New ‘Umbrella Amnesia’ Kong, but Cannot Impose Beijing May Rein … · 2019. 9. 5. · the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. This belated trial four years later is intended

2/14/2019 Beijing May Rein in Hong Kong, but Cannot Impose 'Umbrella Amnesia'

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Beijing May Rein in HongKong, but Cannot Impose‘Umbrella Amnesia’

by Victoria Hui — November 22, 2018 in Opinion

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Activists with yellow umbrellas during a gathering to mark the fourth anniversary of Umbrella Movement. Photo: Anthony

Wallace, AFP

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“This trial is the final showdown between memory and amnesia,” declared Shiu Ka-Chun,

one of the “Occupy Central Nine” who is put on trial this week for their leadership roles in

the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.

This belated trial four years later is intended to mark the beginning of the end of the

Umbrella Movement. The nine are variously charged for conspiracy to cause public

nuisance, inciting others to cause public nuisance, and inciting people to incite others to

cause public nuisance.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. The accused – the

Occupy Central’s original trio Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, and Chu Yiu-ming; student

leaders Tommy Sau-yin Cheung and Eason Yiu-wa Chung; lawmakers Tanya Chan and

Shiu Ka-Chun; and political leaders Raphael Ho-ming Wong and Wing-tat Lee –are widely

expected to be convicted and jailed.

https://theglobepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Umbrella-Movement-anniversary.jpghttp://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheglobepost.com%2F2018%2F11%2F22%2Fhong-kong-amnesia%2Fhttps://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Beijing+May+Rein+in+Hong+Kong%2C+but+Cannot+Impose+%E2%80%98Umbrella+Amnesia%E2%80%99&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheglobepost.com%2F2018%2F11%2F22%2Fhong-kong-amnesia%2Fhttps://www.hkcnews.com/article/16532/%E4%BD%94%E4%B8%AD%E4%B9%9D%E5%AD%90-%E4%BD%94%E4%B8%AD%E4%B8%89%E5%AD%90-%E9%9B%A8%E5%82%98%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95-16568/%E3%80%8C%E4%BD%94%E4%B8%AD%E4%B9%9D%E5%AD%90%E3%80%8D%E4%B8%8A%E5%BA%AD%E5%89%8D%E6%84%9F%E8%A8%80%EF%BC%9A%E9%80%99%E6%98%AF%E8%A8%98%E6%86%B6%E8%88%87%E9%81%BA%E5%BF%98%E5%B0%8D%E6%B1%BAhttps://theglobepost.com/2018/11/19/hong-kong-umbrella-movement-trial/https://theglobepost.com/2018/11/21/hong-kong-democracy/http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/09/01/beijing-reins-in-hong-kong/



Three leading Hong Kong democracy campaigners pleaded not guilty on Monday. Photo: Anthony Wallace, AFP

A Beijing representative, Chen Zuoer, complained in November 2016 that “the price of

committing an offense was too low in some situations in Hong Kong… Taking the OccupyMovement as an example, how many movement leaders were brought to the court up until

now? Why were they not in the court?” In two-years’ time, the Hong Kong government is

finishing up its assignments.

Beijing hopes to finally stifle Hong Kong’s democracy movement by jailing pro-democracy

leaders and disqualifying them for running for public offices. However, Beijing’s heavy

hands can only have at most short-term effects because it cannot impose amnesia on Hong

Kong.

‘People’s Republic of Amnesia’‘People’s Republic of Amnesia’It is often said that dictators can lock up physical bodies, but not individual thoughts.

Beijing has defied this expectation after the Tiananmen crackdown of 1989. Today’s

mainland Chinese either do not know about Tiananmen or defend repressive measures as

https://theglobepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/HK-Umbrella-Movement-trial.jpghttps://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2050425/no-mercy-hong-kongs-pro-independence-rats-says-head-tophttps://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/asia/tiananmen-square-fast-facts/index.html



necessary evils that have contributed to China’s millennial rise. Journalist Louisa Lim dubs

today’s China “the People’s Republic of Amnesia.”

