Revolution of umbrellas

Protest in Hong Kong Photo: Asiapundits.com

Since September 26, mass protests have been held in Hong Kong, organized by local activists of the International OCCUPY international movement, who advocate the reform of the electoral system. The demonstrators demanded that the head of the local administration Lyan Zhenin fulfill their conditions until October 1, threatening other actions of civil disobedience otherwise. The authorities of China, in turn, demanded that the protesters free the streets of the city no later than Tuesday. The media note that at the moment both conditions are far from fulfillment.

According to official figures, from the beginning of the manifestation of 56 people were injured and 89 were detained by the police. They were charged with hooliganism and attacking police officers.

The organizers of the OCCUPY CENTRAL in Gonongs require direct elections of the head of the administration in 2017. When Hong Kong was under the rule of Great Britain, his governor was appointed British monarch. After the region’s transfer to the jurisdiction of the PRC in 1997, the MEGAPELIS Office was assumed by the chief minister of the Hong Kong administration, who was elected indirect vote of the electoral committee.

The Chinese authorities recently approved the procedure according to which the residents of Hong Kong can vote for one of several candidates, but the same college of electors will offer and approve the applicants. However, this does not suit the demonstrators. They require complete democratization of the elections and note that such an option was provided for by an agreement on the transfer of Hong Kong to the sovereignty of the PRC in 1997.

In January 2013, the professor of law from the University of Hong Kong Benny Ty launched the OCCUPY Central campaign (named after the business and administrative center of Hong Kong), calling for a peaceful demonstration if the PRC authorities are once again rejected in the metropolis.

In the media, protests in Hong Kong are called the "revolution of umbrellas." Demonstrators use umbrellas to protect against pepper and tear gas, which the police use against them. In addition, during the day they are saved under umbrellas from the hot sun.

The Hong Kong artist Casey Wong posted on his Facebook page to create a hasg Kong's hasg #umbrella Revolution design.

Artist: Casey Wong

“I was inspired by the images of people who were protected with the help of ordinary household items. This contrast was very iconic. On the one hand, the cruelty of the police, and on the other, are these poor umbrellas, ”said the Air Force Wong. He added that from an everyday object an umbrella turned into a symbol of disobedience, a symbol of resistance.

The full name of the organized demonstration of the movement - OCCUPY Central with Love and Peace - also emphasizes its initially non -violent character, notes Radio Liberty .

Another symbol of protests in Hong Kong was the yellow ribbon - the Hong Kong took advantage of the symbolic words of Tony Christie’s song “Tie the yellow ribbon around the old oak”. Many Facebook users these days change their profile photos to the image of a yellow tape on a black background.

The media note that on Monday on the streets of Hong Kong it was generally calm. Participants in the shares behaved politely, the police practically did not interfere , despite the fact that many roads in the center were blocked. Students and secondary school students sat on the sidelines, doing homework, and volunteers carried water and food for those who spent the night on the street.

“I think this is a government strategy. Two days ago, they used tear gas. If they used it again yesterday or today, then this would provoke an international scandal. The pressure on the authorities would be too strong. So the fact that today everything is calm, we will understand, ”said 22 -year -old Helen Kvon, a student of the faculty of sociology.

The police themselves say that they will act depending on the situation. As noted by the representative of the police, Hong Kong, Chen Takun, the protesters attack the police cordons, which led to the wounds of not only officers, but also other people. He urged demonstrators to refrain from violence and leave the streets in the near future.

“We have clear instructions about the use of force. Therefore, it all depends on the situation. The police will appreciate her and determine what level of intervention is appropriate to her, ”said Chen Takun.

RBC notes that the protests in Hong Kong covered various social and age groups of the population, which is atypical for the rallies of the OCCUPY movement around the world. At first, students became the driving force of protest, and with them the professors switched from audiences to barricades.

“We want to maintain our values, our dignity and our lifestyle. And we do not want to be just one of the Chinese megacities, ”said Joseph Chen, Professor of Political Science , who was arrested by the police and was released to freedom after 12 hours in the cell.

