-
Advertisement
Occupy Central
OpinionLetters

Letters | For Hong Kong, Occupy is history: but where’s the healing for divided city?

  • The issues that caused the 2014-15 protests to spiral out of control were real and important. Jailing the protest leaders won’t make them go away

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A candlelight vigil in support of the jailed members of the so-called “Umbrella Nine” democracy activists, at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in Hong Kong, on April 24, 2019. Photo: Bloomberg
Letters
I am writing in response to the article, “Occupy is over but deep social issues remain” (April 29). The 79-day Occupy Central protests in 2014-15 affected everyone in the city, whether they were for or against the cause. And now, after all the convictions and sentencing are over, the general feeling in Hong Kong is that no one is allowed to speak out or vote for what they want.

But is the government taking this issue seriously? Besides taking all the Occupy leaders to court, they have done nothing to resolve the issues that led to the movement, pretending instead that those political and social problems do not exist.

The movement was not the only factor that divided Hong Kong – the characterisation of the Beijing-Hong Hong relationship by the previous city government also did so. What Hongkongers want is a chance to be heard, and trust from the government. They just want to let others know what a part of the population wants. All the government has to do is to show they are listening.

Advertisement

Michael Mak, Tseung Kwan O

An Occupy Central protester runs from tear gas fired by police in the early hours of September 28, 2014. Photo: Sam Tsang
An Occupy Central protester runs from tear gas fired by police in the early hours of September 28, 2014. Photo: Sam Tsang
Advertisement

Occupy Central didn’t just cause divisions, it revealed them

I agree with Alice Wu that Occupy protests divided this city, and also that it had been divided long before the tents went up; that the movement may have disrupted life, but it had already been done by the dysfunctional politics.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x