Holmes Chan: Lawmakers' Constitutional Protections? Beijing Doesn't Care!

Lawmakers' Constitutional Protections? Beijing Doesn't Care!

Written by Holmes Chan
Original: https://twitter.com/holmeschan_/status/1326432447387463680 

There is a sense of futility talking about law in Hong Kong today. Many would argue that the city's legal system is at the mercy of the NPCSC.

Nevertheless, let's have a look at HK's legal mechanism for disqualifying lawmakers.

We start with Basic Law Art. 79, which lists all the situations where the LegCo president can disqualify lawmakers.

On paper, it is not easy to dislodge a sitting lawmaker elected by popular vote - and for good reason.

Article 79

The President of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall declare that a member of the Council is no longer qualified for the office under any of the following circumstances:

( 1 ) When he or she loses the ability to discharge his or her duties as a result of serious illness or other reasons;

( 2 ) When he or she, with no valid reason, is absent from meetings for three consecutive months without the consent of the President of the Legislative Council;

( 3 ) When he or she loses or renounces his or her status as a permanent resident of the Region;

( 4 ) When he or she accepts a government appointment and becomes a public servant;

( 5 ) When he or she is bankrupt or fails to comply with a court order to repay debts;

( 6 ) When he or she is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one month or more for a criminal offence committed within or outside the Region and is relieved of his or her duties by a motion passed by two-thirds of the members of the Legislative Council present; and

( 7 ) When he or she is censured for misbehaviour or breach of oath by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Legislative Council present.

You might ask: What about Baggio Leung & Yau Wai-ching getting DQ-ed? BL Art. 79 didn't say anything about oaths.

In 2016 the court ruled that, because they didn't take their oaths properly, they never BECAME lawmakers in the first place.

https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/word/vetted/other/en/2016/HCAL000185A_2016.doc

Which brings us to today. The 4 DQ-ed democrats are sitting lawmakers whose terms were extended by the NPCSC in August, due to the election delay.

Even if we accept the fact that they were barred from re-election, that should only affect the NEXT LegCo term.

Carrie Lam tried to blur the distinction today, saying that people found unqualified to run for LegCo election are "naturally unqualified" at being a LegCo member.

But the law disagrees. Election candidates are DQ-ed one way, and LegCo members are DQ-ed in another.

TL;DR - When elected, a Hong Kong lawmaker enjoys constitutional protections which prevent them from being ousted on a whim. 

Today we are reminded once again: Beijing doesn't care.

[The Standard/27.7.1989] Life after Tiananmen Square

Life after Tiananmen Square 

By JACKIE SAM, Features Editor, The Hongkong Standard on 27 July 1989

(Hong Kong Economic Journal)

THE ARTIST laid out four chamber pots in Victoria Park, Hongkong’s largest urban park, and invited Sunday strollers to defecate into them. As the large crowd laughed and giggled away, he dropped his pants and accepted his own invitation.

The chamber pots represented China’s four cardinal principles of socialism, Communist Party leadership, dictatorship of the proletariat and Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought.

The artist would have gone all the way had a policeman not ordered him to put his pants on. He was not arrested and will probably try some other stunt another weekend.

Hardly a week goes by without the lunatic fringe pulling off a political stunt. No day passes without someone publicly demanding “Democracy now!”

This is Hongkong politicking at a frantic pace – without any sense of direction and no vision of the future. Worse, there is no sensible leadership in sight. The problem is compounded by a rising political consciousness among the six million people.

Hardly a week goes by without the lunatic fringe pulling off a political stunt. No day passes without someone publicly demanding “Democracy now!”. This is Hongkong politicking at a frantic pace – without any sense of direction, and no vision of the future.

The rude awakening came just before the tanks clattered into Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the early hours of June 4.

But for over 150 years under benign colonial rule, local leadership was neither needed nor encouraged. Only compradores were co-opted, both to give legitimacy to the system and to advise British bureaucrats on the ways of the Chinese. At most, they represented local business, largely Shanghainese interests.

Senior Executive Councillor (Exco) Dame Lydia Dunn and Senior Legislative Councillor Allen Lee Peng-fei, who is also an Exco member, are the largest inductees into this colonial order. Both have extensive business interests and both have family roots in Shanghai.

Dame Lydia is too closely identified with British interests to be able to offer credible leadership to a population imbued with a new-found sense of Chineseness. In any case, she does not seem interested in any significant role beyond the early 1990s.

(Books4you, 52nd edition via krislcc.wordpress.com)

Mr Lee, still harbouring some post-1997 ambitions in spite of the Tiananmen massacre, is also identified with British interests. Once touted as “the Lee Kuan Yew of Hongkong”, he has not tried to distance himself from Whitehall’s interests, though more statesmanlike in Sino-Hongkong affairs.

As Hongkong moves inexorably into China’s fold, the Whitehall luggage will be a liability. But this late in the day, politics remains at the parish-pump level, horizons remain narrow and naivete prevails. So the so-called liberals or democrats and the lunatic fringe who make the most noise have a field day.

This feature of Hongkong’s political landscape dominates the media, is the most exciting for recent tertiary institution graduates and is both the hope and bane of the Westernised elite. It is dominated by two men, Queen’s Counsel Martin Lee Chu-ming and trade unionist-school principal Szeto Wah.

(Mad Dog Daily)

Martin Lee is a very successful barrister, an articulate member of the Legislative Council, staunchly anti-communist, and idealistic to the point of arrogance. Like Dame Lydia, hs is a darling of the Western media. But his definition of democracy has not gone beyond the immediate introduction of universal franchise, and his disdain for the rough and tumble of grassroots politics makes him a poor leader.

Szeto Wah was previously suspect in the eyes of the expatriate community and the local Westernised elite. A good organiser, politically more astute than Martin Lee but with a limited knowledge of English, he was regarded as part of China’s united front on the colony. Until the student demonstrations and the June 4 massacre, he was more accommodating towards China than Martin Lee was.

Both men have spent months trying, without success, to set up a political party embracing all liberal and vested interest group.

In the past two years, these “liberals’ or “democrats” have etched out certain characteristics which will be very hard for them to eradicate in the coming years. First, no one wants to follow; everyone claims to be leader or spokesman. The result is endless squabbling, both in private and in public. They are divided by personal traits, social standing, wealth or lack of it, attitudes towards China and Britain, and education.

