Protests spurring Hong Kong down the road to democracy


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In the 1980s and early ’90s, Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union satellites were experiencing the growing pains of democratic revolutions, highlighted by the bloody end of the rule of Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu. Twenty years later, the democratic fever of the world spread to the Middle East. And now, three years later, it appears the democracy bug has spread to the Far East, as protesters, many of them students, have taken to the streets of Hong Kong to demand autonomy in the election of its leaders. Dubbed the “Umbrella Revolution,” so named due to protesters’ use of umbrellas to protect against weather, pepper spray and tear gas during mass demonstrations, protests have sparked democratic fever among the citizens of Hong Kong.

This past weekend in Hong Kong, there was an unprecedented turnout of people in front of government headquarters. As the Arab Spring introduced to us the power of social media in initiating social and political change in the modern context, the Umbrella Revolution, thus far, has taught us the true potential of technology in the 21st century and the need to use it to continue the fight against this status quo.

Since Great Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, the city has become a “special administrative region” with a high degree of autonomy, with China promising the city a democratically elected leader in the future. Currently, the leader of Hong Kong is appointed by a committee made up of strong-armed Communist Party loyalists. Beijing has promised elections to allow Hong Kong to independently elect its chief executive by 2017. Last August, the Communist Party said it would vet candidates through a committee and voters would vote to elect from a ballot preordained by Beijing. Furious with the lack of democratic process, last weekend, students staged boycotts and sit-ins in front of the office of the Hong Kong chief executive. In the short term, protesters want the resignation of the current leader of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying, who is extremely unpopular and a symbol of the status quo those in Hong Kong wish to erase. Long term, protesters desire full autonomy to elect their own leader, free of vetting from Beijing and meddling by the Communist Party.

Democracy is inevitable in a city like Hong Kong. Highly Westernized, historically tied with Great Britain from 1842 to 1997 and the economic and financial hub of Asia, Hong Kong is too different from the Communist regime of China. Democracy is part of Hong Kong’s genetic makeup, and technology is ushering a new era of empowerment for it.

China traditionally censors most content on the Internet that undermines the ruling party or introduces democratic ideas. The number of online sites blocked, from Instagram to Facebook to Twitter, is astounding, especially in this day and age of globalization — and it’s time for the censorship to stop. China’s favorite micro-blogging site, Sina Weibo, commonly known as “China’s Twitter,” is also heavily monitored and censored, with any mentions of the protests in Hong Kong removed. With social media blocked and the internet heavily limited, the protesters have shown the strength of social media and the fervor of citizens demanding democracy and autonomy. Those in the streets have been able to communicate through the app FireChat, a messaging service that bypasses traditional cellular data and internet to send text messages. Users can communicate with one another through the app, which utilizes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities of the user’s device to connect to people within a certain radius. Popular among concertgoers in the United States, the app is difficult to track and censor by the government and is easy to use, allowing protesters to coordinate without fear of being discovered or blocked. FireChat has been instrumental for protesters in Hong Kong, allowing for additional channels to be used to communicate.

In 2011, Facebook curried the favor of Egyptians and thousands of others in the Middle East and offered a platform to organize and protest autocratic regimes. Now, in 2014, democratic fever has reached Hong Kong, the impetus being technology as a means to organize and protest.

History is being made in Hong Kong, with the world liking, favoriting, retweeting and sharing the entire experience. With technology, this fight has become a global one, reminding us of the fundamental need to stand up for what we truly believe in, even when it means going up against the grain.

 

Athanasius Georgy is a sophomore majoring in biological sciences. His column, “On the World Stage,” runs Thursdays.