14 FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202019
henthe UnitedKingdomhandedoverHongKong
to China in 1997, Nick Wu wasbarelyfive years
old.Hegrewupinaconservative,working-class
familyint he territory and, on graduating from
university,foundajobinmarketing.Thissummer,
whenpr o-democra cydemonstrationserupted,he
becameafront-lin eprotester.
Formorethanfourmonths,Wu,amild-man-
nered,bespec tacled28-year-old, has spent his
weekendsinagasmaskandhelmet,fendingoff
teargas,peppersprayandpryingpolic ecameras,
ashedodgesrubberbullets,bean-bagroundsand
beatings.Itw asn’talwayslikethis.In2 014,while
atuni versity,he participatedin79da ysofmostly
peaceful protests when pro-democra cy activ-
istsoccupiedpartsofcentralHongKonginwhat
becameknownastheUmbrella Movement.
“DuringUmbrella, wedidn’tescalateourpro-
testsso wefailed.Itwasstupid–wesat,holding
hands,waitingforthepolicetotakeusa wayone
byone.It’ skindoffunnyto lookbackonitnow,”he
says.“Webelievedint hesystemthen,wethought
ourvotescouldmakeadifference.Butnowwe’ve
learnt thesystem is stacked against us sowe’ve
becomelesspeaceful.We’velostpatience.”
Wu isoneofhundredsoft housandsofpeople
caughtupinthismomentofglobalsignificance.
Hisostensibleadversari esareHongKong’s police
andgovernment .But everyone knows that,
in reality,the protesters’actual fo eisC hina, a
bristling superpowerwith theworld’slargest
army andafurious leadershipthathas li kened
the demonstrations to terrorism. The protests,
whichbeganin Juneandhaveplungedtheformer
British colony intoits worst political crisis in
decade s, represent the biggest insurrection on
Chinesesoilsincethepro-democracymovement
in1989 ,whicheventuallyledtotheTiananmen
Squaremassacre,whentheChineseCommunist
partyordereditstroopstokillhundreds–perhaps
thousands–ofp eopleinB eijing.
ThestakesforChina’s future–andthewayin
which theworld interacts with the superpower
–could hardlybegreater.IfWuand hisfellow
protesters prevail in wresting concessions for a
moredemocraticfutureforHongKong,itw ould
indicatethatBeijingisreadytotoleratediversity.
Ifi tcracksdownagain,asitd idin1989,itw illnotonlyjeopardisetheviability ofAsi a’sfinancia lhub
but also createanew crisis inrelations between
Chinaandthewest.
Onethingiscertain:thisyouth-ledmovement
of people fighting on the streets for democracy
against theworld’smost powerful authoritarian
statehasch angedHongKongforever.Tomany,the
protesters’positionappearshopeless,asdemon-
strator s,somenotyetteenager s,battleteargasand
evengunfire,ofte nwithjustumbrellasandhard
hats.“Ifweburn, youburnwithus”hasbeenone
oftheirrallyingcries–ano mino usquotefromthe
dystopianteenagefictionseriesTheHungerGames,
inwhichyoungpeoplelaunchsometimessuicidal
missionsagainstanall-controllinggo vernment.
Thisis amovementthateruptedfromaplace
of frustration and anger,rather thanbecause
protestersbelievedtheycouldwinafightagainst
theChineseCommunistparty.“Idon’t thin kthe
Hong Kong people standachance of winning
againstthegovernment –they’ reexperts,theyhave
theresource s,it’snotafairfight ,”saysWu,thefirst
timeImeethimin August.Heallo wedtheFTto
spendeightweeksfoll owinghim,onconditionof
anonymitybecausehef earsarr est.
As the situation on the groundevolvesfrom
streetprotests intoamovement,itiss haping a
distinctHongKongidentityamongitsfollowers,
whoincreasinglyseethemselvesasseparatefrom
mainlandChina .Beijingriskslosingtheheartsand
mindsofseveralgenerations–notjusttheyoung–
andfacesgrowing ,ifn ascent,callsforHongKong
independencedespiteChina’s vehementopposi-
tiontoanyseparatistmovementsonitssoil.