Secondly, this part of the political landscape is littered with pressure groups representing minority interests and mostly started for apolitical reasons. Except for a handful, they ate single-issue groups concerned with problems such as pollution, recovery of payments from bankrupt travel agencies, leaky roofs in public housing of conservancy. Their umbrella organisation, the Joint Committee for the Promotion of Democratic Government (JCPDG), embraces 101 groups.

The great majority represent only a handful of non-paying members, usually a dozen people. Most groups want to retain their separate identities while demanding an equal voice in the bigger issues. Most have about 200 members on whom little or no discipline can be imposed.

As the demand for greater political participation grows, the weaknesses of these pressure groups become more evident. They are locked into a pressure group mentally, devoting all their energies to one issue and lapsing into total inactivity till the next issue crops up.

The umbrella organisation, JCPDG, and the newly-established Hongkong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China cannot focus on anything beyond two weeks. As one academic puts it: “Anything beyond a fortnight means trouble. They start to argue, split hairs and disintegrate. So they plan rallies, seminars, pop shows and get everyone to focus on the immediate task to create an illusion of unity.” But on the vital issue of creating a party, unity of purpose and resolve continues to elude them.

Just before the student demonstrations in China, these groups, including Martin Lee and Szeto Wah, were being dismissed as irrelevant to the whole political process.

When the protests broke out, Martin Lee and Szeto Wah seized the issue to revive their “democratic” movement.

For about a month, they wallowed in unrivalled poplarity [sic]. They got carries away. Szeto Wah and some of his close associates called for the overthrow of the Chinese leadership, publicly exulting in financial aid they had given to students in China and the “underground” groups set up to whisk to safety student leaders on China’s wanted list.

Worrying

Emotions over those demonstrations have died down and many people are now accusing these democrats, especially Martin Lee and Szeto Wah, of putting Hongkong in danger. More internal squabbling, more public rallies and provocative stunts must be expected.

All these activities are worrying to the local business community. That is why they have been quietly applauding a recent People’s Daily editorial denouncing Martin Lee and Szeto Wah as “counter-revolutionaries” and warning Hongkong people against meddling in China’s internal affairs if they want their “one country, two systems” after June 1997.

While emotions ran high in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre and Martin Lee and Szeto Wah hogged the limelight, conservative elements kept a low profile. They are beginning to speak out again. Some observers believe these conservatives were behind the People’s Daily editorial.

The conservatives are as divided as the democrats or liberals are. But at least they have a vision of the future and are less inclined to quarrel in public. What they seek is simply a stable Hongkong, a timid, obedient and hard-working population, and a free hand to make as much money as possible – with China as a full partner in a Hongkong Inc.

The Tiananmen massacre has given an impetus to faster political reforms before 1997. The democrats or liberals say that a quickened pace will lead to the setting up of a representative government before sovereignty returns to China. This, they insist, will stop Beijing from interfering in Hongkong’s affairs.

China’s united front network, built up over the past 50 years, is intact, though its propaganda arms, the Wen Wei Po and the Ta Kung Pao, faltered during the month-long demonstrations and immediately after the massacre. Both newspapers are now being brought back into line.

But the little publicised parts of this united front have always been more important and are now an integral part of Hongkong’s political landscape. The key player here is the New China News Agency (Xinhua), China’s unofficial representative office in Hongkong.

The agency operates on many fronts at all levels. It has been successful in winning over a few Legco members and a large section of the local business community with complete dominance of the local chamber of commerce. It also has a strong hold on the retail trade through the handful of agency houses for foodstuff and consumer goods from China. The influence exerted on a tradition-minded, Chinese-speaking community is immense.

Network

Apart from above-ground operations, there is the underground network of the Chinese Communist Party itself. Operatives have been sent into Hongkong since the 1930s. The Kuomintang claims there are between 60,000 and 80,000 underground agents. Government sources say there are 20,000 to 25,000. The media and academics accept the lower figure.

These agents live among the people, work as lowly-paid employees in the private sector or run retail businesses. According to one police source, many have moved into the lower echelons of the public service, especially the immigration service. Their role is widely believed to be to influence grassroots thinking and to keep Beijing informed of developments.

In the coming weeks, this network and the united front will be activated to give Hongkong a propaganda blitz it has never seen before. The aim is to assure the people of their future.

It will be a Herculean task. But Beijing is not overly worried if the effort fails. Since the 1970s, it has been grooming a corps of believers to run the territory. That is something that many Hongkong people fear as well.

The best hope for Hongkong as a financial and trading centre remains a combination of British-trained administrators and local business interests, with Beijing’s hand operating discreetly behind the scenes, supported by a hardworking, apolitical population.

But with the liberals and the lunatic fringe allow this? Would the newfound nationalism of Hongkong people who fear communism allow them to remain bystanders while a big chill sweeps across the mainland?

Whatever the answers, it promises to be very interesting into the year ahead.

Lam Min-yat: Why Can’t “Disqualification Issue” Mobilise Voters?

Why Can’t “Disqualification Issue” Mobilise Voters?

Translated by Bernard Wong, written by Lam Min-yat 林勉一
Original: https://thestandnews.com/politics/%E9%BB%9E%E8%A7%A3%E5%8F%8Ddq%E5%8B%95%E5%93%A1%E4%B8%8D%E5%88%B0%E9%81%B8%E6%B0%91/ 

During the by-election, we all thought the “Disqualification Issue” is the trump card. As we can now learn from the facts, the “Disqualification Issue” may only be a concern for the self-anointed progressives. For many people, the alleged “Disqualification Issue” is no grave matter.

If we were to ask why the “Disqualification Issue” failed the mobilise the masses, I would allude to the movie NO, a film adapted from the history of Chile's referendum. In the movie, the dictator Pinochet orchestrated a referendum to extend his rule. The opposition needs to call on the electorate to vote NO. They set out the film TV commercials, with scenes of hardcore riot police beating up citizens, ending with a call to vote against.

The opposition presented their work to a young advertiser, who finds it ineffective. The advertiser said that such serious theme has little appeal to the masses. He noted that a message needs to be targeted to the public as a product is targeted to its market.

The public we refer to is essential an apolitical bunch. They need to make ends meet, have a family to take care of, have classes to attend, lives to live… Force-feeding them with political ideals will not be able to affect them; the message itself must be approachable.

Professor Ma Ngok noted that the gravest takeaway from this by-election is that the ordinary citizen is not as receptive to the “Disqualification Issue” as we all expected.

