FT.COM/MAGAZINE OCTOBER19/202 019 17
◀time my mumcalls,myimmediatereaction is
Ifeelannoyed. WhenIdon’t answerher calls,she
bugsmydadtocallme.AndwhenIdon’tanswerhis
calls,he tells my sisterstoc all.”
Theprotestshavecreatedriftsbetweenfamilies;
an older generation, who often fledpovertyand
upheavalinmainlandChina,foundstabilityand
freedom in HongKong butayounger generation
sees theseveryfreedomsbeing erodedas social
inequality grows. Wu’s parents and older siblings
came of age during theboomyears .“My father
is extremelypro-government,hedoesn’tthink
the police arebeingbrutal enough. He thinkswe
protesters aretrying to destroy HongKong. My
motherjustwantsmetostaysafe andmyolder
siblings arefocusedonmaking money. I’ve tried
to explain to my parents,tot he older generation,
why we’resoangry,why our fight for freedom is so
important,but youonlyget one life and they can’t
experience ours,” he says.
VickieLui, 39,the spokeswomanfor the
Progressive Lawyers Group,agroup of lawyers
committedtoupholdingdemocracyandtheruleof
lawinHong Kong,attendedanelite international
school and grew up inafamilythat staunchly
supportsthe pro-Beijingestablishment.Her
parentswerefuriouswhentheysawaYouTubeclip
of her energeticallyexplaining the legal problems
arisingfromtheextraditionbill.Theyworryabout
her safety and careerprospects.Asabarrister,she
iscarefulnottoattendillegalprotests,which would
violate her professional ethicscode, althoughshe
has participatedinseveral approvedrallie s.
Luiexperiencedherpoliticalawakeningduring
the UmbrellaMovement,catalysed by adecade-
long strugglewithabraintumourthatalmostcost
her life. “There arethings in theworld thatare
moreimportant than just livingyour life, going
to work, going home,receivingasalary,going on
trips ,” shesays.“Thatreallywasmyepiphany,that
was my turningpoint in life.
“Forpeople who aremoderate likeme, we still
believe in ‘one country,two systems’,” she adds.
“ButtheChinesegovernmenthastodosomething
to showthat our trust isworthwhile and that what
we believe in –sticking up for‘one country,two
systems’–ismeaningful...Iftheycontinuetoesca-
latethesituation,it’sgoingtodrivemoreandmore
moderatepeople towardsthe radical bunch.”
Genuine universal suffrageremains one of the
keydemands of the protesters and its gloomy
prospectsar efuellinganembryonicindependence
movement,particularlyamongyounger genera-
tions.“Thegovernmentisn’telectedbythepeople.
Theyareonlyrespo nsivetorichpeople,largecom-
paniesand the Chinese government.Theyaren’t
responsive to the general public and theyounger
generation,”says Wu,who,likemany protesters,
arguesuniversal suffrageis guaranteed under the
BasicLaw, the territory’smini-constitution. In2014,Beijingrejected calls for fullydemocratic
elections in HongKong,insteadproposing voting
reforms thatwould have allowedpeople to elect a
chiefexecutive from three candidateseffectively
vettedbythe ChineseCommunist party.The pro-
posal, which sparked theUmbrellaMovement,
was defeatedinHong Kong’s legislatureand the
chiefexecutive continuestobeelectedbya1,200-
strong committee stacked withBeijing loyalists.
“Thank goodnesswe didn’t give them democ-
racyin2014, itwould be so much harder for us
to getout of this mess nowifwehad,” aChinese
government official tells meoverthe summer,
speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of
losing hisjob.“Universal suffrage isn’t going to
happenforaverylongtime,ifeveratall,”headds.
The face of HongKong’s independence move-
ment is EdwardLeung,28, an activist currently
servingasix-year sentence for his involvement in
clashesbe tweenpoliceandprotestersin2016.This
confrontation is nowviewed by manyasthe start
of the localism movement,which advocatesfor
greaterautonomyor even independenceand cap-
tured about 20percentofvotesint he Legislative
Council elections in 2016.
