‘Hong Kong Voice’ Spread around the UK

Special Interview with Felix, a Hong Kong student studying in the UK

Felix from Hong Kong is a normal student studying Ph.D in England. However his normal student life in England has been changing since he participated in Hong Kong silent protest at university. This movement of Hong Kong students is for a sign of solidarity with pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. He and his friends are urging Hong Kong government to give citizens democracy. had an interview with him by e-mail and SNS. It seemed he had to say many things. He sent long interview answers in four A4-sized papers.

HK students had protests outside Chinese embassy in London. Also there were pro-democracy protests in other cities in UK.

The sit-down rally in England is to raise awareness in the university campus. There are a lot of activities on the Internet, petition, campaign, photo competitions etc. We want to let the British know how the Chinese government treats the people in their former British colony. Some people suggest having Student Strikes but the impact of this happening in UK is quite minimal. Hong Kong students are paying expensive school fee so student strike would not be possible.

What’s your plan the next to support pro-democracy movement?

The future of the Occupy movement is quite grim. 65 of the main activists surrendered and the Scholarity members are having a hunger strike. I think the Occupy movement in England will pause during the Christmas festive period. I think the pro-democracy parties need to be united. I believe every cloud has a silver lining, and the movement will be successful.

Hong Kong pro-democracy movement seems to face a turning point. Founders of Hong Kong’s Occupy Central movement are preparing to turn themselves in to police over their role in pro-democracy demonstrations.

I think what the Founders did is very noble. They respect the nomocracy (Rule of Law) and keep Hong Kong as a city with law and order. They understand what they are doing is against the law but they are prepared to face the consequence and persecution, they show characters of great leadership and the guts to accept justice.

The first few weeks of the Occupy Movement show the “Hong Kong spirit.” Hong Kong people are very resilient and thus tear gas, water cannon or pepper spray would not defeat us. The occupation in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mongkok demonstrate the creative side of HK. Some people think it is a Utopia where everyone can stand up and speak.

The whole movement became spontaneously. There are people who organise lectures, seminars, study groups and workshops to educate people about civil disobedience. People actively keep and maintain the occupation zone tidy and in order, there is recycle point, cleaning team, first aid etc.

The government announced to block British MPs’ visit to Hong Kong.

I think it is ridiculous that China forbid the visits of British MP. China accused the British of meddling HK’s affair but the existence of Hong Kong is because of Britain. Britain signs the Sino-British joint Declaration in 1984. Britain has the right to enforce the treaty and make sure HK has democracy as what the Declaration agrees. Hong Kong is never ever belonged to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) before 1997.

HK would never exist without the British. And the history of HK is much longer than the PRC. HK become part of the British colony in 1841 and is one of the most developed regions in Asia. While PRC formed in 1949. The history of HK is 108 years longer than that of PRC and HK has never been a part of PRC. If HK people have a voice on the Declaration signed in 1984, the majority would prefer remaining in Britain and if Britain wants to abandon us we would rather join the Republic of China (Taiwan) than the PRC. That’s why many HK people believe the Declaration is another unequal treaty.

Joshua Wong announced hunger strikes to call for talks with the government. It seems that HK pro-democracy movement is going to the new chapter. What do you think the reason why the government rejects to meet with HK protests?

The HK government is now becoming the puppet of the PRC. They would not respond to Joshua’s hunger strike. The government does not want to compromise with the protesters. I am afraid that the HK government is turning into an iron fist ruling, which they show no mercy. Police force became the tools of the government to persecute protesters.

On 29th, in Taiwan local election, ruling party (KMT) had a big defeat. Ke Wen-je (柯文哲) who won in the Taipeimayor election said today, “Umbrella movement in HK gave positive impacts on this election.” How’s about HongKong people’s reaction to Taiwan local election results?

I think the election in Taiwan perfectly demonstrate the beauty of democracy. Through democracy, people can choose the way they want to live and create a better world. Hong Kong and Taiwan have a very similar mindset towards the PRC. The founder of Republic of China (Sun Yat-sen, 孙文) is educated in HK and that’s why Taiwan has democracy and can maintain it’s identity.

A part of Hong Kong is supporting the government. And now we label them as ‘pro-China.’ Some say that Hong Kong is going to be similar to Taiwan, as Hong Kong is divided by two groups: Pro-China or Beijing supporters – blue ribbons and Pro-democracy supporters – yellow ribbons.

Yes, the people in HK are becoming more polarised. The pro-Beijing rally criticised the pro-democracy rally, saying that it is causing unstable economy in HK and they criticise added that those people are not “patriotic” enough. In fact, the peaceful Occupy Central movement received many praises from investors and Western companies, Hong Kong is the only place on earth with large turn up of protest but not single window is broken or shops are looted, at least for the first two months. This demonstrates the quality of HK people. We are civilised and we know what is right or wrong. This “Hong Kong spirit” gives confidence to the investors.

However what turns people away is the police’s reaction and the lack of political wisdom of the HK government. The police use excessive force and cause unnecessary chaos, making people to question about the justice of police enforcement. The best way to solve the crisis is for the government, especially CY Leung, to start a dialogue with the protesters. Communication is the key to peace.

What do you think the most serious problem of the government?

The government cannot earn the citizens’ trust back if they keep refusing to communicate with the pro-democracy leaders. The government thinks that it shows sign of weakness when it compromises with the pro-democracy people.

Many pro-Beijing people only think in a short term, they only care about economy but not the core value of HK. To be patriotic is not to blindly follow what the government does.

What is the reason why Hong Kong should secure democracy?

HK should be the light that shine in China, spreading the value of justice, equality and freedom to China instead of conforming. HK has greatly influenced China especially in economy, and the Chinese economic reform is based on Hong Kong as the economic model. Without the reform, China will still be a poor country.

Hong Kong as a region has their own passport, currency, language, writing system, law etc. Hong Kong is more eligible to be independent from China than for Scotland to become independent from UK. China promised HK to give democracy and now China is not fulfilling the promise.

Is there anything you want to say more?

We are not fighting back but we are rather, just defending ourselves. There is no chaos in the country. The only inconvenience is just some diversion of bus routes and etc. You will be amazed when you go into the occupy zone in HK. You can see artists building sculpture, painting and people singing and dancing. Christians reading Bible, students having lecture, old people doing Tai Chi. This gives space for people to do what they want and make HK more beautiful. (Link : http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/10/09/354859430/a-surprising-tie-that-binds-hong-kongs-protesters-faith)

What happening in HK greatly resemble what happened in 1989 Tienanmen square, HK and Macau is the only place where we still remember those who die for justice (Link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22778105) Written by Choi Jung-ah