Those who are repulsed by the “Disqualification Issue” pay close attention to political news everyday, like you and I. We can tell the difference between localists, "yit-po-shing" (Civic Passion-Proletariat Political Institute-Hong Kong Resurgence Order), moderate pan-dems, radical pan-dems, left-wingers, right-wingers… etc. There may be one or two hundred thousands of us in society. Yet most of the Hongkongers we meet on a daily basis cannot tell Youngspiration, League of Social Democrats or Demosistō apart.

A lot of youth who regard themselves as woke would curse these “Kongformists” as undeserving of democracy. The “Kongformists” are those who pay little attention to politics, and even those who have been subconsciously persuaded by TVB and pro-Beijing newspapers to believe that politics is chaos.

The aforementioned crowd makes up the majority of society. That is the reality. They are exactly the people whom the advertiser in the movie NO is trying to mobilise. The opposition cannot regard them as “Chilean conformists” and give up trying to sway them, only to bemoan there are too many “Chilean conformists” in Chile for democracy to happen.

For you and me, the “Disqualification Issue” is an egregious assault on the law, due process, reason and common sense. Yet most people cannot even find time to care, or simply don’t want to care. Especially when television and newspapers nowadays are all under the enemy’s command, giving them even less incentive to care.

This year or so, the government stripped many candidates’ rights to run for office unreasonably. It has also stripped six LegCo members of their seats. Why is the daily passerby so nonchalant to such ridiculous and barbaric acts?

From daily observation, I see that regardless of adults or students, they have come to roll the word “DQ” on the tip of their tongue, as if it is nothing out of the ordinary. I think there are a number of reasons why this has occurred:

First, the mainstream media have all been homogenised. Mainstream media, especially TVB, have basically given a cold shoulder to the issues of government stripping candidates’ right to run as well as elected candidates’ right to represent. Even when there is coverage, it is stuck with the formulaic expression of “They have been too radical. The government is acting in accordance with the law. Pro-establishment scholar points out it is within the government’s right to do so.”

On another matter, the expression “disqualification” is a complete disaster. What is happening is candidates’ rights to run and elected candidates’ rights to represent being stripped away, yet you let the mainstream media lead you on and call it “DQ”. The average Joe hears two English letters and does not associate it with anything negative. This blurs the severity of the incident. Disqualification to the ordinary citizen is like a referee stripping a rule-breaker’s right to play, most commonly seen in sports competition. Anti-DQ to the innocent ears sound like we are in the wrong to begin with.

There’s a more serious point: Yau Wai-ching’s “Re-fucking of Chi-Na” have been looped ad nauseam by the mainstream media, so much so that the public has come to equate DQ with “Re-fucking of Chi-Na”. You who are politically attuned will know even using that as an excuse to strip a legislator of her seat is out of line, but the commoner sentences the legislator to death the moment they hear a swear word.

An election is about rallying people to vote. For many people to be rallied, it takes more than an appeal to ideals. There needs to be an appeal to emotion and relations. An appeal to emotions is to make the public feel the need to vote. This needs to go beyond ideals. They must have an emotional motive, such as grief, anger, fear, hope, sympathy… etc. To be stripped of the right to be elected and to represent is a grief-worthy and angering issue in itself, yet the incident is too abstract in reality, coupled with the aforementioned reasons, it failed to rally the people.

So how can the masses be rallied? Whatever I can think of, I am sure my democrat friends can also think of. Here are my two cents:

First of all, it is important to capture the attention of those who do not care about the “Disqualification Issue”. How? Since the television and newspapers are all under the regime’s control, we must sow our seeds humbly on the streets and promote in local communities. This seed-sowing process demands time and patience and requires our constant commitment. As to whether the democrats had spent enough time and patience on that, I’d say there is room for improvement.

This seed-sowing approach is no panacea. There are those who are immune to such medicine. The “Disqualification Issue” failed to capture the imagination. How can such imagination be presented? Take the anti-national education movement for example. If it weren’t for the overwhelmingly leftist “The China Model” textbook, the public would not be aware how chilling the whole thing is. Yet when it comes to the government stripping of legislators of their seats, there wasn’t enough grief, fear and frustration. Better for Hong Kong Island, there were a bunch of commies who were verbally abusing pan-democrat volunteers on the day of the by-election. Kowloon West did not have that to count on.

For the majority of the public, the “Disqualification Issue” is irrelevant to daily life. If campaigners cannot make people empathize with the “Disqualification Issue”, then they should seek issues that are more tangible in daily life. These issues can be the overwhelming surplus in our reserve, resettlement and payments for reconstruction (Want to guess how many voters can understand “Say no to the Commodification of Housing”?), the national anthem legislation, Carrie Lam giving a free pass to the UGL/ $50 million case, SJ Teresa Cheng knowingly breaching the law, uniformed groups being asked to march by CCP stylistic standards… etc. These issues are comprehensible to the commoner, and only by comprehending the issue will he or she finds meaning in voting.

I understand Carrie Lam has quite a remarkable skill in giving the impression that “whatever’s at fault is not my fault”, and many do believe her. At the same time, the resources made available to pro-communist political parties is 10 times that of pan-dems. They have infinite resources to build grassroots networks and count votes. And let’s not forget, TVB was shameless enough to insist on not hosting an election forum, giving a cold shoulder to this entire by-election.

This by-election saw a major loss of votes in the public housing estate areas, meaning grassroots voters. This electoral result is a siren to the pan-democrats. The reality is that the referee, the linesmen and the host are all under the CCP. If democrats do not ponder on how to attract grassroots voters and the politically indecisive ones, a repetition of Kowloon West’s defeat is not impossible.

In the movie NO, what did the opposition use for the final version of their advertisement? It was song and dance modelled on commodity advertisement. There was no catastrophe in the ad, the imagery and music grab your attention immediately. The message of the advertisement is simple and direct: to vote, and vote NO; without a dictatorship there will be better days ahead. Only by grabbing the masses’ attention can you appeal to them. Do you know what the electorate of Kowloon West remembers most? “Vincent Cheng? He’s the brother in law of Myolie Wu.”

(P.S. Perhaps I’m being too clever too late with the full benefit of hindsight. Yet I’m not satisfied with being clever after the facts, nor am I here to boo and challenge. Beyond writing this article, I have strived to find my elders and friends to vote. With circumstances like these, I promised myself I will help out with canvassing in person in the upcoming election, let this be my proof.)

