Alma Mater

A Very Different Protest in Mong Kok

Earlier this year at Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, I saw police telling a street musician to stop his performance.



The musician's initial protests attracted the attention of additional police. Eventually, the musician left peacefully, though not happily.

That was about as tense a scene I had ever encountered in Mong Kok. I can't say I expected that later in the year I would be watching far tenser scenes in a video titled "Hong Kong protests: the battle for Mong Kok".

Graffiti Cat

Been reading and thinking a lot about Hong Kong lately—most of it rather heavy. For now, though, something lighter I saw in Hong Kong earlier this year:

Protesting as Hong Kongers

The protests in Hong Kong are about more than just democracy and touch on some issues which are not general to China but instead specific to Hong Kong. In "Are ‘Hong Kong people’ still Chinese? Depends on how you define ‘Chinese'" Alan Chin wrote:

To many in Hong Kong, then, “Chinese” may primarily mean a cultural, ethnic, or racial marker of identity rather than of political nationality. There are “Chinese” of various types who make up the majority population in Taiwan and Singapore, a significant percentage in Malaysia and Thailand, and large numbers around the world.

So when the demonstrators chant “Hong Kong People!” they are asserting that to be a citizen of Hong Kong is emphatically not the same as being Chinese. For the authorities in Beijing, this may send shivers down their spines.

In "Hong Kong’s young – fed up with high rents, few jobs – drive protests" Stuart Leavenworth wrote:

“To tell you the truth, we don’t want to be defined as Chinese people,” said Simon Wong, 24, one of several protesters McClatchy interviewed who made similar statements.

“I am not one of those people who thinks that Hong Kong can become independent,” he quickly added. “But Hong Kong is a special place, with a special autonomy. We just want them (Chinese leaders) to keep the promises they have made.” . . .

What would protesters want done if they had real democracy? Answers vary, but several young people complained about widening inequality and a Hong Kong economy that caters too much to tourists, many of them from the mainland. They come to shop – or at least window-shop – at the outlets for Cartier, Versace and other luxury brands that line many of Hong Kong’s boulevards.

“All of these fancy stores are for the tourists, they are not for us,” said protester Choi-Wing Tung, who’s 23. “They are driving up the rents for all of us.”

Read both articles for more about how many Hong Kongers identify themselves and what motivates them to protest.

Umbrellas and Tear Gas in Hong Kong

Tear gas and chaos: The images coming from Hong Kong are insane http://t.co/2b6hrcYrKx pic.twitter.com/GCQKD7t5C0
— BI MIL/DEF (@BI_Defense) September 28, 2014

Umbrella man. RT pic.twitter.com/udcC8WUeKZ
— Carrie Gracie (@BBCCarrie) September 28, 2014

Students trying to block MTR exit on rumors that lots of police are transported and entered Admiralty via subway. pic.twitter.com/d660x6m8vm
— Fiona Law (@law_fiona) September 28, 2014

Now, the function of #HK MTR is to transport police to HK Island #OccupyCentral pic.twitter.com/blX9Rnhk5W
— Badcanto (@Badcanto) September 28, 2014

LIVE: #OccupyCentral protesters have stood their ground despite police baton charges, tear gas http://t.co/BnfkMEqQM1 pic.twitter.com/6H0BrUZFdo
— SCMP News (@SCMP_News) September 28, 2014

5am. Mass sleep-in continues. pic.twitter.com/g2shtBp7Ol
— Venus Wu (@wu_venus) September 28, 2014

725am central HK. Chinese flag turned upside down by protesters. Standoff continues. No sign of police action pic.twitter.com/pJKhmCjlrS
— Andrew Stevens (@andrewcnn) September 28, 2014

7:30am. Good morning Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/pApqO4GALW
— Venus Wu (@wu_venus) September 28, 2014

As morning breaks over Hong Kong, exhausted protesters still very much in control on the streets pic.twitter.com/hWXH11UVdS
— Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) September 28, 2014

Protesters at Admiralty are cleaning up the streets and collecting rubbish. pic.twitter.com/CfJzYeJsHQ
— Varsity CUHK (@varsitycuhk) September 29, 2014

Surreal Monday morning rush hour in Hong Kong. Eight lanes empty of traffic. pic.twitter.com/ucp3CtQKOy
— enda curran (@endacurran) September 28, 2014

LIVE: Secondary school kids in Kwai Tsing 'strike' to protest police action #OccupyCentral http://t.co/7ftMvCir5C pic.twitter.com/MbIQulkyfP
— SCMP News (@SCMP_News) September 29, 2014

This is Causeway Bay NOW. 人山人海 #UmbrellaRevolution #OccupyCausewayBay pic.twitter.com/rZFRWCVI7y
— Pearl Law (@pearldraws) September 29, 2014

CEO of ad agency with over 200 employees said it will not punish anyone who skips work to protest. (Apple Daily) pic.twitter.com/AzDjylSHPd
— Alan Wong (@byAlanWong) September 29, 2014

Police senior inspector negotiating with protesters. They in return ask her to explain why police use excessive force pic.twitter.com/QsH4KZ0hTH
— Varsity CUHK (@varsitycuhk) September 29, 2014

These are just a small portion of the striking tweets with images* about the protests in Hong from Sunday through mid-Monday.

