http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/10/occupy_central_s_polite_protesters_the_hong_kong_demonstrators_are_disciplined.html
TThe
protest movement that has sprung to life in Hong Kong now
represents the most serious challenge to Beijing’s authority since
the Tiananmen protests of 1989. Beijing is obviously worried:
Earlier this week it banned the photo-sharing site Instagram and
ramped up censorship on the popular Chinese social media site Sina
Weibo to unprecedented levels.
But while the threat
to Beijing’s power is real, the danger isn’t evident on Hong Kong
streets: Rather than presenting scenes of smashed shops or violent
confrontations with the police—the sort of images we have grown
accustomed to in Cairo, Ukraine, and other sites of popular
protests against oppressive regimes—the photos from central Hong
Kong show smiling students sitting around doing their homework,
passing out donations of food, and meticulously picking up litter—even sorting out
the recyclables. What, then, is different about these Hong Kong
demonstrators? And how might their almost exaggerated politeness
help them against the notoriously severe Chinese Communist
Party?
The proof of this
fact is playing out in the streets of Hong Kong right now. After
the protesters’ first attempt to block the financial district was
met with volleys of teargas from riot police, the people
in the street did not fight back, leaving society shocked and
emboldened by the authorities’ outrageous use of force. The
next day, thousands more people turned up with signs supporting the
students, condemning police tactics, and calling for the
resignation of Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung. Although it may
seem obvious that a protest movement must win popular support to
combat oppression, it is no easy feat, and something we have seen movements in dozens of
countries fail to accomplish. The staunch adherence to
nonviolence Occupy Central has demonstrated takes preparation,
training, and discipline—a combination that’s very rare for many
movements.
Most of the time,
organizers aren’t prepared to handle the crowds that surge into the
streets, and with no way to maintain calm and cohesion, too many
movements have been derailed by a few thrown rocks or smashed
storefronts. Governments seize on the smallest acts of disorder or
violence as excuses to crack down. However, Occupy Central’s
organizers seem to have come prepared. By issuing the manual
and attempting to train their activists, they have maintained a
united front and warded off the pitfalls that plague too many
social movements.
If, as many people fear, mainland authorities
crack down Tiananmen-style, the training and the discipline the
protesters have displayed will serve them well, galvanizing support
and isolating the Chinese authorities. On the other hand, if
Beijing realizes the dilemma it faces, it will have no choice but
to negotiate with Hong Kong’s protest leaders, a show of weakness
that may ultimately inspire more yearning for democracy and even
further protests. For now, while it is amusing to watch the
most polite protesters in the world keeping up with their
schoolwork and keeping the streets clean, their politeness actually
demonstrates why they have become such a powerful force to reckon
with.No one has a crystal ball for knowing what Beijing will
do next. Right now the government appears to be set to try to wait
the protesters out, hoping that their presence and the disruption
of daily life will eventually alienate the movement from wider
society. However, Occupy Central has positioned itself well,
almost no matter the outcome.
Hong Kong does not fit in to be part of china. They are
so different from china.