Marcus Lau: Reflections & Analysis after Election

Reflections & Analysis after Election

Translated by Chen-t'ang 鎮棠, written by Marcus Lau Yee-ching (Former editor-in-chief, Undergrad, HKUSU) [1027, 05 Sept 2016]
Original: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1134648589937655&set=a.122206674515190.20330.100001775756809&type=3 

The outcome of the LegCo election is basically decided. [By the time of writing,] the accurate figures were not released, but looking at the seat distributions, there are some points worth looking at.

1 – The Election in HK Will Soon Become “Malaysian-style” Election

Please bear in mind that there are five candidates being screened out (Edward Leung, Chan Ho-tin, Nakade Hitsujiko, Chan Kwok-keung, Alice Lai) due to their political stances. So no matter what, this election is by no means a democratic one, but an unconstitutional election waiting to be overturned. Ridiculous things happened during the election campaign period showed that the election in Hong Kong will gradually be interfered and manipulated by the government in different ways. First, presiding officers of poll stations can take ballot boxes home, but the luggage boxes with ballot papers were not even sealed. On the election day, some voters saw others using a photocopy of HKID card to vote, some voters “were voted by others”, some votes were considered invalid as they were torn a bit; power outage was seen in a poll station in North District. During vote count period, a presiding officer delayed the vote count result (Kowloon Park station), and a station had some “extra fake votes” in the ballot boxes (Sheung Tak station, Tseung Kwan O), etc. The government has lots of ways to interfere elections. If there are LegCo elections in the future, they would be rather dim.

2 – New Social Activism Bloc is Formed

Three members from the new social activism bloc (or “Demosisto” bloc), Lau Siu-lai (Kowloon West), Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (NT West), Nathan Law (HK Island), won with higher percentages of votes. Three of them gained the most votes in the non-establishment camp in their constituencies, and this is quite surprising to everyone. “Demosisto” bloc supported self-determination and non-violent confrontation. It took a “left-leaning” stance  economically, supporting universal retirement protection and advocating social connections. However, this bloc failed to mention the crux of HK-China relationship, such as the approval right of One-way Permit and the welfare of new mainland immigrants. What do their higher percentages of votes symbolise? Since the Umbrella Movement in 2014, the rise of the new social activism bloc has shown a different image from other traditional activist parties, which emphasised on their connections with workers or the grass root. The young, fresh and reforming image of the new social activism bloc has gained lots of support from the “Umbrella Generation”. Both being first-timers in LegCo Election, “Demosisto” bloc outperformed Youngspiration, and perhaps this is what localists should reflect on. Nathan Law was more known after the Umbrella Revolution, while Eddie Chu has participated in the protest against the removal of Queen Pier back in 2006. Chu kept on revealing the collusion between “government, commercial sector, rural sector and triad gangs”, and Chu's connections and network can never be underestimated. However, Lau Siu-lai has few “groundwork” in her constituency. After “coordinating” with Oscar Lai in less than half a year ago, Lau won with over 30,000 votes, and this is worth noting [Translator's note: final votes obtained – 38,183]. 

With the entry of “Demosisto” bloc, the huge “leftist social activism industry chain” will return. With lots of resources from LegCo, the key would hinge on students' unions across different universities. Opinion leaders around this chain, such as Chow Po-chung and YC Chen, will also return, after a period of silence. For localists or independence supporters, it would be a challenge to strengthen the localist forces formed in the tertiary education sector in the past two years.

3 – More Fragmented Landscape in LegCo

With people recommended by Chinese Liaison Office entering the Council (Junius Ho, Eunice Yung, etc.), the forces of New Pro-Beijing Bloc (NT rural sector, Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong and New People's Party) will be more solid. During an interview with the press, Nathan Law said he will not participate in the pan-dem joint alliance and will be on his own. For localism camp, originally there was only one seat (Raymond Wong), but now there are 2 from Youngspiration (Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung) and 1 from Civic Passion (Cheng Chung-tai), totalling 3 seats. Although both camps had some arguments with each other, two organisations share the most similar minds among all first-timers, so it is believed that there are rooms for cooperation in the future. The pan-dem camp has not changed much, so I would not comment for now.

Fragmentation of the Council becomes the trend, and for now, I cannot foresee any figure who can unite people from establishment camp or non-establishment camp, so it is expected that there will be no major breakthrough in the Council for the coming four years. The core of Hong Kong politics will still be “from streets to Council”. With lots of blocs in the council, there will be more variables. I cannot tell whether it is a blessing or a curse as of now, but I believed that a change, no matter a better one or a worse one, must be done to change the current plight in Hong Kong.

4 – Pan-dem's “Backroom Deal” - VotSonar – Plays Vital Role

VotSonar was initially a joke due to its small amount of sample size. However, Apple Daily listed a “support/sacrifice” (S/S) list [棄保名單] from VotSonar and used its media influence to promote such list. Yet, such S/S list was only supported by around 40,000 users and these users do not even know how the list was calculated. No one really knows how the list was generated. When the list was all over Apple Daily, the list became an indicating S/S list for the entire Hong Kong. Many voters who have not vote around the evening voted according to the list. According to the S/S list for NT East, my friend's family gave three votes to separate candidates, Gary Fan, Ray Chan (Fast Beat) and Fernando Cheung. The influence of the S/S list was much stronger then the participants of VotSonar, and there are even suggestions to cast all votes for Slow Beat (Tam Tak-chi) in Kowloon East.

VotSonar has a great excuse – to send as many non-establishment candidates into the council as it can. It used precious votes to support pan-dem candidates, some of which may be at risk, eventually sacrificing localist candidates. Take Kowloon East as an example, as “78% voters do not want to vote for Wong Yeung-tat”, so the plan “does not have to consider Wong”. When this result was spread out by Apple Daily, voters only have to know they have to cast all votes to Slow Beat, but voters would not know Wong Yeung-tat was not considered by VotSonar. Same case for Raymond Wong, Baggio Leung and Horace Chin Wan-kan. This is absolutely misleading voters. Apple Daily has once and again supported pan-dem candidates by using its media influence. These pan-dem councillors are mostly on the position of sinecures. Three decades have passed, do we have more time to waste anymore?

Now, “quitting” strategy. Few days before the election day, Civic Party's Sumly Chan and Labour's Suzanne Wu quitted the election by ending their campaigns. Even if this cannot “transfer” votes, this can show that the situation of the pan-dem is on the brink. With VotSonar S/S list, swing votes will go to non-establishment camp naturally. Candidates from the pan-dem camp quitted nearly at the same time, but is that just a coincidence? The last candidate who quitted was Kwan Wing-yip from Neo Democrats, and he said the “withdrawal” was the “darkest day in his political career”. Sumly Chan said he has spent every cent of his own for the election, and has no idea to pull out. Suddenly he had a press conference with other candidates on the same day. If you link the financial sources behind these parties, you can understand why there is such “collective pull-out”.

