FT Weekend Magazine - 10.19.2019

FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202 019 17

◀timemy mumcalls,myimmediatereaction is

Ifeelannoyed. WhenIdon’t answerher calls,she

bugsmydadtocallme.AndwhenIdon’tanswerhis

calls,hetells my sisterstocall.”

Theprotestshavecreatedriftsbetweenfamilies;

an oldergeneration,whooftenfledpovertyand

upheavalinmainlandChina,foundstabilityand

freedom in HongKong but ayoungergeneration

sees theseveryfreedomsbeing eroded as social

inequalitygrows. Wu’s parents and oldersiblings

came of age during the boomyears.“My father

is extremelypro-government,hedoesn’tthink

the police arebeingbrutalenough.He thinkswe

protestersaretryingto destroy HongKong. My

motherjustwantsmetostaysafe andmyolder

siblingsarefocusedonmakingmoney. I’ve tried

to explainto my parents,tothe oldergeneration,

why we’resoangry,why our fightfor freedom is so

important,but youonlyget one life and they can’t

experienceours,” he says.

Vickie Lui, 39,the spokeswomanfor the

Progressive Lawyers Group,agroup of lawyers

committedtoupholdingdemocracyandtheruleof

lawinHong Kong,attendedanelite international

school and grew up in afamilythat staunchly

supportsthe pro-Beijing establishment.Her

parentswerefuriouswhentheysawaYouTubeclip

of her energeticallyexplainingthe legalproblems

arisingfromtheextraditionbill.Theyworryabout

her safetyand careerprospects.Asabarrister,she

iscarefulnottoattendillegalprotests,whichwould

violate her professionalethicscode, althoughshe

has participatedinseveral approvedrallies.

Luiexperiencedherpoliticalawakeningduring

the Umbrella Movement,catalysed by adecade-

long strugglewithabraintumourthatalmostcost

her life. “There arethings in the world thatare

moreimportantthanjust livingyour life, going

to work, goinghome,receivingasalary,goingon

trips,” shesays.“Thatreallywasmyepiphany,that

was my turningpoint in life.

“For people who aremoderatelikeme, we still

believe in ‘one country,two systems’,” she adds.

“ButtheChinesegovernmenthastodosomething

to showthat our trustis worthwhileand that what

we believe in –stickingup for ‘one country,two

systems’–ismeaningful...Iftheycontinuetoesca-

latethesituation,it’sgoingtodrivemoreandmore

moderate people towardsthe radical bunch.”

Genuineuniversal suffrageremainsone of the

keydemandsof the protestersand its gloomy

prospectsarefuellinganembryonicindependence

movement,particularlyamongyoungergenera-

tions.“Thegovernmentisn’telectedbythepeople.

Theyareonlyresponsivetorichpeople,largecom-

paniesand the Chinese government.Theyaren’t

responsive to the general publicand the younger

generation,”says Wu,who,likemany protesters,

arguesuniversal suffrage is guaranteed underthe

BasicLaw, the territory’smini-constitution. In

2014,Beijingrejected callsfor fullydemocratic

elections in HongKong,insteadproposing voting

reformsthat would have allowedpeople to elect a

chiefexecutive from three candidateseffectively

vettedbythe Chinese Communist party.The pro-

posal, whichsparked theUmbrella Movement,

was defeatedinHong Kong’s legislatureand the

chiefexecutive continuestobeelectedbya1,200-

strong committee stacked with Beijingloyalists.

“Thank goodness we didn’t give themdemoc-

racyin2014,it would be so muchharderfor us

to getout of this mess nowifwehad,” aChinese

governmentofficialtellsme overthe summer,

speakingon conditionof anonymityfor fear of

losing hisjob.“Universal suffrage isn’t goingto

happenforaverylongtime,ifeveratall,”headds.

The face of HongKong’s independencemove-

mentis EdwardLeung,28, an activist currently

serving asix-year sentence for his involvementin

clashesbetweenpoliceandprotestersin2016.This

confrontation is nowviewed by manyasthe start

of the localismmovement,whichadvocatesfor

greaterautonomyor even independenceand cap-

tured about 20 percentofvotesinthe Legislative

Council elections in 2016.

