The Hong Kong “Umbrella Protests” have returned to the island city. The turnout was lower than expected but organizers are hopeful for the long-hawl.
With the protests returning The Crimson is re-printing its story on the protests first published back in September.
Protests have been going on in Hong Kong Since late September. Students led by Joshua Wong make up the majority of protesters. The protesters want the Chinese Government in Beijing to allow free elections for the city’s chief executive, a position similar to mayor. The protests are ongoing and show no sign of subsiding despite demands from the city’s chief executive. Protesters have blocked off streets and occupied parks. They clashed with police and have been able to stay on the streets despite efforts to push them out. On Tuesday, October 21 the protest movement’s leaders met with Hong Kong authorities for the first time since the protests began 3 weeks ago.
On 22 October the protesters marched to CY Leung’s house to protest his role in the recent developments in the city. Many protesters see that CY Leung has stood idly by while the democratic rights of Hong Kongers have been taken away. The protesters were angry with Leung’s recent comments in an interview in which he said that democracy would lead to populist politics and an unfair advantage given to the poor of the city. In an interview with the New York Times Leung said, “If it’s entirely a numbers game and numeric representation, then obviously you would be talking to half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than $1,800 a month.”
Theses comments have moved the protests towards more socio-economic issues instead of just political issues.
The meeting between the student protesters and city government officials produced no results. The central government claimed that the city could not determine its own political direction because it was a part of China. The legal status of the territory has been in question since its independence from Great Britain in 1997. Many protesters fear the increasing encroachment of the Chinese Central Government on their island. They want free elections instead of a contest between three hand picked candidates chosen by the Chinese Government. Upon reintegration with China Hong Kong was promised free elections and self-rule.
The protests have lost a lot of manpower since their beginning but a couple hundred people have camped out in parks and will remain until the issues are resolved.