VotSonar-Apple Daily-S/S strategy integrated together and boosted pan-dem candidates. The outcome showed that those ranked lower in election polls, such as Ray Chan (Fast Beat), Nathan Law, Ted Hui and Fernando Cheung, got more votes than polls would have expected. It showed that the plan worked out, but the devil in the detail is as dirty as pro-Beijing camp's “number in the palm”.

5 –

I guess you can figure out how localist camp can reflect. But if I put it straight, I believe you will not listen, so I will leave it blank. The only thing I'd say is, we have chosen the easiest yet the most stupid way, and those who share similar ideas were harmed.

Conclusions

There are lots of other things that worth analysing, but I will leave that to others. I would like to encourage those who felt disappointed to this election, especially localists, “Pass on the torch. Never give up the faith. Keep the light burning.” (from The Grandmaster). I cannot say this election is a victory [to localist camp – translator's note], but I can still see the slightest hope in danger. We must not be frustrated, because, we are nothing but the only Hongkongers in the world. We are still the masters of this land.

The world will eventually belong to us.

Atsuna: Grumpy Old Fart's Sophomoric Chunibyo

Grumpy Old Fart's Sophomoric Chunibyo

Translated by Chen-t'ang 鎮棠, written by Atsuna

Original: https://atsunablog.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/%E6%B8%AF%E5%96%B1%E7%9A%84%E9%81%8E%E6%9C%9F%E4%B8%AD%E4%BA%8C%E7%97%85/ 

There are some kinds of "seniors" in the Chinese society:

1 - Some kind of old, grumpy bitches who compare your height, exam results, salary, relationship, marriage, your son, or your relative's son. They tread on others and, therefore, gain happiness.

2 - Some authoritative old farts who have their own opinion. They might not be fans of Chirs Chung, but are usually fans of the Democratic Party, holding "Greater China" thoughts. Some might even say that Raymond Wong Yuk-man still belongs to the People's Power, yet they will say "fighting for universal suffrage without screening" is too naive. Innocence is not the most unbearable thing, but rather, their sophomoric Chunibyo tone when they speak to you. Chunibyo is a Japanese phrase referring silly and arrogant behaviour during one's adolescence. Yet many know-it-all adults in their 50s or 60s are still that silly.

There isn't unprovoked love in the world, nor is there unprovoked faux pas. Behind those authoritative old farts, there are usually ordinary Hong Kong stories: a young grassroots movement benefitted from education reform and had witnessed the years when Hong Kong's economy flourished and China opened up. Hongkongers only needed to do so-called comprador work and laugh all the way to the bank. Some may have even gained their status because of the brain drain of the 1990s. They believe that the only reason for their success is "personal effort", instead of believing that the era helped them. There is a saying: "survival of the fittest". Those who succeeded might not be the best, but rather the fittest who followed the trend of the era.

In Chinese society, "premature youngsters" are sinned. Lin Yu-tang wrote this in his book, My Country and My People (1935):

The Chinese have a certain contempt for young enthusiasm and for new brooms that will sweep this universe clean. By laughing at that enthusiasm and at the belief that everything is possible in this world, Chinese society teaches the young to hold their tongues while their elders are speaking early on.

And even though the society is by no means similar to that era, Hong Kong is still very traditional overall. When students had a class strike for universal suffrage, what we earned was the nonchalant irony from those who had failed to guard Hong Kong, saying things like "If the undergrads want to make sacrifices, they shall quit the universities... Most Hongkongers do not want to be against Beijing, this is not good for Hong Kong." When they are old, they have nothing to be ashamed of. They do not want to be decent men themselves, and neither do they allow "the new brooms" to be decent. No wonder Lu Xun said Chinese people are "on a whim from their old age until their death - they have to occupy roads of youngsters, and breathe all the air of youngsters".

Lee Tien-ming, a philosophist, once said: "Everyone has his adolescence, if he is not dead; everyone loses his teenage years, if everything is well. After all, one should not be proud of his age, unless he has no other things to be proud of; and one should not feel inferior, unless this inferiority can help you forget other heavier inferiorities." This can be applied to those who think that they are young enough, and those who think that they are old enough.

6 for 1 in Lok Tsui, Tuen Mun: Candidate Background

6 for 1 in Lok Tsui, Tuen Mun: Candidate Background

Original article

Albert HO (aged 64):

[2011 - Lok Tsui: 1879 votes/51.3%]

- incumbent district councillor from Democratic Party HK (DPHK) and Legislative Council member

- former chairman of DPHK

- did not support de facto referendum in 2010

- DPHK had a scandal of entering the Chinese Liaison Office in 2010 on the Constitutional Reform

- lives in Hong Kong island

- did not disclose the identity as a director of a company, which owns a property in Happy Valley

- participated in the Chief Executive election in 2012

- surfed on girlies during the Budget in 2014, LegCo

- assisted in a relocation of power boxes on a narrow passageway in Melody Garden

Julius HO (aged 53):

- chairman of Butterflyers

- solicitor; former chairman of Law Society of HK

- claimed himself as a "social worker" without registration

- recently appointed as Director of Lingnan University in October 2015

- said "did not rule out the possibility of dissolving the LingnanU Student Union" despite he does not have such authority

- indigenous inhabitant in Tuen Mun

- was elected as the representative of Leung Tin Village in 2011

- became Chairman of Tuen Mun Rural Committee as he changed the Memorandum and kicked away Lau Wong-fat, thus become member of Heung Yee Kuk and District Council

- obtained 10,805 votes without "political background" in 2012 LegCo election (NT West)

- opposed the declaration of illegal structures plan by Buildings Department and asked the government to change the current law

- criticised Occupy Central

- suggested the criminalisation of "insulting police officer"

- strong rural network as his dad Ho San-wing, a famous rural "gent" in Tuen Mun, established Yan Oi Tong and has good rapport with Lau Wong-fat and Chan Yat-san

YUEN Wai-chung (aged 61):

[2008 LegCo: 1338 votes/lowest in NT West 2008: 32182 votes]

- founded MESSAGE

His duties and platform in 2008:

