Student leader Alex Chow tells how he copes with parental pressure
Activist tells how 'pro-establishment moderate' family worry about his high profile in protests
It's not just politicians who are piling the pressure on student leader Alex Chow Yong-kang - he's also getting it in the neck from his parents.
The 24-year-old Federation of Students chief has become a household name and won a host of admirers since heading a class boycott that escalated into the start of the Occupy Central movement. But his family isn't entirely convinced, he revealed in an interview with the Post.
"I would describe my parents as pro-establishment moderates," Chow says, smiling. "They bombard me with phone messages … and send me articles that call for a halt to Occupy."
Just yesterday, his father, who works overseas, sent him an article by Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee, in which the legal scholar urged the students to stop the occupation.
"I won't reply to his message. I feel so much pressure!" Chow says, noting that his parents worry about his health, as well as the risk of waning public support.
Pressure also comes from pan-democratic politicians, he says. Some counsel moderation, while others favour radicalism.