Edith Chung, a resident of Lantau Island, informed Pressenza about the protest action that has been going on for some time now by residents of Hong Kong’s North East New Territories, and sympathizers, worried that the threatened eviction from their long time family homes and farms in the area will bring to an end the lifestyle they are used to and have come to accept and that they feel comfortable with.
On a broader view, other concerned citizens see the housing project and its special regulations regarding access by Shenzhen residents from over the border, breaks the deal made between China and Hong Kong under the provisions of the Basic Law.
Ms Chung pointed out the difference in reportage by the Chinese and English local press and that scant detail is presented in the English language press about this issue whereas it is causing considerable consternation among many Chinese in Hong Kong.
Certainly, the rowdy scenes of Friday June 6 at Legco which was occupied by protestors and physically shut down by them, was an unprecedented action. Three protesters were arrested. Police were tough, when they were called, and that calling was another first as usually the Legco security has enough manpower.
The media, at least in the English press, took sides according to Ms Chung: “I realised that the main media, including South China Morning Post (SCMP), they take sides. They put labels on the protest and do not clarify what was happening and the matter of what’s at the core of the whole issue.”
“The North-East issues are not only about land development, and are not only about our neglected and dying farming sector, it was also about chained profit making for property companies and the officials in government. It was also about a political aim – to break the HK-China boundary in order to prepare for the passing of a law for the mainland Chinese freely walking into Hong Kong from the mainland,” ended Ms Chung
As a protester herself at Legco when the demonstration started, in the afternoon, by the time mid-evening had arrived she says the more noisy and less disciplined ones began to take over proceedings which eventually led to the barricades being used as defence weapons and a decision was made to physically march inside and stop the proceedings, the meeting debating the granting of funds for the project. That’s when she left.
Apparently another type of violence was taking place inside at the Legco meeting. The committee chairman stopped the Legco members asking any questions – the were filibustering – in order to pass the meeting asap and have a done deal!
“Luckily, we pushed the meeting to delay once again, “she remarked in solidarity. “We will go back to Legco this Friday (June 20).
One Dr Chin, an assistant professor of Chinese language at Lingnan University and a backer of the Hong Kong City-State Autonomy Movement, has spoken out about the need (or use) for the borderland as buffer saying in 2012 (as reported in realhknews) “that it is because it will save the lives of seven million Hong Kong citizens at critical moments. With its economy declining fast and its rate of unemployment high, China may go through large-scale riots and even a civil war any minute. Once a civil war has broken out, Hong Kong, being an important financial centre in the world, may secure peace and neutrality through negotiating with the United States and China. But if the borderland of Hong Kong is already opened up and inhabited by Shenzhen people, it will be extremely difficult to stop millions of refugees and defecting soldiers and policemen running from China into Hong Kong.”
This is the kind of comment Hong Kong could do without because China is no where near such circumstance or situation. It is similar thinking among a small group of people that somehow gets into the news that is causing strife in Hong Kong. It is exactly this propagation of false roads that has got a lot of people concerned about universal suffrage. This is exemplified by the Benny Tai movement which has little to do with the world-wide Occupy Movement despite his use of that term in the protest planned for mid-year 2014 and the unofficial referendum late June 2014.
The SCMP reported on he proposed plan for the pan-democrats to, make “more reasonable suggestions” for political reform for the 2017 chief executive race. He suggested all lawmakers should be made ex-officio members of the future nominating committee and that an aspirant who gained a certain number nominations, say 20, should be allowed to run. That’s more like it.
The galvanising White Paper of recent note which simply reiterated what is known – yes likely as a timely reminder – also caused a lot of fuss because of the hyped-up atmosphere in Hong Kong… well, among the politically active ones, the vast majority are just getting more and more peeved.
Sadly, the good intentions – they want a universal pension scheme of one – and radical action of the territory’s most vehement politicians are lumped in with these newer protests – against the emerging anti-Chief Executive elections and the manner of choosing same.
A question could be asked – what is such a big deal about the population electing the CE? One man or woman should not be centrally important to any place, rather that same person would be leading a team of good people whose sole interest lay in spreading the joy, the wealth. China in negotiations with Hong Kong – Britain was there – has a community-wide selection committee to vote for the best candidate which easily stands up against the track record of one-person-one-vote ‘democracy’ which is abused everywhere.
Remember, China has a centrally planned economy and it is outclassing every other country in the world; China is primarily socialist (Communism with Chinese characteristics) and that system was not affected by the ruinous financial collapse of Capitalism; it is only 33 years until Hong Kong is merged with China anyway so let’s get used to it. Things will change but why does this small sub-section think that will be for the worse?
It is healthy to protest and if people don’t protest how is Beijing to know about local complaints? The real Occupy Movement is about participation, about wresting control from the landlords and property owners and those industrialists who do not care for worker’s rights and conditions and governments that privatise everything and get handouts for big contracts – like incinerators – instead of solutions that bring widespread benefits to the average person in the street.
As for the likes of my good neighbour Edith Chung, it is good she protests and backs of from violent actions but she needs to reinvigorate her faith in her mainland cousins because without trust nothing good can arrive!