Other groups of citizens, including entrepreneurs, joined students after the first attempts to accelerate the demonstration by police. In particular, the police were condemned by the Association of Hong Kong bars - an influential restaurant corporation. According to the organizers of the action, about one hundred thousand people took part from the beginning of protests. No independent confirmation of this information has yet been received.

The press secretary of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunin named what was happening in Hong Kong the “internal business of China”.

“Hong Kong is a part of China, a special administrative district in the PRC. Hong Kong is our purely internal business. We categorically do not accept any intervention of a foreign state in our internal affairs, ”the spokesman said. It should be noted that the authorities of continental China have not yet openly intervened in the situation.

The UK previously expressed her concern about what was happening in Hong Kong, and the White House spokesman Josh Ernst called on all aspects of the conflict to refrain from violence. In addition, the situation in Hong Kong is particularly concerned about Taiwan, considered a rebellious province of China.

Observers call the current performances one of the largest in China after student protests in Beijing in 1989. It should be noted that the riots broke out in Hong Kong on the eve of the main state holiday - the day of the formation of the People's Republic of China, which is celebrated on October 1. In Hong Kong, the fireworks over the bay in honor of the holiday were canceled.

Nevertheless, at 8 in the morning local time (4:00 in Moscow), the Flags of the PRC and the special administrative district of Hong Kong were raised on the Square of Golden Bauhinia, reports South China Morning Post. In addition, two helicopters flew over the crowd: one with a large flag of China, the other with a smaller Hong Kong flag. The audience did not like it and they met helicopters with a disapproving rumble.

Speaking with a speech at the festival, the head of the administration Lyan Zhenin said that Hong Kong should cooperate with Beijing in order to achieve progress. He previously noted that he would not resign, and Beijing’s decision that there will be no direct elections in the metropolis, is most likely final. Activists expect a record number of people on the streets day.

The translator-synchronist from Hong Kong Ekaterina Mostova, in an interview with the Air Force, expressed confidence that China would not introduce troops into Hong Kong, as it is “a chicken that carries golden eggs”. According to her, many Chinese large corporations are quoted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and no one needs a decline in general indices.

It should be noted that the shares of leading Hong Kong companies fell on auction on Monday by an average of almost two percent, in addition, the influx of tourists from the continental part of the PRC has sharply reduced, and local retailers predict losses from the breakdown of the October season of shopping.

Since October 1, a weekly festival has been held in the city: Hong Kong, traditionally go shopping, in addition, tourists from the mainland of China are going to the city, ready to make purchases. However, OCCUPY CENTRAL participants have blocked a number of central business quarters, where shopping centers and expensive boutiques are located.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Hong Kong market is 10% of the world sales of brands such as Gucci, and about 20% of sales of watches and jewelry manufacturers.

The USA, Australia and Singapore have already called on their citizens to refrain from traveling to Hong Kong. According to the head of the Hong Kong tourism department, Steve Lam, the number of tourists who were supposed to come to the city this week decreased by at least 20%. Some Hong Kong hotels have already reduced their prices by 5%.

At the same time, the Russians are not afraid to travel to the region covered by protests. According to RIA Novosti in the Association of Tour operators of Russia, vacation applications are received as usual and none of the vacationers asks for early return to their homeland.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has not yet given any recommendations regarding Hong Kong visits to tourists, and in the Hong Kong tourism department in Moscow, it is recommended that tourists use ground transport.

Recall that from the evening of September 28, a popular Instagram photo and video exchange was partially blocked in mainland China. It is assumed that the cause of blocking was the placement of photos from protests in Hong Kong by some users. In addition, the phrase of OCCUPY CENTRAL was blacklisted with the local Weibo social network, which is the Chinese analogue of Twitter.

See also: in the riots in Hong Kong, 56 people were injured by Hong Kong authorities recalled the instagram Special Forgram from the Streets in the continental part of China, thousands of people went to the protest in the center of Hong Kong