- giving sermons in secondary schools and Castle Peak Hospital

- chairman of Melody Garden Owners' Committee

- would promote peaceful unification of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau

- would better the political system in China and Hong Kong

- had concerns over the impact of online and printed porn on youngsters

- would fight for the extension of library opening time

Leo SHUM Kam-tim (aged unknown, should be over 50):

[2011 - Lok Tsui: 1477 votes/40.40%]

(did not fill in occupation/political affiliation)

- retired Station Sergeant from the police force

- fully supported by NT Association of Societies, a traditional patriotic organisation

- supported by Choi So-yuk and Tam Yiu-chung from DAB

- former teacher in PAOC Ka Chi Secondary School, a secondary school nearby

Dr. CHENG Chung-tai (aged 32):

- Scholar on sociology with academic interests in Hong Kong society and contemporary Chinese society and culture

- Teaching fellow at Hong Kong Polytechnic University

- Member of localist group Civic Passion and host of various political shows on affiliated online channels

- Lead figure in numerous protests and political campaigns mounted against CY Leung’s government and Beijing

CHEUNG Wing-wai:

[no information found up to 17 Oct 2015]

Polymer: Enlightenment to Hongkongers through the Korean farmers

Enlightenment to Hongkongers through the Korean farmers

Translated by S. Lai, edited by Chen-tang, written by Polymer HK Editorial Team
Original: http://polymerhk.com/articles/2015/07/04/17846/ (Originally on Issue 21, PolymerHK) 

‘Down! Down! WTO!’ Can you still hear any echo of this slogan in your mind? The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference was held from 11 to 18 December 2005 in Hong Kong when a group of foreign protesters, mostly South Korean farmers, protested against globalisation. Not only did their struggle seize everyone’s attention, they even inspired all Hongkongers’ vision, sowing the seed towards civil disobedience. Our protest and struggle are never the same hitherto.

Before the Korean farmers came...

In the past, there is only one mode in demonstrating; Setting off from the Victoria Park, the crowd would march according to the designated route orderly, or even robotically, leaving no rubbish on the streets. As the pan-democrats led the march and the chanting, they made their speeches when the crowd eventually arrive at the Government headquarter in the evening, followed by people leaving and heading back home. This was the monotonous ceremony following the tradition of the1st July demonstration.

As Lau Sai-leung once said, “Mainstream middle-class people were the pivot of the 1st July Demonstration in 2003 together with barristers and professionals. They have a “fetish with order”, or are even in a state of indulgence. They fear physical conflicts, troubles and criticisms from the media, resulting in such a strolling protest. Protesters would walk around the venue and leave, forgetting the real target behind demonstrations and protests. As social movements are belittled to a way of living, they now lose their due impact, castrated by the host of the rally.’

Leung Man-tao (Translator's note: a leftard Hong Kong columnist renowned in China) also criticised such demonstration culture. He commented in  “They are almost burnt to death. We are yet still only the audience”, “ever since the 1st July Demonstration in 2003, “rationality” has become a phrase in a standard account of Hong Kong democratic movement. To those who study collective action, collective action confers a sense of identity to all participants, uniting them and even creating a brand new collective identity. For everyone who has gone to this rally, most of them must agree that “while we Hongkongers are determined to pursue democracy, we are too rational in our action.” “Rationality” thus becomes a Hongkongers’ proof of our own identity and a standard in determining whether protests are good or bad. Under such logic, “rationality”, under the eyes of Hongkongers, is afterall mere observance of orders. Unruly walking and running on the streets is not in accordance to order and thus irrational; demonstrating on stilts or skateboards are thus of course unruly and irrational as well. In case (just in case) when one makes use of self-immolation in protest, it shall be undoubtedly opposite to rationality, an act of complete insanity. In the other way round, it is absurd that we still find ourselves ‘rational’ when we generalise people as “irrationality” given that we don’t understand their reasons to protest or adopt totally different means in protest.’

‘Public intellectuals’ might be unsatisfied, but the general public took such practice for granted, or were even proud of it, until the Korean farmers shocked everyone.

A Moral Appeal: Protest through Performing Arts

Korean farmers might still go on demonstration and followed assigned routes to the protest areas, but they were not like the Hongkongers who had only made use of their mouths and their legs. As a blogger has once stated, the demonstration culture in Hong Kong limits the possibility and creativity of body movements to mere ‘walking’, restraining us from breaking through the current spacial settings.

The Korean farmers never confined themselves. They knew their aim to seek as much attention as they could in order to make their demands concerned by the general public. The classic three-step-and-a-kowtow is the most well-known act of the Korean farmers, which was somehow an impersonation of worshippers paying respect to buddhas at Tibet and showing an utmost pious attitude. Putting on knee pads and gloves and under the lead of the drum, for every three strides they took while shouting ‘Down Down WTO’, they kowtowed at the ground with their hands clapped together. These scenes were truly striking and moving to Hongkongers then. The media unanimously reported such protesting means from a positive perspective, i.e. the Oriental Daily described such asceticism as ‘The Moving Jang-geum Spirit’ in its headline, inducing Hongkongers’ reflection on the pros and cons of globalised trade.

Apart from asceticism, music was played, Korean ‘aunties’ danced in traditional Korean style and sang to raise the morale amid the rythme of the hand drums. According to report of ‘Cool Loud Web’,‘ another group of female Korean farmers held colourful sticks up high while two of them pushing the speakers and props forward. With their self-written songs, one led the crowd to sing with a microphone, the other followed and made their moves. During the bridge, on one hand, they chanted slogans of “Down Down WTO”, “Down Down FTA”, “Bye Bye USA” and “Bye Bye Bush”, or, on the other, yelled “We love Hong Kong” to the citizens energetically. Though I could never understand the speeches made by the one holding the microphone during the bridge or performance, the speeches are more like jokes among them, delighting everyone.’

As the ‘Cool Loud Web’ commented, chanting  in demonstrations in Hong Kong and Taiwan were mostly led by the leaders on stage and followed by the rest of the participants. Not only did it lack interaction among different groups, it failed to influence or interact with the general public or passers-by. Therefore, while people might have tried to mobilise as many people as they could for the demonstration, their chanting caused a totally opposite result. As the old Chinese saying goes, “Their spirit was aroused by the first roll or the drums, but was depleted by the second. And it was completely exhausted by the third”. The inability to gain an official promise from the government eventually exhausted the morale of the crowd. The Korean farmers’ demonstration yet allowed everyone to be starred, enhancing the camaraderie and even influencing the general public through interactions. The course of the demonstration manifested their aims.

