June 30, 2004

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Marching and a plea for help

Tomorrow will see the second annual march for everyone who's pissed about anything in Hong Kong. The sting has been taken out of the march by a combination of no impending authoritarian legislation like last year's Article 23 law and an improved economic climate. Combine that with expected blistering conditions and making the 300,000 mark that organisers are bandying about would be a great effort. The organisers have allowed themselves to become trapped by nominating a number. If less than 300,000 turn out it will be considered a "failure", even though in more ordinary times a march of (say) 200,000 people out of a population of 7 million on a public holiday would be considered impressive.

China has played a smart game. After definitively ruling out universal suffrage in 2007/8 they changed take in the last few weeks. The CCP has adopted a far more conciliatory tone with the democrats and it has caught the democrats out. The HK democratic camp has no choice but to reach out to Beijing and take the proffered hand, even in the knowledge that there is nothing on offer and no hope of achieving any of their aims. China's ongoing charm offensive has included senior officials constantly whispering sweet nothings in the HK public's ear for the past few weeks. Just yesterday Xinhua published this (literally) gem of a piece comparing Hong Kong to diamond. Even smarter, China has implored Hong Kong to use tomorrow (officially commemorating Hong Kong's handover to China) as a celebration. That way China can even claim that a large turnout represents a victory for its view that it was a march to celebrate China's embrace of Hong Kong, rather than a protest against the Motherland. Yet again the CCP have proved themselves to be supreme politicians and masters of the game.

But as always the game isn't over. Several things tomorrow may upset Beijing's plans. Firstly and most obviously a greater turnout, especially something approximating last year's 500,000 people, will be a slap in the face. While unlikely it cannot be ruled out. If the organisers' expectations are met and 300,000 turn out you can rest assured that certain people won't be hearing much about it. A scan of the China Daily or Xinhua tomorrow is not going to feature hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers marching as their main story. Indeed I'd be surprised if they reported it at all, unless it was under a "Thousands march to celebrate Handover day" style banner. Chinese TV is unlikely to show pictures of the event given the prominence of banners demanding democracy.

Personally I would love to be marching. I am not a citizen of this fair city but the issues behind the march are universal. Additionally while I cannot vote (if it was on offer) this is where my family and I live. Incompetent governance and the spectre of the Communist Party clamping down on the Fragrant Harbour are enough for me. There are plenty of other reasons to march: the article I mentioned on Monday by David Webb gives plenty for those in finance, law, regulation, investment or accountancy. Read it; it helps explain why laissez-faire Hong Kong is not as free economically as the publicity would have you believe.

However the demands of work are such I will instead be stuck in an air-conditioned office and resorting to typing about it on this website instead. I will be covering as much as I can from this vantage point. As such should any Hong Kongers reading this an intending to take part in the rally want to help, please send me an email at:

simon-at-simonworld-dot-mu-dot-nu

and I will arrange some kind of communication to help. Additionally if any Living in China posters would like I would be very happy for the posts tomorrow covering the event get cross-posted to LiC. Please use the same email address.

In the interim I have some Englishmen to tease.

posted by Simon on 06.30.04 at 12:18 PM in the




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http://www.livingontheplanet.com/asia/cn/index.php/2004/07/01/p1375-
Excerpt: In a statement seen by some as a veiled threat against calls for universal suffrage, Executive Councilor Leung Chun-ying announced that while the Hong Kong government welcomes free political expression it would be "inappropriate" to use slogans calling...
Weblog: Living in China
Tracked: July 1, 2004 04:33 PM


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Excerpt: zuwniiea
Weblog: fzweuob
Tracked: April 7, 2005 07:04 PM


Comments:

**REPOSTED FROM PREVIOUS ENTRY COMMENTS**

Unfortunately for the people of Honk Kong it does look like apathy in the face of Beijing's softly spoken approach could well have a significant impact on the march. But just you wait.

I am expecting this quiet approach to wear off right after the demonstrators pack up and go home, Beijing is probably holding the worst regulations back until the route is clear of people.

China has discovered that if you release new legislation after a protest instead of before it, people will be caught on the wrong footing and the resulting protests will appear to be muted and reactionary, and thus can be described as an unwarranted reaction from a few hard-line lunatics with little public support rather than as a representative protest by the larger population.

There have also been several reports that Beijing officials have warned travel operators off of sending mainland tourists to Hong Kong during the march so that they can't see what is going on, and of the Chinese media preparing to screen carefully selected footage of demonstrators and announce that it is a celebration of the handover and that many of the protesters are really Honk Kong residents displaying their love for the Chinese mainland.

I live too far away from Hong Kong to go to the march, but I urge anybody who reads this blog, especially native Chinese and Hong Kong residents to go along.

The more people who attend, the more chance of this making headlines around the world.

We have already seen R. Schriver and Colin Powell speak out in congress against the latest restrictions being placed on Hong Kong's efforts to reform and to become a democracy, and the US senate has recently carried the motion of censure against China proposed by Sam Brownback over the issue of suffrage and personal freedom.

posted by: Angry Chinese Blogger on 06.30.04 at 12:58 PM [permalink]




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