Two nights ago, before and after CY Leung's announcement that he would not step down and would send Chief Secretary Carrie Lam to meet with the protest's student leaders, there was admirable restraint shown at Lung Wo Road (龍和道). Everyone kept their cool. Those who didn't and wanted to occupy the road, were stopped and dissuaded. After lots tussling and shouting, it was ironic to see only the journalists and cameramen ON THE ROAD, then have a drone crash into a lamp-post in the middle of a tense moment. A fair comment, imho, seen on fb: "可唔可以為佔以佔？政府對話已經係一個 good start. 唔可能係咪都佔佔佔，想佔晒所有馬路？咁落去只會令民意逆轉 ，你要佔都等人地傾完先再佔". There should be no trespassing upon government buildings. That would completely change the game.
Importantly, Lung Wo Road is the main link between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Closing it off meant causing great inconvenience to fellow citizens and would kill all goodwill garnered from the police's earlier miscalculated use of tear gas (or CS gas, whatever). A protracted action would dilute the goodwill of fellow citizens. It has already happened in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay where the anti-Occupy protestors seemed intent on resorting to physical violence to eject the #OccupyHK students. Admiralty's largely peaceful sit-in has been crashed by mobs intent on wrecking tents, looting supplies and morale. Many are questioning purposes of any further action.
I envy Hong Kong for their courage, and this space for political expression. Not just the #OccupyHK protestors, but the anti-Occupy and the pro-Beijing segments too. Not the violence though, as if all protests ought to be violent or turn ugly at some point. But when humans are involved, violence is expected. #OccupyHK are making a big statement in the middle of China's National Day Golden Week. It's certainly not foolhardiness. There's a sense of urgency in the city. It felt like, 'speak now or forever be silent'. It's a kind of maturity that I don't think we Singaporeans possess. We still have a long way to go.
I've got no links to Hong Kong except for the good friends. The friends know where they stand on this matter. Demands are demands- everyone's aware that those won't be met. The people's movement aren't going to secure the democracy desired. The extent of 'Democracy' is largely defined by the ruling government. A thousand opinion pieces out there. The realities of geopolitics. The economic survival of the city. The deep division of ideology and culture. But there is space for negotiation, under the umbrella of one-country-two-systems. That‘s all that's needed. A point has definitely been made. The protests have been civil for a week, something that's completely astounded the world. Organized, considerate even, and thoughtful. It's time to talk. The anti-Occupy segment seems thuggish and hasn't hesitated to throw punches to rid the #OccupyHK protestors from blocked areas. Causing chaos also shifts the game. Dunno what's going to happen next week. There're fears it could turn into the events of '89. There's still hope that it won't.
Importantly, Lung Wo Road is the main link between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Closing it off meant causing great inconvenience to fellow citizens and would kill all goodwill garnered from the police's earlier miscalculated use of tear gas (or CS gas, whatever). A protracted action would dilute the goodwill of fellow citizens. It has already happened in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay where the anti-Occupy protestors seemed intent on resorting to physical violence to eject the #OccupyHK students. Admiralty's largely peaceful sit-in has been crashed by mobs intent on wrecking tents, looting supplies and morale. Many are questioning purposes of any further action.
I envy Hong Kong for their courage, and this space for political expression. Not just the #OccupyHK protestors, but the anti-Occupy and the pro-Beijing segments too. Not the violence though, as if all protests ought to be violent or turn ugly at some point. But when humans are involved, violence is expected. #OccupyHK are making a big statement in the middle of China's National Day Golden Week. It's certainly not foolhardiness. There's a sense of urgency in the city. It felt like, 'speak now or forever be silent'. It's a kind of maturity that I don't think we Singaporeans possess. We still have a long way to go.
I've got no links to Hong Kong except for the good friends. The friends know where they stand on this matter. Demands are demands- everyone's aware that those won't be met. The people's movement aren't going to secure the democracy desired. The extent of 'Democracy' is largely defined by the ruling government. A thousand opinion pieces out there. The realities of geopolitics. The economic survival of the city. The deep division of ideology and culture. But there is space for negotiation, under the umbrella of one-country-two-systems. That‘s all that's needed. A point has definitely been made. The protests have been civil for a week, something that's completely astounded the world. Organized, considerate even, and thoughtful. It's time to talk. The anti-Occupy segment seems thuggish and hasn't hesitated to throw punches to rid the #OccupyHK protestors from blocked areas. Causing chaos also shifts the game. Dunno what's going to happen next week. There're fears it could turn into the events of '89. There's still hope that it won't.
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| Illustration by Kori Song. |
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