Occupy Central

Hong Kong is the most favored foreign destination by Filipinos. It is quite close, only two hours away by plane, affordable and visa-free. It offers Filipinos the experience of a country that seems light years away in terms of development, systems, and overall services. One of the more common praises about Hong Kong is that everything works. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Filipinos are sixth in the number of tourists that visit each year, mainland China being number one. More than two hundred thousand Filipino OFWs have found gainful employment in Hong Kong.

But there seems to be trouble these days in paradise. The natives are restless. Tens of thousands of protesters have been occupying the streets in the business district, airing their demands that Hong Kong be more democratic by allowing them to elect their own leader --- a move similar to the "Occupy Bangkok" of last year that led to the eventual removal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. In Hong Kong, mostly young students and professionals are calling this event, "Occupy Central" in the financial district of the island. An election for the country's chief executive is scheduled for 2017 but Beijing has already stated that it will vet the candidates. Candidates will have to be pre-approved by a pro-Beijing committee. In other words, there will be elections, but with a candidate Beijing knows they can control. The usual scenario, this time, is unacceptable to the Hongkongese protesters.

Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997, in fulfillment of a 1984 agreement between Great Britain and China. After one hundred fifty-five years of British rule, Hongkongers found themselves in unfamiliar territory, with Beijing now calling the shots. Hong Kong remains a "Special Administrative Region" to continue the way things have been running for more than a century and a half, the so-called "one country, two systems". It has a high degree of autonomy in its systems --- except in foreign relations and military defense. It enjoys what many label a "flawed democracy", with Beijing still in full political control. Hong Kong has never truly embraced Beijing's style of socialism.

Protests demanding full democracy have sprung up since the handover --- the largest, prior to the current one, in 2005. Tear gas was used then to disperse the protesters, something rarely seen in Hong Kong. Two days ago, police again used tear gas to try and disperse the protesters. As of this writing, the numbers of protesters have only swelled with the mood festive and hopeful of an empowered outcome.  Leaders of Occupy Central have issued an ultimatum to the chief executive to resign and for Beijing to allow full democratic processes. Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung has stated that "raw emotion will get us nowhere", in an effort to reason with the protesters to go home. There is now grave concern that a repeat of violence in the events of 1989, in a place called Tiananmen Square, may happen.

In Tiananmen in China, protesters at the time gathered in the famous square, calling for reforms and a shift to democracy. Thousands, some even estimate a million, attended - students, laborers, ordinary people. But after six weeks of protests, China's leaders had enough. Tanks of the Peoples Liberation Army moved in and soldiers began firing at the protesters. After the smoke cleared, an unofficial tally of more than a thousand were killed, with seven to ten thousand injured. A crackdown on militants followed sparing no one, not even foreign journalists who relentlessly followed the events. A media blackout was soon enforced.   

Although China has eased up on its media controls from twenty-five years ago, Beijing has, as of now, imposed a ban on media reporting about the on-going protests in Hong Kong, even shutting down Instagram. How long will the protesters continue their "occupation" in Admiralty? Student leader Lester Shum may have summed up a collective response, "We are not afraid of riot police. We will not leave until Leung Chun-ying resigns." Businesses there are already affected. The area is practically paralyzed. And the longer this drags on, the more dangerous the situation becomes. Someone has to give, but many sincerely doubt that Beijing will flinch. What price, democracy?