Formany front-lineprotesterstoday, Leung is

theclosestthingtoaspiritualguide.Hecoinedthe

slogan“LiberateHongKong,Revolutionof Our

Times”,whichnowringsout at all hoursacross

the city.“Edwardplantedthe seed thatprotests

can be violent and we HongKong people have the

abilityand the dutyto fightfor our owncity,to

fightagainst China’s influence,”said Nora Lam,

24,directorofLostintheFumes,anaward-winning

documentaryabout Leung that has beenhugely

influentialamongprotesters.“Alot of the actions

Facingpage(fromtop):aprotester

protects himself fromapolicewater

cannonlastmonth;policegatherin

TungChung,LantauIsland

of the protestersnow arequitesimilar to what

Edwardand his followers did in 2016.”

Voicessuggestingrestraintwere mostlysilent

thisyearafterhundredsofprotestersstormedHong

Kong’s legislature on July 1, destroying symbols of

China’s central governmentand brieflyoccupying

the chamber.(The demonstrators alsoput up signs

cautioningagainstshattering treasured artefacts

andpaidfordrinkstheytookfromacanteenfridge.)

“Itwasyouwhotaughtusthatpeacefulprotests

don’t work,”read one piece of graffiti,areference

to acommentmade by HongKong’schief exec-

utive CarrieLamwhenshe admittedshe was

suspendingthe extraditionbill not becauseof the

biggestpeacefulprotestinthecityinthreedecades

but becauseof the violentprotests that followed.

As themovementcontinues, increasinglyviolent

actionshave grownmoreacceptableto abroader

cross section of participants,accordingto asurvey

from the Chinese Universityof HongKong.

Polls also showthe number of people identifying

as HongKongersratherthanChinesehas hit record

highs. “This movementis about being faceless,

about being anonymous, aboutnot takingcredit

forwhat youhavedone –it’sabout being apartof

abiggercommunity,”Brian Leung, 25,told the FT.

The onlyprotester who took off his maskinsidethe

legislature on July 1, he has sincereturnedtothe

US to studyauthoritarianism,and is considering

whether to seek political asylumoverseasor return

to faceimprisonment.“The people aroundyouat

aprotest arestrangersbut youtrust themso much

youwillriskyourlifeforthem.Giventhisexperience

is repeatedagain and again... it is naturalour [Hong

Kong]identitiesarebecomingstrongerthanbefore.”

S

ummerhas turnedinto autumnthe

next timeImeetWu. “Wehaveanew

anthem,”hesays.“Have youheard it?”

HowcouldInot have?Sincethe start

of September,“Gloryto HongKong”

has rungout across the city, at football

matchesand in shopping malls. An orchestral ren-

dition withmusiciansclad in gasmasks and yellow

hard hatshas been viewed morethan twomillion

timesonYouTube.“Ineverusedtounderstandwhy

peoplecouldgetsoemotionalsingingtheirnational

anthem,”Wusays.“Now,for the first time,Iget it.”

Allusions to abudding independence movement

arenow pervasive –inslogans chanted, songs sung

andeventhe typeofdemonstrations staged. Nora

LamisstunnedathowLostintheFumesis resonat-

ingwithprotesters. “WhatIwastryingtoportrayin

the film was [that]Edwardwas just anotheryoung

personin HongKong whohas the sameproblems

as us growing up –chasingyour dreamsand having

themcrushed,notknowingwhattodoaftergradua-

tion,sufferingfrom depression,”she explains.

Despite playingto packed housesinarts cen-

tres,museumsandschools,nocommercialcinema

waswillingtoscreenthedocumentarywhenitwas

releasedinlate2017.“Executivesdon’t wanttoget

into trouble.Maybetheyaren’tagainstyouorthe

wholemovementingeneralbuttheyaretooscared

to do whatshouldbe allowedinanormalsociety,”

she says.“IthinkI’dbelessupsetif the film had

beenbannedoutrightby the government.Fear

amongourselvesplays afar moreimportantrole

thanactual controlfromthe regime.”

Aposterforthe film hangson the door of the

studentunion at Hong Kong Baptist University,

alongsideA4printouts callingfor independence.▶

‘THANKGOODNESS

WEDIDN’TGIVE

THEMDEMOCRACY

IN2014,ITWOULD

BESOMUCH

HARDERFORUS

TOGETOUTOF

THISMESSNOW’

Chinesegovernmentofficial