The latest clash with Beijing over voting rights escalated as police tried to break up demonstrations with batons and tear gas.
Sept. 29, 2014Thousands of protesters pack into a main street at Mongkok shopping district in Hong Kong. Increasing civil unrest in Hong Kong is scaring off Chinese tourists, adding pressure to retailers that already are grappling with a protracted slowdown in sales. Liau Chung-ren/Reuters
As Hong Kong readied for a third night of massive protests across the city, what began as a physical confrontation between authorities and protestors shifted into a psychological battle on both sides for the hearts and minds of undecided residents here.
In public appeals, government officials appealed to Hong Kong residents’ practical natures, painting the protests as not just a nuisance but an out-of-control movement that is hurting Hong Kong’s image and its economy.
In his first media briefing since police lobbed tear gas Sunday night into largely peaceful crowds, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying acknowledged the protests were likely to continue for a long time.
“They have set up a lot of resource centers and even first aid points,” he pointed out in a televised statement. “So we know that [the protest]… is not a matter of days, but it will last for a relatively long time. Its impact on the people’s daily lives, their personal safety in the event of emergencies, the city’s economic development, as well as the cost on international image, will also grow bigger and bigger.”
Meanwhile, demonstrators tried to make inroads of their own with smaller gestures, not just picking up trash from the night before but sorting it for recycling, distributing umbrellas to fend off sweltering heat and passing out food and water amongst themselves.
Despite violent clashes with police over the weekend, Hong Kong democracy protesters are standing firm, demanding full independence of Beijing's influence. (Reuters)
By protesting, activists are trying to force Beijing’s Communist leaders to abandon newly declared powers to weed out any candidates in upcoming Hong Kong election for Leung’s successor. And the cordial nature of the protests over the past three days has perhaps been its most distinctive quality.
By putting a strong emphasis on the “civil” part of their civil disobedience, protestors are trying to sway large portions of the public that until recently have remained on the fence about an occupation of Hong Kong’s all-important financial district.
But it is also an expression of modern Hong Kong society’s quirks, in which citizens are obsessed with efficiency, often finicky about following regulations and take seriously ideas about social responsibility and courtesies.
The mix over the past few days has yielded surprising and at times incongruous images of politely, raucous demonstrations.
At some points where their occupation has diverted traffic, protestors had posted signs pleading for understanding and explaining why they were protesting.
Students could be seen doing homework as they sprawled out on the streets.
As the heat grew Tuesday, several protestors began walking through the crowds with spray bottles offering refreshing mists of water.
Thousands remained on the streets in Hong Kong on Monday, protesting over Beijing’s decision to reject calls for open nominations for the election of Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017. The protests escalated on Sunday, with riot police resorting to the use of tear gas. (The Washington Post)
Hong Kong chief Leung has tried to appeal as well to Hong Kong’s polite, practical side in urging protesters to go home. “We don’t want Hong Kong to be messy,” he said Monday.
And some in Hong Kong remain unswayed by protestors efforts. Small arguments broke out Tuesday as small business owners and others opposed to the protests angrily confronted demonstrators downtown.
In one of several videos posted online, a businessman jeered students protestors telling them to go back to school.
One reason both sides are trying so hard to woo the middle is because they represent an often silent majority in Hong Kong — residents who do not wish to engage or pick a side in Hong Kong’s fight with Beijing and are largely focused on their jobs, businesses and other more immediate concerns.
“Most people in Hong Kong are not political animals, and most people also realize Beijing will not change its mind” in tightening its grip over Hong Kong’s politics and government, said Willy Lam, an analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “That’s what makes these protests so surprising and spontaneous.”
Many predict the protests will likely grow in numbers and momentum as Hong Kong begins a two-day holiday Wednesday that will free up hundreds of thousands of workers.
But despite the numbers, Beijing has traditionally been loathed to give into such public pressure. President Xi Jinping has spent considerable political capital consolidating his power and fostered some resentment among party officials by cracking down on corruption. Giving in to democratic demands in Hong Kong could make him look vulnerable, some experts say.
And as Xi’s subordinate in Hong Kong, Leung has a limited options to defuse the situation. In his statement Tuesday, Leung did not lay out any plan for quelling the protests and refused to say whether his officials would meet with demonstrators.
Beijing, Leung argued, will not bend. “The Chinese government won’t give in to threats asserted through illegal activity,” he said Tuesday.
As a result, he may not be able to do anything to appease protestors except wait for their momentum to run out.
“That’s why,” said Michael Davis, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, “the end game right now is winning hearts and minds of Hong Kong people. Both sides need the public on their side to win.”
By William Wan
Liu Liu contributed to this report.
sourche: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-hong-kong-protesters-and-government-officials-try-to-sway-the-silent-majority/2014/09/30/585c2966-487e-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html
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