Lee Yee: Opportunities and Advice for Joshua Wong

Opportunities and Advice for Joshua Wong

Translated by Chen-t'ang 鎮棠, written by Lee Yee
Original: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20160425/19585321 

(Joshua Wong on Demosisto's opening ceremony, from Delight Media Hong Kong)

Demosisto, established under the brand-name effect of Joshua Wong, has been bombarded by the media, pro-Beijing camp, mild pan-dems and radical localists, and we should have some reflections on such opinion. But what comes in to my mind was the speech by Andy Chui Chi-kin, the 48-year-old winner who defeated Christopher Chung in the 2015 District Council election. Chui said in the Umbrella Movement, he felt upset when he saw students protesting on the frontline for democracy, as well as the violence from the police forece. He felt that his political apathy before has caused the dire consequences now, and the buck should be on the shoulders of middle-aged people, as he felt "a strong sense of atonement". From atonement to reflection, his friends said many candidates walk over as no one contested in that constituency, so he started to challenge Chris Chung.

If Chui felt guilty for his political apathy before, then those democrats who supported "the reunification" shall feel more guilty. From the beginning of Sino-British negotiation, I opposed the handover, but from time to time, I felt uneasy when recalling that I cannot awake the public. Now, when we see youngsters stand out against the fall of Hong Kong, middle-aged and elderly people might not be able to take the bullet for the youngster, but at least do not fuel the fire. Youngsters will err, and will be naive and immature, but chances should be given to them. Shouldn't the adults feel guilty when Joshua Wong stood out against national education when he was only 14 or 15?

I can hardly criticize people who participate in political confrontation - be it mild or radical, or regardless of their errors. Because I am only writing, but not sacrificing as those participants who have stood out. Those who comment on politics should always doubt the authority, and be lenient to opposers.

Though I am lenient, I shall remind all participants - only modesty brings progress. Even if they are young, the mistakes made by Demosisto have aroused lots of critics, including promotion, setting up bank account, web domains, not to mention the "self-determination a decade later" in response to the future of Hong Kong. Joshua Wong thinks this is a PR disaster, and said the reason behind is "the requirement and standard from the public to a political party and its figures are so different from a student organisation" - meaning Scholarism was a student organization, so public's requirement and standard were lower; now Demosisto is a party, so the requirement and standard are higher now.

This is merely shifting the responsibility. In fact, Joshua Wong was impressive when he led the Anti-national-education campaign. The standard of the public was not higher, but only with the same expectation, or even lower standard would be acceptable. In fact, the performance was way worse than before. The fundamental problem is there is no foresight nor vision in the party, but rather circumventing the target as politicians do. As a "party of young people", it fails to tell the society how they want Hong Kong to be. When compared to the clarity of Edward Leung (Hong Kong Indigenous), the ambition of Andy Chan Ho-tin (Hong Kong National Party), Demosisto has showed that they are "old".

With years of social movement experience, Joshua Wong is no longer rookie. Experience and aura can be a person's capital and his liability, and the way to get rid of his liability is genuine, instead of oral, modesty. I left in the middle of the launch of Demosisto with Denise Ho and But Ming, because this is what I want them to know.