Hong Kong protesters should take heed of the 1968 French revolt
Some Hong Kong protesters, perhaps students of French, held up a banner of one of the most famous slogans from the May 1968 student revolt in France: "Be realistic, demand the impossible".
Some Hong Kong protesters, perhaps students of French, held up a banner of one of the most famous slogans from the May 1968 student revolt in France: "Be realistic, demand the impossible".
But when you demand the impossible, the outcome is usually predictable: you get nothing. The students could learn more from the history of the revolt than just a slogan. The classroom, rather than the streets, may be a good place to start.
The French uprising led by students and later joined by workers lasted roughly one month. It was often referred to as the revolution that never was. Like Hong Kong, it too demanded participatory democracy for the grassroots. And for a short period, the Fifth Republic under Charles de Gaulle looked like it could collapse. But for all the fireworks, it was nothing compared to 1848, 1830 and 1789. De Gaulle called an election and won a landslide. The French economy quickly recovered. The revolt achieved minor reforms within the national university system but little else.
What I learned most from 1968, and think is applicable to our current crisis, was a warning attributed to Pierre Mendès France, a senior French politician at the time. "We should not discourage the Latin Quarter," he reportedly said. "The future elite of the nation, the students of today should not come out of this crisis with their hopes frustrated, bitter, resigned in spite of themselves to a world they look on with disgust."
The "umbrella revolution" is no revolution. The demands of activists for Beijing to retract its flawed election proposal and for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to resign will come to naught. Because of tactical and organisational errors, the protesters occupied the wrong places, and so quickly lost public support. If they had taken over not just Tamar but also university campuses rather than busy grassroots districts, they could last a lot longer. Now, the protests are burning themselves out.
Nevertheless, it's clear we have a youth problem, not just an ageing population. We need to take their political aspirations seriously and create greater economic opportunities and social mobility for them. We cannot risk alienating a generation of young people filled with frustration and hate against the establishment.
