20 FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202019
◀one. Protestswon’tdie do wn in Hong Kong and
younowseeawholegenerationofhigh-schoolstu-
dentsmobilising,theyare nowthepeoplewiththe
momentumtoc arryonthemovement.”
With the prospectofd emocracyunlikel y, the
best-casescenarioformanyist hatthe“onecountry,
twosystems”framework continuesbeyond 2047.
Protesters fearaworst-case scenario,inwhich
HongKong becomesanew Xinjiang, ahigh-tech
surveillancestatewhereatl eastonemillionmostly
Muslim minoritiesare held in internmentcamps.
It is alsopossible thatint he future,Hong Kongers
will be so thoroughlyindoctrinatedbypatriotic
educationthatthefightfordemocracywilleventu-
ally fizzleout.“Forthepast22 years,wed idn’t pay
enoughattention to theunderlying sentiments in
HongKong societybut [o verthis summer]we’ve
learntourlesson,we’renowwatchingandstudying
very,veryclosely,”theChinesegovernmentofficial
whospoketomeonc onditionofanonymitysaid.
Beijing has clamped down on companies and
organisationsita ccusesofs howingsympathy to
the protest movement,including CathayPacific
andAmerica ’s National Basketball Association.
It is hard to envisage this trajectory reve rsing.
Pro-democracyadvocatesalsofe arBeijing’sinsidi-
ousintrusionintotheinstitutions–thecivi lservice,
academia,themedia–thatdistinguishHongKong.
“IfChinamovestowardsagreater degreeofdemoc-
ratisation–whichisquiteunimaginableatt hispointintime–thenHongKong’s autonomymaybemore
sustainableinthefuture,”saidBrianFong,aprofes-
sorattheEducationUniversityofHongKong.“But
we can’t even pr edictwhatwill happen nextweek,
howcanwepredictwhatwillhappenin2047?”
InHongKong,anxietiesarealsogrowingabout
the influx of mainland Chinese sweeping through
the city.One hundred and fifty aregrantedresi-
dencyeveryda y. “Theconflictsbetweenmainland
Chinese and HongKongers arebecoming more
widespread...the worst thingiswedon’t have a
populationpolicy, we can’t control howmany
people come from China,”arguesAuNok-Hin,
apro-democracy lawmaker who wasrecently
chargedwithassaulting policeofficers’ears
becausehetalkedtooloudlyintoaloudspeaker.
SamanthaZhang,25,ison eoft hosegrantedres-
idenc y. Shemovedacrosstheborderwhenshewas
20 and nowsell sinsurance. “Tobeh onest ,Ireally
understand the protesters.IfIhad beenbornand
raise dhere, I’ dalsobeonthe st reets,” she tells me
overcurryinanupmarket shopping districtpopu-
laramongChinesetourists .“Al otof uscametoHong
Kong from the mainlandbecausewewante dfree-
dom,Idon’t wantHong Kong to becomemoreand
morelikethemainland.Ireall ylikemyl ifehe re.”
Butshebelievestheprotesters’turntoviolence
–smashingthesubwaysystemandattackingbusi-
nesse sthat have ties to th emainland–has gone
toofar.Shealsoadmitsshe’s confusedabou twhat
to believe.Beijin ghas embarkedon an aggressive
campaign toportrayHongKong’s prot estersas
thugssponsoredbyforeignactors,whic hiss owing
doubt in the minds of many mainland Chinese.
“Mymother is always warning meto makesure
Idon’t hang outwithany pro-independence sup-
porters ,” shesa ys,droppinghervoiceto awhisper
in therowdyrestaurant when she utters theword
“pro-independence”.I
nearlyOctober ,Wu andImeetbyt heharbour,
aday after HongKong’s government invokes
colonial-era emergencylawstob an protest-
ers fromwearing face masks–the first time
the ruleshavebeenusedinmorethan half a
century.I’ve neverheard Wu so fur ious,ashe
ragesabout the first protester shotby police four
days earli er.“The extradition bill, the emergency
lawboth threaten our freedoms in HongKong so
much,”hes ays,frombehindadentalmaskthathe
hasdonnedasanactofp rotest.
Wu hasasupportivebosswho,afterseeinghim
hobblingatworkafter hispolice beating,sug-
geste dhetakeacoupleofdaysoffbypretendingto
beoutatclientmeetings.Still,hewantstogoback
to university to studytobecome asocial worker.
“ButIhateloud,arrogantpeoplesomaybeIwon’t
beverygo odatdealingwithallthedifferenttypes
of people youcome across in that job,” he sa ys.
“Iwilljusthavetolearntosmileandstaysilent.”
Hehasnoplanstogiveupfightingfortherevo-
lutionofhistime.“Ifthistimewefail,before2047
we must have another fight,areal fight.But it’s
agoodsign that this time morepeople arewill-
ingtos tand up.The se ed has beenplanted.”He
looksaroundtomakesurenoo neelseislistening:
“We’reheadingtowardscivilwar.”Sue-LinWong is the FT’s South China correspondent.
Additionalreportingby Nicolle Liu and Qianer Liu.
NickWu,MokeCheung andSamantha Zhang are
pseudonyms. Comment to [email protected]Above:protestersrestonaroad
in theAdmiralty district in June‘I REALLY
UNDERSTAND THE
PROTESTERS.IFI
HAD BEEN BORN
AND RAISED HERE,
I’DALSO BE ON
THE STREETS’
Samantha Zhang, who movedto
HongKong from mainland China