Lai See | CY says the poor can't vote as we need to protect the rich

After his interview on Monday with the international press Chief Executive CY Leung was widely quoted on social media as saying: "Democracy would see poorer people dominate Hong Kong." While he didn't actually say that, it amounted to the same. The Financial Times said that Leung warned of the dangers of populism and insisted the electoral system was needed to protect minority groups. "If it's entirely a numbers game - numeric representation - then obviously you'd be talking to half the people in Hong Kong [that] earn less than US$1,800 a month," he said in reference to the median per capita wage.

"You would end up with that kind of politics and policies." God forbid that lower income groups should have a say in how Hong Kong is run lest we end up with a system that doesn't protect the tycoons. CY has either wittingly or unwittingly indicated what this demonstration is all about. People are angry and dissatisfied in Hong Kong for a wide range of reasons, which include the perception of the wealth gap, inability to find affordable housing, high cost of living relative to income and so on.

They feel that the present arrangements for electing the chief executive do not lead to the election of a leader that is interested in pursuing their interests. The job of all chief executives in Hong Kong has been to maintain the status quo, a situation that is evidently desired by the central government. Given the roots of the Communist Party, it is not a little ironic that its chosen instrument for maintaining the status quo in Hong Kong are the tycoons. They are useful since at least they cannot be accused of harbouring any destabilising hankerings for democracy.

This is one of the many intellectual, moral and political contortions that the Chinese Communist Party has had to undergo with respect to the way it manages Hong Kong. But it sends a pretty bleak message to the majority of the people: "We don't want you people running the show - this has been set up for the rich." However we are now paying the price for organising our affairs in this way.

Someone has cleverly taken an old HSBC advertising campaign and adapted it to the umbrella movement. It is a mock-up of the bank's advertising campaign "Point of View" which was introduced in 2009 and shown at airports around the world.