HK Eye | Nothing but sceptics on Occupy Central idea

Is the plan an exercise of democracy?

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Nothing but sceptics on Occupy Central idea

Published: 5:14pm, 15 Apr 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

As the South China Morning Post looks at the organisers behind Occupy Central - Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chu Yiu-ming, Chan Kin-man and others - a few non-Hong Kong media looked at the bigger picture.

Plans for Occupy Central, a civil disobedience movement planned for July 2014 to advocate universal suffrage, have led Beijing supporters “to warn that civic disruption could harm Hong Kong’s status as a leading centre for business in Asia”, writes Jonathan Manthorpe, columnist for The Vancouver Sun and a former Hong Kong-based correspondent.

Manthorpe makes clear that Beijing has no intention of living up to its promise on free elections:

Beijing has repeatedly deferred the reforms, saying Hong Kong is not politically mature enough to be allowed democracy. More recently, Beijing officials have said Western-style democracy is not culturally appropriate for Hong Kong.

Radio Australia spoke to Richard Cullen, visiting professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, who said he has noticed a shift in mood in recent days as well as a new level of negativity in Hong Kong politics.

At the extreme end of the pan-democrats, you’ve got those who call for the end of the one party state, and they would like to see the entire Communist Party drowned in the Yellow Sea as soon as possible. But more realistic ones know something has got to give, and I think there’s a shift in the mood in the last two or three weeks in Hong Kong to a bit more pragmatism. But the sides are very, very far apart.