Instead of providing any commentary, I will simply share Zoher Abdoolcarim "5 Takeaways from Weekend of Protests" (HT James Fallows):

1. The protests cut across Hong Kong society
2. This is as much about inequality as democracy
3. The difference between Hong Kong and mainland China is not just political
4. Beijing is clearly mismanaging the fringes of China’s empire
5. Hong Kong faces a tough fight ahead

Each of the points speak to much, and more detail about each of them can be found in the article on Time. Abdoolcarim concludes with:

Hong Kong—which, with its 7 million people, is just a tiny corner of China—can expect no quarter from Beijing over its fight for democracy.

*Images may not appear if you are viewing this post through a reader. See the post here.

A Colorful Sight in Taipei

Yesterday while I walked around outside in a drizzle, I turned around and noticed something which surprised me.

The rainbow didn't strike me as remarkable except in one way—it had been a while since I had last seen a rainbow. In a post displaying the artificial rainbow I saw in Hengyang, I mentioned I couldn't remember having ever seen a genuine rainbow in China and wondered if pollution or tall buildings were significant factors. I now see that 15 years ago two scientists presented hypotheses for how pollution may have caused a decrease of rainbow sightings in Seoul, South Korea, but they don't claim to have an answer.

Whatever the case, I appreciated the rainbow.

Gazing in Taiwan

Two views from the center of Gaze—an installation work by Taiwanese artist Hwang Buh-Ching portraying a "loving gaze and silent emotion" between Hwang and his wife:

Xinzhuang Lanterns

At the Wusheng Temple (武聖廟) in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City

A Good Strong Mix

One of today's discoveries:

Swiss chocolate with too much cocoa pairs excellently with Belgian beer with too much alcohol.

A Taiwanese Politician and Barack Obama Want Change

In the Tucheng District of New Taipei City I recently saw a small part of Taiwan's democracy in action. At one location people busily worked for an election campaign.

Lin Jinjie (林金結), a member of Taiwan's Kuomintang party, is running for the position of councilor in the New Taipei City Council.

As I walked around Tucheng, I saw some of Lin's campaign signs. Most seemed run-of-the-mill.

One sign campaign sign stood out though.

Yes, that is Lin with U.S. President Barack Obama. And the sign makes it clear both of them are full of hope for change.

During earlier primary elections some questioned Lin's use of Barack Obama's image and suggested it improperly implied Obama supported Lin or may raise copyright issues (see articles in Chinese here and here). Others commented on the prominent use of English on the sign. Despite the criticism, at least the above sign remains and an image of the sign posted on what appears to be Lin's Facebook page remains as well. Whatever its merits, that a Taiwanese political campaign believes it could be helpful to reference Obama says something about Taiwan and speaks to America's potential soft power as well.

On a related note, I have seen Barack Obama's image used for commercial purposes in mainland China. But due to differences in political systems and cultures, I doubt I will be seeing any similar Obama-themed political-campaign signs there anytime soon.

An Animated Taiwanese Perspective on Scottish Independence

Taiwan-based Next Media Animation (NMA) regularly provides entertaining takes on a variety of newsworthy events around the world. Given the debate within Taiwan over the future of its own political status, it is not surprising that NMA expressed one of the many global perspectives on today's Scottish independence referendum. In addition to its usual creativity, NMA's takes a side on the issue. Responding to an offer of more power for Scotland if it remains part of the United Kingdom, NMA recommends skepticism and a vote for independence:

But we here in Taiwan understand that no amount of false promises are enough to sate a people's desire for "FREEDOMMMMMMM". So people and unicorns of Scotland on Thursday vote "YES".

NMA's advice may more reflect its views regarding Taiwan than any deeply held beliefs about Scotland's specific situation, which differs in many key respects. I am not at all convinced that "freedom" per se will have taken a blow if Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom. There are sacrifices to be made when living in a political structure of any size, and there are reasonable arguments that people in Scotland will enjoy more overall freedom as a part of the United Kingdom. Whatever the best choice may be for Scotland, the people are now able to freely express themselves and vote on an important part of their future. And whatever the result, the status quo will have been changed, and the Scottish people will maintain many significant freedoms.

So for probably the only video on the Scottish independence referendum with backstabbing, casino tokens, people carrying skyscrapers, and, of course, a freedom-loving unicorn, watch NMA's latest creation:

Zhongyang Road in Tucheng

Yesterday on Zhongyang Road in Tucheng District, New Taipei City, Taiwan:

Even if you find the above scene mundane, you may be surprised by who makes an appearance on one of the political campaign signs in this area. More on that and other nearby indications of democracy are on the way.