FortheChineseCommunistparty, HongKong’s
value liesinitbeing an international financial
centreand agatewayconnecting China and theworld.Buttherecentprotestshavehurt thisrep-
utation ,withtheeconom yfacingitsfirstrecession
sincetheglobalfinancialcrisis,asb usinessconfi-
dence ,touristnumbersan dretailsalesplummet.
To date, mor ethan 2,500people ha ve been
arrested,theyoungestonly12y ears old,whilea
14-year-old and an 18-year-old have both been
shot.Although therehavebeennoc onfirmed
deaths,violentclashesbetweenpoliceandprotest-
ersha veescalate drecently.Lastweekend ,thefirst
home-madebombwasallegedlydetonatedanda
policeofficerwasslashedint heneck.
Over recentmo nths,theFTspoketop ro-democ-
racyadvocatesrangingfromfront-lineradicalsto
moderateprofessionalsandhigh-schoolstudents
aboutthisturningpointintheterritory’s history.
Whatbeganasp rotestsin Juneagainstacontrover-
sialbillthatwouldha veallowedcrimina lsuspects
inHongKongto beextraditedtoma inlandChina
hasnowbecomeafightforgenuine,universalsuf-
fragean dabattleoverthefutureoftheterritor y.
Under aframework known as“one country,
twosystems”–designedtoa llayfearsthatHong
Kong would be completelysubsumedbyC hina
whenitwashandedoverin1997–Beijinggranted
the cityahigh degree of autonomy for 50years.
This includedfreedom of speech, assemblyand
protest.But as Chinese president Xi Jinping has
strengthenedpolitical control across the whole
countryoverthepastfewyears,manyinHongKong
havelostbeliefint hesystem.SincetheUmbrella
Movementended,itsleadershavebeenjailed,pr o-
democracylawmakersha vebeendisqua lifiedfrom
thelegislatureandbusinessmenabductedbyt he
Chinese Communistparty.
“Wegrewupinfluencedbyt he British
government, whichpromote sfreedom and
fairness ,socialjusticeandtheruleoflaw,”saysWu.
“ButinChina,theChinesegovernmentpromotes
slogan slike‘WithouttheCommunistparty,there
would be no NewChina’, ideas whichare very
difficultforustogetbehind.It’ sveryreasonable
theycan’tunderstandusandwhatwe’refightingfor.
Wehavedifferentconc eptions off reedom,fairness,
justiceandhowagovernmentgainslegitimacy.”He
isdr essedcompletelyinb lack,theuniformofthe
protesters,aswes it in aJapanese bakerybefore
demonstrationsstart.By3 pmthatday,mostofthe
nearbyshopsarealread yshutte red.On the first daythat police us ed tear gas this
summer,Wuandhisfriendwerestandingononeof
themainarteriesoutsideHongKong’s Legislati ve
Council. “Wewerejustbeing peaceful protesters
when,suddenly,wesawaguycarryingtwoboxesof
helm ets.Wee achtookahelmetandfollo wedhimto
thefrontline.Ilookbackand realise–oh,ho wfarI’ ve
alread ycome,”hesays.Hisphonebuzzes.Heglances
down,hesitates,thenanswers.It’shismum ,asking
wherehei s. The con versation is brief. “Every▶Previous pages:ayoungwoman
protects herself from tear gas in
HongKong last month.Facing page
(clockwise from top left): protestersare
targetedwith tear gas inAdmiralty,
central HongKong, on theday of a
generalstrikeonAugust5;Nick Wu,
photographed last monthinthe
NewTerritories; blocking CCTV with
umbrellas;VickieLui, spokeswoman
forthe ProgressiveLawyers Group‘WE’VELEARNT
THE SYSTEM IS
STACKED AGAINST
US SO WE’VE
BECOME LESS
PEACEFUL.WE’VE
LOST PATIENCE’
NickWu,protesterW