their
care and commitment to this city,” says Wong.
Newly
established activist-led parties, called “Umbrella Soldiers,” focus on
community and grassroots work to win over hearts and minds in the districts.
“At the beginning [pro-establishment parties] do not see us as a threat. They
might think that we just come to play and we do not really want to work for the
community,” says 22-year-old Jimmy Yuen, community liaison officer of the Kowloon
East Community party – one of the Umbrella Soldiers parties.
But in
the 2015 district elections, some Umbrella Soldiers were elected into office
(although they lost in most districts, their losses were often only by a small
margin). People voted for them, says Yuen, because “they think that we are
young, have passion and we know how to solve the community problems. And we do
not only sit in the office and only passively listen … we will actively listen
to people.”
Surveys
have suggested that Hong Kongers are proud of their local identity. Over the
past decade, people identify more strongly as ‘Hong Kongers’ and increasingly
less so as ‘Chinese’, according to surveys conducted by the Public Opinion
Program at Hong Kong University. The latest poll results
even indicate that the “feeling of being ‘citizens of the PRC’ is the weakest
among all identities tested.” And this trend, according to the surveys, is even
more pronounced among the younger generation. The “Umbrella Soldiers” are poised
to tap into this demographic shift.
But
violent resistance over localist, pro-Hong Kong causes such as the street
hawkers may backfire. The so-called Fishball Revolution may have actually
helped the pro-establishment camp in the upcoming elections. “Middle-aged
people, in my generation and beyond, go for stability. So when they see what
they consider as real chaos in Hong Kong, there may be a backlash against the
entire pro-democracy camp,” says Hui.
In the
movie Ten Years, a youth mob organizes riots, giving the Hong Kong
government a reason to invoke a controversial national security law and call in
the People’s Liberation Army from the mainland. The Fishball Revolution that
played out in Mong Kok earlier this month has invoked feelings that a scenario
like the one in Ten Years may not be that far off from reality
– a fear that plays into the polarization between the pro-stability and
pro-democracy camps.
Joshua
Wong is aware that the Umbrella campaign needs to focus on local issues and
adopt a positive stance: “Instead of only having the image or perception of
[being] anti-China, it is necessary to build up the pro-Hong Kong campaign.”
After the
abducted booksellers, people felt powerless, said Wong. “However, it is not a
time for us to be depressed, it is not a time for us to be sad,” he says. “We
should be more realistic and pragmatic and try to continue to commit to the
movement, because it’s a long-term battle toward the Communist Party of China.”
But
whereas some “Umbrella Soldiers” perceive this as a battle over the hearts and
minds of Hong Kongers in the political arena, the Fishball Revolution is
perhaps a sign that some activists are taking the idea of this ‘battle’ more
literally.
(Joshua
Wong was interviewed a few days before the Fishball Revolution incident in Mong
Kok
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