The asceticism of Korean farmers moved many Hongkongers back then. (Apple Daily)

Dauntless towards bloodshed: militant protest and struggle
Still, it is afterall the intense physical confrontation that attracted the most flashlights. The Korean farmers had never given up on using physical confrontation ever since the start of the protest. The following are only some of  the ‘moves’ that were used:

1. Pulling down rods from metal barricades and sharpening bamboo sticks to attack police
2. Protesting through jumping into the sea and attempting to swim to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) (venue of the WTO Ministerial Conference)
3. Using cling wrap and umbrellas to protect themselves from pepper spray
4. Spraying extinguisher at the police
5. Using metal barricades to form a L-shape bulwark for charging at the police cordon
6. Burning coffins
7. Attempting to push police cars over
8. Occupying the Gloucester Road
9. Seizing police shields (returned after the protest)
10. Damaging public properties and charging through roadblocks

While these were only moves in 2005, can the level of protest in Hong Kong get closer to the Korean farmers’ today after 10 long years?

The protest entered its climax on 17th December. The Korean farmers upgraded their protest at Wan Chai that afternoon. A series of charging enabled them to go through the police cordon and attempt to intrude the new wing of HKCEC to stop the WTO Ministerial Conference. They eventually forced the police to shoot 34 gas grenades and mobilise armoured carriers and shoot super sock rounds. Unlike the original positive report, the media described the incident as ‘tumult’ or ‘uprising’, shifting the focus from anti-globalisation to violent confrontation.

Police using OC foam, commonly known as pepperspray (Apple Daily)

The several physical confrontations between the farmers and the police force allows Hongkongers the audience to discern the difference in level between  ‘violent protest’ and ‘physical confrontation’. As Lau Sai-leung explained in his article “The Logic Behind Mass Movement -- the Physical Showcase of Korean Farmers”, violent protest is to create the most chaotic effect with the major aim being disturbing social order through various means, namely: burning vehicles, throwing stones and assaulting shops, looting and attacking police with violence; another kind of violent protest has clear demands, attempting to put people’s political demands on the social agenda through the protest and inducing much discussion through the media. Physical confrontation then becomes a ‘theatrical performance’ in a mass movement. Farmers are required to be focused and passionate. Physical confrontation has to be vibrant from a journalist perspective and is thus capable to be starred in the headlines on the coming day. Still, when it is a mere showcase, one must recognises its bottom line. One cannot seriously damage the body of the opponent with offensive weapons, disturb the social order and attack other parties.

Protesters attempted to push over the police patrol car. (Cable News)

Farmers attacked police with fire extinguisher (TVB News)

The incident ended in peace at last, but the farmers’ protest shocked the youngsters participating in social movements then, giving rise to much opinion concerning the 1st July Demonstration and peaceful demonstrations. Such mode in protesting also gradually blends into the local protests.

How the Hong Kong "students" copied it
Quite a few of post-80s youngsters either directly participated in the anti-WTO protest, or witnessed their protesting means through the television. The influence from the farmers can thus be clearly seen in these youngsters’ participation in social movements.

The Korean "teachers" showed Hong Kong two ways out: peaceful protest for moral appeal with the element of performing arts, or militant protest to attract public concerns through physical confrontation.

We could clearly see the Korean influence from the protest against High Speed Railway in 2009. Post-80s youngsters impersonated "asceticism", initiating the 15-hour-per-day "5-constituency asceticism" in which participants knelt for every 26 steps they took, symbolising the 26-kilometre-long high speed rail (XRL). Protesters held rice and seeds with hands, representing public money and Tsoi Yuen Tsuen. It lasted for four days and three nights, from Sheung Shui Metropolis Plaza to LegCo until 8th January, the day of vote on the XRL appropriation, en route five Legislative Council geographical constituencies.

Anti-XRL movement is the beginning of the localisation of asceticism. (Apple Daily)

In subsequent social movements, i.e. strike at the container terminal, protest over the constitutional reform controversies, asceticism was also made use of by youngsters in showing their demands, in hope of raising people awareness on the issue as a result of such moral appeal.

Youngsters supported workers in the strike in the container terminal (2013; Apple Daily)

Some university students knelt and walked in Causeway Bay, asking people to join the 1st July Demonstration. (2014)

Apart from long kowtow, asceticism ‘had gradually mutated’, with examples of standing in silence, protest through reading or even throwing eggs on themselves. They are similar in the sense that they try to influence the indifferent people to beware of the concerned issues through afflicting their own bodies (long period standing, kneeling, dirtying the bodies). In doing so, they could expand their influence and have more people participating in social movements.

A "reading confrontation" by 21st Century Youth, with the meaning to defend independent thinking and be in pursuit of knowledge - said to be following an Italian movement, Sentinelle In Piedi.

A mother of two threw herself with 1,000 eggs, "to express the helplessness and guilt of not being able to change the future for the next generation", outside LegCo. (15 Jan 2015)

Yvonne Leung, president of 2014 cabinet of HKUSU, and other university students stood in silence in MTR stations and platforms to urge passengers not to forget the Tian'anmen Massacre. The placards they held read: "4th June 1989/Too sorrowful to remember/Dare not to forget".

Besides, singing is also an important item in performing protest in Hong Kong.

Such performing protest was once dubbed as ‘happy protest’ by Wan Chin, a political commentator, who said in his article,‘in terms of its modus operandi, happy protest is to face hardship, inspire and gather a crowd with contentment. It shall utilise the power of the crowd to make the suppressors fear, it shall spread the happy lifestyle of the public and thus make the suppressors ashamed and give in. By then we shall be freed.’ He disagreed with forced revolution back then,‘any beginning with forced protest would only make the disadvantaged even more frustrated: when the weaponry are so scanty and meagre as compared to the authority, it is a must to stir up an irrational hatred and an unprecedented war to annihilate humanity (e.g. terrorist attack), which shall only sacrifice many fellows. The authority would only put together an even more well-knitted ideology and implement even more brutal means.

‘Happy protest’ had quite a good impact at the first place, namely the much awareness raised after the 5-constituency asceticism during the protest against the XRL. Some of its participants are still pivots in social movements nowadays. But as time goes by, doubts have been casted on the effectiveness of such peaceful protesting means. People who are in favour of such means may even be called as ‘retards’.

