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I was on journalist assignment in Hong Kong early last week covering Occupy Central. After witnessing the Sunflower movement in Taiwan, I was excited to observe the Hong Kong equivalent, and bear witness to young people bravely putting their lives in danger for democracy–thus breaking every stereotype about being Chinese and deferential and hierarchy-loving.
我這周被指派去採訪香港佔中，在目睹台灣的太陽花學運之後，我很振奮的看到香港的年輕人同樣的為了追求民主不惜身處危險，這打破了以往對於中國人順服的刻板印象。
Civic Square, the site of the student movement last week, did not disappoint. The mood was festive, despite a tense confrontation at the governor’s mansion the night before after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying ignored the students’ ultimatum. Students gathered in groups scattered across the site enraptured in discussion. A lecture series–the idea for which, according to organizers, was taken from the Sunflower movement–went throughout the afternoon, covering topics of social and political importance. Some students even lugged their personal libraries to share with others. The spirit of civic enrichment and engagement was in the air.
這周學運所處的市民廣場並沒讓人失望，雖然前一晚才因特首梁振英忽視學生的要求而與政府有正面交鋒，當天現場的氣氛仍然輕鬆，學生分成一組一組討論議題，加上組織者受到太陽花啟發而舉辦的一系列民主講堂，範圍涵蓋社會和政治。有些學生甚至拖著自己的藏書前來與大家分享，這種公民參與的精神瀰漫在空氣中。
As I now watch scenes of police firing on these same students in the streets of Hong Kong tonight, I can’t help but feel a pang of sadness. I know that the Hong Kong government is attacking the best citizens Hong Kong will ever have. This, of course, is hardly a mistake: the feckless anomie of its residents is what will shore up Hong Kong’s new authoritarianism. There is no place for these model citizens in Beijing’s Hong Kong.
當現在我看著警察對著同一群學生開槍，我不可遏止的感到悲傷，我知道香港政府現在正在攻擊的是香港最良善的公民，香港政府的攻擊當然並不是一個錯誤：藉由這樣的打壓，香港少數無感的民眾將成全香港新型的專政主義，使得這些模範公民在「北京的香港」下失去容身之地。
And yet by firing tear gas at students, some of which are of high school age, the Hong Kong government have drenched a sensitive issue in petroleum and created a conflagration. Hong Kong will not be the same. One astute protester I interviewed last week told me he worried that Occupy Central wasn’t making enough of an impact. He was right. Across from the protest, on the other side of a busy intersection in Admiralty, businessmen scurried about, and rich Hong Kongers gathered for shopping dates. Their daily routine was unimpeded. The protest were but a sidenote for lunch conversation–but not anymore. Tonight the streets are in flames.
香港政府對一些年僅十七八歲的學生發射催淚瓦斯就像是火上加油，我上週訪問過的一位抗議者曾經跟我說他很擔心佔中沒辦法造成足夠大的影響，他是對的，在抗議者對街的是金鐘繁忙的大路口，而商人不慌不忙的走著，有錢的香港人相約購物，他們的日常生活絲毫不受影響，那些抗議者充其量只是茶餘飯後的話題，但現在已經不再如此，今晚，整條街燃起了憤怒之火。
Lorand Laskai (雷洛然) is a writer living in Beijing and recent graduate of Swarthmore College. He previously lived in Tainan, Taiwan.