Hong Kong protests pull on international students
For more than two weeks, students with connections to Hong Kong have been watching from their screens in Orange while their friends and families are affected by the Umbrella Revolution — protests calling for genuine democratic reform, some of which have been violent.
“You have a very different point of view of it, being here in America,” said junior business major Elaine Yu. “You feel very helpless and separated from the issue, but at the same time we feel so connected to it because that’s our family being affected by it.”
Police in Hong Kong intervened in a protest Oct. 2, shooting at the crowds with rubber bullets. Thousands of activists gathered again Oct. 10 after the government called off a conversation with leaders regarding the movement.
Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when it became a special administrative region of China under the condition that the city be governed using the principle of “one country, two systems” for 50 years. This principle ensures that Hong Kong will have a high degree of autonomy while their economic and social systems will be kept separate from China’s for that period of time. These protests stemmed from the Chinese government saying they will allow for a democratic election in 2017, but only if they can regulate which candidates will go on the ballot, according to BBC News.
Yu grew up in Hong Kong and said knowing that her loved ones are dealing with this back home has her worried.
“The night the protests began, my grandma was actually at a wedding in Central, which is where a lot of the conflict was happening and we didn’t hear from her the entire night,” Yu said. “That was really scary and knowing that she’s safe, it was really nice to know.”
Yu said the protests have been affecting citizens throughout the city.
“Hong Kong is very small, so they could take the subway three or four stops or a bus ride and they would be right in the middle of the conflict,” Yu said. “A lot of my family and friends work in those areas.”
Many businesses and schools were closed when these protests first began.
“In previous weeks, schools were shut down and people weren’t attending work because you just couldn’t,” Yu said. “My family members have been affected and they’re worried about paying their bills this month.”
Andrea Molle, political science professor in Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences said China relies on Hong Kong’s economy.
“The more protesters prove they can paralyze that, the more they can have a competitive advantage in whatever negotiation they will have with the government in Hong Kong and that’s the reason why China is so eager to shut them down,” he said.
Hong Kong police tried to take back the streets by using force against the peaceful protesters.
“That’s where the ‘umbrella’ term came from because they would all open up umbrellas when they started using the tear gas,” Yu said. “People are just trying to protect themselves because they had no weapons.”
Freshman environmental science major Winnie Woo grew up in Hong Kong and said she used to admire these authority figures.
“Hong Kong police used to give this kind of Superman feeling like they’re all good and they protect citizens, so now that idea is completely twisted,” Woo said.
Woo said that the police brutality has made her question the entire system in Hong Kong.
“At first, I was kind of in between because I don’t know if the protests are helping,” Woo said. “But after the police did so many things that weren’t what I thought they would do to protect us, I feel like it’s time for a turning in the government.”
Molle said that leadership is a huge problem with this movement.
“They have many leaders, some of these leaders are unexperienced because they’re so young,” Molle said. “They don’t have one leader that can open a dialogue with Hong Kong government and that’s a tactical advantage to China.”
Yu recognizes this movement not only as a matter of rights, but as a power struggle between generations and she empathizes with both sides.
“The younger generation, like my cousins, are very in support of it because they’re optimistic and want to fight for their future but there’s this generational gap,” Yu said. “My elders, like my aunts and uncles, keep saying that this is interfering with their work and they blame the young generation for not understanding the economic results from these protests.”
Yu said that participating in a democracy is important to her, but other students in the United States might not be as passionate about it.
“We take it for granted, the right to be able to vote and to have a voice in our democracy here,” Yu said. “We’re so privileged to have that and it’s so inspiring to see people younger than me out in the streets fighting for that and it just makes me very proud.”
Yu said she thinks the best thing that has come from the protests is that they started dialogue about the issue.
“I just hope that the conversation doesn’t die down,” Yu said. “The most powerful and effective way to spread awareness is having meaningful conversations with friends and really just taking that moment to realize why it’s important and making your own personal connection with it,” Yu said.
Woo said sporting a yellow ribbon symbolizes this pro-democracy movement.
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