The farmers’ image of militant charging has been influencing our local social movements bit by bit. While it was asceticism on this side, seizure of metal barricades and siege of the LegCo building were exactly the other side of the scene. There was even suggestion of occupying streets and roads (though it was rejected eventually).

After the WTOMC protest, grabbing barricades become one of the must-do in social activism, and is a symbol of "being radical". (left: Apple Daily)

The League of Social Democrats was formed in 2006 representing the proportion of radical democrats in Hong Kong politics. Three members of the League even became legislative councillors in 2008, enabling struggle with cooperation inside and outside of the Council.

Member of the League have had various so-called ‘radical’ actions over the years, namely ‘hurling bananas’or‘throwing eggs’at government officials. Apart from such radicalness in action, the League also initiated the ‘Five Constituencies Referendum’ with the Civic Party in 2010, which was regarded as a new attempt in Hong Kong democratic development. Though the League was split into two and led to the formation of the People Power in 2011, radical actions in the council and struggles on streets have never come to an end with ever growing support. In 2012, the People Power, the League and some independent councillors initiated a filibuster, shelving the new ministerial line-up proposal. Filibuster has also been adopted ever since by radical councillors as a usual practice in protest in the Council.

Hong Kong politics has only gone more gloomy after CY Leung took office. The Umbrella Revolution was the only result when the Hong Kong government ordered the police force to shoot tear gas grenades at the crowd gathering around the government headquarters on 28th September 2015 due to their opposition to the 31st August framework.

The Umbrella Revolution was regarded by quite a number as a milestone in Hong Kong social movement due to the various rare or even unprecedented protesting means adopted ever since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. Examples include self-initated blockade of roads leading to the total paralysis of all major highways in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay and roadblocks reinforced with concrete and bamboo scaffolding.

Left: Breaking the glass of LegCo complex with barricade in Umbrella Revolution, 2014;
Right: Scrambling over barricades and shields in Korean farmers' protest, 2005.

Besides, protesters started to beware of the importance of self-defence. They purchased helmets, home-made shields and protective gears for cycling to defend against batons. They also protected their eyes from pepper spray with umbrellas, goggles or cling wrap. Face masks or even gas masks were used against tear gases.

Protesters even started having a sense to ‘attack’ instead of mere defending. Of course it was not like how the Korean farmers fought with the police in hand-to-hand combat or attacked with metal rods, but they did form L-shape bulwark and pressed against the police as how the Korean farmers had done. When the LegCo complex was charged, even though it stirred up much controversy, some might even criticise those initiators as ‘spies’, it shows that quite a number of people were no longer satisfied with symbolic radical actions like ‘hurling bananas’. They demanded and initiated more direct actions.

Left: Barricade bulwark in Umbrella Revolution; Right: by Korean farmers (Apple Daily)

These were never possible in the past ‘strolling demonstration’.

Localism has been on the rise since 2011 which even raised criticisms on traditional pan-democrats demonstration or even social movements led by the left wing. Wan Chin, the proposer of the City-state Discourse, said,‘the failure of the anti-XRL protest in 2009 was mostly due to its difficulty in carrying out populist promotion as a result of its relation with China's assimilation in Hong Kong, forced relocation of Tsoi Yuen Tsuen and agricultural conservation. Even though various means, i.e. filibustering, asceticism and conservation participation (I also assisted the post-80s social movement and proposed tactics in the ‘happy protest’) were used, it still ended in failure. I reflected for quite a while after that and made use of my own populist method in handling conflicts on China's assimilation in Hong Kong. Since then I went separate ways with the Post-80s social movement leaders. I made my decisions in 2012 on various matters -- to use populism or not, to summarise my discourse or uphold all truth, to succeed or fail and to protect Hongkongers’ livelihood or my own reputation. Many people has since recognised my changes. I am no longer all kind.’

He gradually constructed his own localist discourse since the start of the incident concerning the‘Action Plan for Livable Bay Area of the Pearl River Estuary’ and proposed the brand-new ‘valorous struggle’. Such is certainly a backlash to his formerly proposed ‘happy protest’, a criticism on past social movements which were only ‘peaceful, rational, non-violent and non-swearing’ (PRNN). People now must make a change in society through threatening the government with blood shed on and conflict with the police and the government.

Theory on valorous struggle has gained widespread support from youngsters. The direct confrontation between the crowd and the police force at Mong Kok during the Umbrella Revolution is regarded as an example of ‘valorous struggle’. Apart from that, one can also see light of valorous struggle from the restoration activities against parallel trading.

There is yet criticism on the bad impression on citizens that militant struggle may create and its damage on the image of democratic movement. Some also claimed that while the proposers of militant struggle never took the lead at the front and led the charge, they stirred up supporters to be mere ‘pawns’.

Saying Korean farmers enlighten the protection awareness of Hongkongers directly might not be so accurate, as Hongkongers already know what to do when the cops are pepperspraying. (Apple Daily)

Taking separate ways, or it is ‘all roads leading to Rome’?
Supporters of ‘happy protest’ and ‘valorous struggle’ have been criticising, teasing or being hostile towards each other in current social movements. The animosity may even be deeper than with the pro-Beijing camp. Both criticise one another’s tactics to be useless or may be counter-productive. Yet looking back at the display of the anti-WTOMC movement by the Korean farmers, we can see a total combination of ‘peacefulness, rationality and non-violence’ and ‘valour’: Korean 'aunties' gave out flowers and balloons to the police on one hand, digressed from the designated route when the police were inattentive or even assaulted them on the other; they influenced the passers-by with the pathetic asceticism, and attracted the media attention through physical confrontation at the same time.

Besides, a controversy over whether the crowd need any organisation or a stage with a leader has always been raised during the Umbrella Revolution. The Korean farmers’ manoeuvres were well organised and trained, who had even examined the venue and street environment before the WTO Ministerial Conference was held, according to the information from a participant; they also rehearsed their manoeuvres in their residing holiday camps during their period of protest in Hong Kong. Their actions were all well planned and drafted, considering the reaction from the locals. As Dae Jang-geum was then popular in Hong Kong, they thus played its theme song.

Both soft and hard approaches were adopted by the Korean farmers. While seizing the shields from the police, they returned right after the demonstration; flowers were given on one hand, fight was in the air on the other. They took different means according to the situation. No matter it was the militant or conciliatory side, they never criticised one another and cooperated closely together.

Militancy and peacefulness may seem to be two separate ways, they actually go back to one single path. Struggles in Hong kong yet further divide the two. Will there ever be a day when the two can be joint and their might can be fully manifested?