New Bloom UK Editor Sam Sussman sat down with Hong Kong social movements researcher Larry Au to chat about the specifically Hong Kongese political experiences and traditions from which the movement developed its organizational and rhetorical strength...
Now approaching a month’s duration, the series of protests which have rocked Hong Kong since late September have seen a series of events in the past week including attempts at negotiation between students and government, the breakdown of negotiations, continued police violence, and growing public sentiment against occupiers. But we have seen this before...
At the start of this week, it seemed that the situation with Occupy Central had reached a height of utmost tension. Protest leaders from Occupy Central and student leaders alike were calling for protestors to withdraw as far back as Sunday, after the brutal use of police force and fear that subsequent violence might prove deadly....
The unthinkable has happened. Where just a month ago, it seemed as though Occupy Central was on the decline, that Hong Kong would see no mass protest over China’s refusal to permit free elections for Chief Executive, the highest leadership position within Hong Kong’s government, Hong Kong’s student activists have seized the day...
Does the possibility exist for Hong Kong to attain democracy? This question has yet to be settled. In the face of China’s refusal to allow non-vetted candidates to run for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, the highest political position in the Hong Kong government, the stage is set for Occupy Central to once again seize control of Hong Kong’s Central district, the city’s financial and economic heart...