Protesters must be clear on goal of universal suffrage
Chang Ping says they must resist Beijing's attempt to smear the campaign
"Take a walk on the street and you can find the true Hong Kong spirit: the discipline and order, the impressive ability of the people to self-organise and protest in a way that is peaceful and rational," Hong Kong-based journalist Zhang Jieping wrote in an article on Occupy Central. "Voices were raised in song, and the shops around were friendly. At night, the students and police officers both were seen clearing away rubbish left from the day."
After more than 10 days of a civil disobedience protest in which students first boycotted class then took to blocking major roads, the protesters have held onto their Hong Kong way. This, despite tolerating the tear gas attacks and threats of worse.
This is rare in street protests in other parts of the world. Perhaps a close comparison is the Tiananmen democracy movement 25 years ago. The streets weren't as clean then but the protesters were similarly disciplined. In one instance, three young people who vandalised the Mao Zedong portrait hanging there were caught and taken to the police station by the students themselves.
Of course, there is a key difference: whereas the Hong Kong students are orderly from force of habit, the students at Tiananmen were regulating themselves out of fear, because they did not want to give the Beijing government any excuse to crack down on their campaign.
The authorities needed no such pretext. The fate of the pro-democracy movement had already been sealed and broadcast by the infamous editorial published on April 26, 1989. The protests were denounced as a "conspiracy" and an "upheaval". "This is a serious political war," it thundered, "thrust in the face of the party and the whole of the Chinese people."
Thus the wheels were set in motion towards a bloody crackdown.
Similarly, on October 1, the party mouthpiece published an editorial titled "Cherish positive growth, defend Hong Kong's prosperity and stability", calling the largely peaceful demonstrations in Hong Kong a "serious breach of social order and hurting people's livelihoods". The protests were harming Hong Kong and its people, and, if allowed to continue, the "consequences would be unimaginable", it said.
On National Day, while the protesters in Hong Kong endured the rain and the sun to express their strong desire for universal suffrage; the mainland celebrated the day in song and dance. One country, two systems, indeed.
This treatment was an insult to the protesters in Hong Kong.
At least the editorial directly responded to the protesters - hardline as it was. It said the National People's Congress Standing Committee's decision on the 2017 chief executive election was set "in accordance with the realities on the ground in Hong Kong, and is favourable to upholding its sovereignty, safety, economic growth, and long-term prosperity. It has unshakable legal status and validity."
In a way, this was Hong Kong's "April 26 editorial". As another party mouthpiece, the , put it, if the Hong Kong police were not up to the job of clearing the streets of protesters, the mainland police could "help to restore order". From the start, a violent suppression was on Beijing's mind.
If things turned bloody, the real reason would be that Hong Kong's demand for universal suffrage was a thorn in the side of an autocratic government, and would have little to do with whether the protest was rational and the streets were kept clean. It hardly mattered what slogans or tactics the protesters adopted.
The April 26 editorial succeeded in blackening the name of the Tiananmen movement. Years later, it became the focus of calls to reverse this official "verdict".
It's understandable that a government, far more powerful than protesters, could put them under pressure. But it is not reasonable.
The Hong Kong protesters should learn from the Tiananmen crackdown, and keep their focus on their goal. No matter how the central government tries to smear the campaign, and whether or not Leung Chun-ying steps down, they must not forget the goal of their protest: universal suffrage.
