By Hojin Choi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
HONG KONG, China – College students in Hong Kong will boycott classes for a week. This strike seeks to push Beijing to meet demands for democracy in Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Federation of Students, college students in Hong Kong decided to boycott their classes for a week beginning September 22nd. This was planned in reaction to the Chinese government’s decision regarding the Hong Kong election next year. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) ruled out the open nomination for the election of a Chief Executive in Hong Kong. This position is largely considered to be the actual leader of Hong Kong’s administration. Instead, it will allow only 1-2 candidates who are pro-Beijing and no other pro-democracy figures.
Besides the college students, other citizen-wide protests have already been implemented. Some Pro-democracy organizations have planned an “Occupy Central” campaign as a way of protesting Beijing’s decision. The organizers of Occupy Central announced that they would mobilize 10,000 activists to paralyze the center of Hong Kong’s financial district.
“If the NPC makes such a drastic decision at this stage, there is no point for further dialogue. Why wait, then,” said one of the organizers of the campaign.
Reportedly, at least 11 higher education institutions pledged to join the boycott, including government-funded institutions such as Hong Kong University, Shue Yan University, Chu Hai College, and Hang Seng Management College. The Federation of Students is seeking other citizens’ participation including, younger students.
For example, another students’ group called “Scholarism” is planning to strike too. Scholarism formed three years ago to petition for more nationalistic curriculum in schools. The core members of the group consisted of high school students in Hong Kong. In addition to the class boycott, Scholarism holds “Citizen Classrooms” at a church where they lecture about political reform and civil obedience issues to high school students.
“Hong Kong people should fight for our own universal suffrage and democracy. Our candidates should not be decided by Beijing. We must have equal rights to vote and to be elected. Beijing’s decision does not meet this requirement,” said Chen, a 17-year-old student.
The students seem to be experiencing pressure at home regarding their activities. Lu, another 17-year-old student, said “Although I joined the civil disobedience, my family and friends have got a lot of pressure. Personally, I hope my family can understand my decision.”
Another student, Zhang, reported that his parents allowed him to join the protest, on condition that he avoid activities that disrupt his studies or could be deemed illegal. “I want to fight for democracy . . . If we don’t fight for it now, our future generations may not have the chance to enjoy a truly fair and democratic universal suffrage,” Zhang said.
Hong Kong was a British colony, but returned to China in 1997. The Chinese communist government announced that the political independency of Hong Kong would be guided by the principle of “one country, two systems.” However, some activists in Hong Kong criticize that the Chinese government is trying to extend its power over Hong Kong by affecting the territory’s democracy.
The Chinese government warned against any foreign interference with this issue. The government considers the people in Hong Kong to be in collusion with outside forces. Bejing said it will not tolerate the use of Hong Kong “as a bridgehead to subvert and infiltrate the mainland” of China.
For more information, please see:
Aljazeera – China rebukes ‘foreign meddling’ in Hong Kong – 30 August 2014
BBC – China rules out open Hong Kong chief executive poll – 31 August 2014
South China Morning Post – Thousands of students plan week-long classroom boycott in push for democracy – 1 September 2014
The Standard – Student chiefs on move for mass class boycotts – 2 September 2014
Voice of America – Hong Kong Students Discuss Class Boycott – 4 September 2014
The Wall Street Journal – Hong Kong Students to Boycott Classes If Democracy Demands Aren’t Met – 21 August 2014
