Occupy Central organisers set democracy 'D-Day'
Occupy Central organisers hope for new beginnings with first of three deliberation days
Hong Kong will experience a new style of democracy - over and above the act of casting votes - as the Occupy Central movement launches the first of three "deliberation days" early next month.
The June 9 event will bring 600 participants to the University of Hong Kong in the city's first attempt to forge consensus by deliberation, organisers of the civil disobedience campaign for universal suffrage say.
Each of the three "D-Days" would seek different discussion objectives, said Dr Benny Tai Yiu-ting, an HKU law professor who proposed the Occupy Central plan. "We expect the first deliberation day to set the agenda of the movement and start discussing the understanding of various components of the movement, such as non-violent protest, civil disobedience and referendums."
We expect the first deliberation day to set the agenda of the movement and start discussing the understanding of various components of the movement, such as non-violent protest, civil disobedience and referendums
The idea of a deliberation day is borrowed from Stanford University professor James Fishkin's book of the same title. It is a decision-making process that advocates direct participation by citizens.
The concept forms an integral part of the Occupy Central movement, which is named for its last resort - to rally 10,000 protesters in July next year to block roads in Central in a push for democracy in the city.
The first D-Day will be the smallest in scale, comprising 500 supporters of Occupy Central and 100 members of the public invited randomly by the HKU public opinion programme. It would cost at least HK$200,000 and the group aimed to raise funds from the public, Tai said.
That will be followed by a second day in September and the third early next year - expected to draw at least 10,000 people.