Formany front-line protesters today, Leung is
theclosestthingtoaspiritualguide.Hecoinedthe
slogan “Liberate HongKong,Revolution of Our
Times”,which nowrings out at all hours across
the city.“Edward plantedthe seed thatprotests
can be viol ent andwe HongKong people have the
ability and the duty to fight for ourowncity,to
fightagainst China’s influence,”said Nora Lam,
24,directorofLostintheFumes,anaward-winning
documentary aboutLeung that hasbeenhugely
influential among protesters.“Al ot of the actionsFacing page (from top):aprotester
protects himself fromapolicewater
cannon last month; policegatherin
Tung Chung,Lantau Islandof the protestersnow arequitesimilar to what
Edward and 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 upsigns
cautioning against shattering treasured artefacts
andpaidfordrinkstheytookfromacanteenfridge.)
“Itwasyouwhotaughtusthatpeacefulprotests
don’t work,”read one piece of graffiti,areference
to acommentmade by HongKong’schief exec-
utive CarrieLamwhen she admittedshe was
suspending theextradition bill notbecause of the
biggestpeacefulprotestinthecityinthreedecades
but because of the violent protests that followed.
As themovement continues, increasinglyviolent
actions have grownmoreacceptable toabroader
cross section of participants,according toasurvey
from the ChineseUniversity of HongKong.
Polls also showthe number ofpeople identifying
as HongKongersrather than Chinesehas hitrecord
highs. “This movement is aboutbeing faceless,
aboutbeing anonymous, aboutnot taking credit
forwhat youhavedone –it’sabout being apartof
abigge rcommunity,”Brian Leung, 25,told the FT.
The onlyprotester who took off his mask inside the
legislature on July 1, he has sincereturnedtothe
US to studyauthoritarianism,and is considering
whether to seekpolitical asylumoverseasorreturn
to f aceimprisonment.“The people aroundyouat
aprotest arestrangers butyoutrust them so much
youwillriskyourlifeforthem.Giventhisexperience
is repeatedagain and again... it is natural our [Hong
Kong]identitiesarebecomingstrongerthanbefore.”S
ummer has turnedinto autumn the
next timeImeetWu. “Wehaveanew
anthem,”hesays.“Have youheard it?”
HowcouldInot have?Sincethe start
of September,“Glory to HongKong”
has rung out across the city, at football
matchesand in shopping malls. An orchestral ren-
dition with musicians clad in gasmasks andyellow
hard hatshas been viewed morethan twomillion
timesonYouTube.“In everusedtounderstandwhy
peoplecouldgetsoemotionalsingingtheirnational
anthem,”Wusays.“Now,for the first time,Iget it .”
Allusions toabudding independence movement
arenow pervasive –inslogans chanted, songs sung
andeventhe typeofdemonstrations staged.Nora
LamisstunnedathowLostint heFumesis resonat-
ingwithprotesters. “WhatIwastryingtoportrayin
the film was [that] Edward was just anotheryoung
person in HongKong whohas the same problems
as us growing up–chasingyour dreams and having
themcrushed,notknowingwhattodoaftergradua-
tion,sufferingfromdepr ession,”she explains.
Despite playing to packed housesinarts cen-
tres,museumsandschools,nocommercialcinema
waswillingtoscreenthedocumentarywhenitwas
releasedinl ate2017.“Executivesdon’t wanttoget
into trouble. Maybetheyaren’tagainstyouorthe
wholemovementingeneralbuttheyaretooscared
to do what shouldbe allowedinanormalsociety,”
she says.“I think I’dbelessupset if the film had
beenbannedoutrightby the government.Fear
among ourselvesplays afar moreimportantrole
than actual controlfromthe regime.”
Aposter forthe film hangs on the door of the
studentunion at Hong Kong BaptistUniversity,
alongsideA4print outs calling for independence.▶‘THANKGOODNESS
WEDIDN’TGIVE
THEMDEMOCRACY
IN2014 ,ITWOULD
BESOMUCH
HARDERFORUS
TOGETOUTOF
THISMESSNOW’
Chinesegovernmentofficial