Beijing officials have repeatedly lamented that the sovereignty of Hong Kong has been duly

returned but the hearts of Hong Kong people have not. Beijing has deployed the same two-

pronged policy to impose Umbrella amnesia: while repression is intended to silence pro-

democracy forces, economic growth and “patriotic education” are hoped to win over the

hearts and minds of the majority.

Yet, just as Hong Kong people have insisted on “never forgetting” Tiananmen for nearly

three decades, they will likewise never fall for the Umbrella amnesia.

Overseas parliamentarians and international NGOs call on the Hong Kong government to

drop the charges against the “Occupy Central Nine” to demonstrate to the world that

Beijing’s promised policy of the rule of law under the “one country, two systems” model is

still alive and well.

There is little chance that Hong Kong’s hand-picked government would heed this advice. If

Hong Kong’s judges (some are still willing to stand up for judicial independence) issue any

verdicts and sentences not to Beijing’s liking, the Department of Justice will surely appeal

for heavier sentences – as it did with younger Umbrella Movement leaders last year. Most

importantly, the central government has the last resort of issuing a decision to stamp its

Tank Man: what happened at Tiananmen Square?Tank Man: what happened at Tiananmen Square?Tank Man: what happened at Tiananmen Square?

http://www.louisalim.com/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-britain-politics/hong-kongs-one-country-two-systems-framework-under-pressure-britain-idUSKCN1BP1ZNhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdN_RBI08-shttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIRYBXDze5krPDzAEOxFGVA



Hong Kong Umbrella Movement. Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AFP

will on local courts – as it did to disqualify

“localist” legislators two years ago.

Thus, the only uncertainty about this trial

is the length of the jail sentences.

Jail StrengthensJail StrengthensOppositionOppositionIf Beijing wishes to repress the calls for

democracy with show trials and heavy jail terms, it will likely be disappointed. Precisely

because so many pro-democracy leaders are persecuted for nonviolent civil protest, going

to jail has become a badge of honor. Experiences around the world show that the prison

serves only to harden opposition leaders.

If Beijing also hopes to buy off the

majority by promoting economic growth

and increasing housing and other social

welfare benefits, it will see only limited

results. While this sugarcoating has been

massively effective in binding mainland

Chinese to the Chinese Communist Party,

it has failed to infest the Tiananmen

amnesia in Hong Kong and will not create

a new Umbrella amnesia.

If Beijing intends to make Hong Kong people love the motherland with “patriotic

education,” it will only intensify anti-Beijing sentiments. It was the introduction of

“national education” in 2012 that politicized teenagers such as Joshua Wong who later

ignited the Umbrella Movement in 2014.

The more Beijing emphasizes “one country” over “two systems,” therefore, the more Hong

Kong people reject its campaigns to hypnotize them into amnesia.

Last week, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended a

review of the “U.S. treatment of Hong Kong and China as separate customs areas.” The

Hong Kong government responded by insisting on Hong Kong’s status as a separate customs

territory.

https://theglobepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Umbrella-Movement.jpghttps://theglobepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Xi-Jinping.jpghttps://theglobepost.com/2018/01/31/russia-navalny-arrested/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/censorship-superfluous-xi-s-new-erahttps://theglobepost.com/2017/10/25/communist-party-china-leaders/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/asia/thousands-protest-chinas-curriculum-plans-for-hong-kong-schools.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/joshua-wong-the-student-who-risked-the-wrath-of-beijing-its-about-turning-the-impossible-into-the-possiblehttps://www.uscc.gov/



Victoria HuiVictoria Hui

Associate professor in political science at the University of Notre Dame andthe author of 'Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement: The Protests and Beyond.'Hui is a native of Hong Kong and maintains a blog on the UmbrellaMovement and beyond: https://victoriatbhui.wordpress.com

If Hong Kong remains different than other Chinese cities these days, it is not because it still

enjoys the promised “high degree of autonomy,” but because Beijing cannot impose

amnesia on Hong Kong people as it can on mainland Chinese.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not

necessarily re�ect the editorial position of The Globe Post.

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New ‘Umbrella Amnesia’ Kong, but Cannot Impose Beijing May Rein … · 2019. 9. 5. · the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. This belated trial four years later is intended