Occupy Central:
A City Stuck in between Two Ferns
The Hong Kong society finds itself stuck in gauntlet between pro-democracy protesters and anti-occupy supporters as a more-than-month-long Occupy Movement continues. In an incessantly distinctive world between yellow and blue, which is epitomised by generational differences, what should we blame for the cause of this?
On September 28, an estimated 200,000 pro-genuine democracy protesters embarked on occupation in Hong Kong’s busiest hubs against the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s stringent framework for screening Chief Executive candidates in late August. The decided framework meant that a 1,200-people-strong nominating committee, comprised of mainly business tycoons and China-friendly personnel, would select 2 to 3 candidates by passing a 1/2 voting threshold, for the rest of Hong Kong to “one man, one vote.”
Hong Kong Divided by Yellow and Blue
In self-acclaimed “Yellow Ribbon” Cathy Poon’s family, the TV news has been a taboo in the days of the occupy movement.
The only time the Poon family turned the TV news on on October 3 sparked a big fight, in light of conflicts between police and occupiers in Mong Kok as violence flashed across the screen.
“My mum said those people with umbrellas should’ve been paid to be front-line in the protests,” 27-year-old Cathy recalled. Cathy was instantly infuriated as she snapped back, “I’m okay with you not backing this occupy movement, or you don’t think genuine universal suffrage matters. But I found it completely unacceptable if you think it’s okay for the police to perpetrate violence.”
The Poon family epitomises polarized generations: Cathy’s parents are “Blue Ribbon” supporters that would think violence to clear the occupy sites, even if it meant sending in tanks, is an acceptable move. While “Yellow Ribbon” Cathy and her little brother both back occupy protests and genuine democracy.
“Relationships really have worsened,” the 27-year-old admitted despite things have cooled down these days. But as Cathy and her family work on truce:
We avoid having meals together. If we do we would avoid turning on the TV, and if we turned on the TV we definitely would not watch the news.
The phenomenon in Poon’s family would not be one unique, but rather suggests how the society is like when two different generations clash in a household. A Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Public Opinion Poll “Who should be accountable for the Occupy Movement,” found that disparity in views comes with the differences in age, hinting that the division between yellow and blue is generational.
The Public Opinion Poll conducted by Polytechnic University finds that the difference in age shows a greater disparity…infogr.am
Kelvin Tse, 47, is a mobile phone accessories stall owner in Central. He is one of those that doesn’t think the government should take the blame for the occupy movement’s development.
“They’re only employees under the central government.” — Kelvin Tse
Instead, he pointed fingers at the student occupy leaders, referring to them as “stubborn” for not compromising at all after government-and-student dialogues on October 21
Yet the stall owner proclaims to be neutral: he wants genuine universal suffrage and he also supports the police.
“Both sides could be understood,” he said. “They both have their own difficulties, have their own duties.”
He said the occupiers should temporarily retreat, and come back with another strategy.
“As time passes by, the outcomes of the movement would definitely result in a rebound from the society and people won’t be as supportive,” Kelvin said. “I don’t disagree on them occupying nor where they do it, but they should compromise a bit during the climax [of protest support.]
Two Generations, two definitions to “One Country, Two Systems”
What should be put to blame for the polarization today?
Throughout the occupy movement, pan-democrats have been punch-lining the principle of “one country, two systems,” derived from the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed thirty years ago. It was a term that coined that Hong Kong would not practise the socialist system of China, and Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years until 2047. After China decided on a stringent framework on CE candidates in late August, the pan-democrats interpreted,
“You could have universal suffrage, but only after we’ve screened the candidates we deem appropriate.”
By this, they say the central government has broken its promise to give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy according to the SBJD.
What does Cathy think about the relevance of “one country, two systems’” to her going to occupy sites almost daily?
“Since I was small, I thought it meant that China would govern herself, and leave Hong Kong to rule herself purely by referring to the phrase,”
the law graduate said. The day after the police fired 87 cans of tear gas on September 28, she joined the occupy movement. She’s grown skeptical as she thought the officers were working under the influence of the Chinese government. “How can Hong Kong police become so violent as if they were treating the occupiers like protesters in the June 4th massacre?”
On the other hand, a voice from another age group voiced a different view.
“I think the way they [the younger ones] see ‘one country, two systems’ is too simple,”
Kelvin said. “For a capitalist society to return to the sovereignty of a socialist, to be quite frank, we knew from the start we would not have freedom and democracy.”
