Joshua Wong

I moved once a year until I was 8. I grew up mainly in Sai Ying Pun and Ap Lei Chau’s South Horizons. The first time I took part in an actual civil movement was during the anti-High Speed Rail protests. I realized from the protests that younger people can change those in important and powerful positions. The most memorable moment during the anti-national education protests was seeing 120,000 people occupying Tamar’s Civic Square. I was looking out the window on the 10th floor of the Legislative Council building. I would never have imagined that I could start something this big as a 15-year-old. The discussion on public nomination and electoral reform is really boring. Before Occupy Central’s deliberation day, I wrote a Q&A about electoral reform. Writing those 3,000 words was so tedious! Why do we need public nomination? It’s easier to explain than you think. I ask students: is it a real choice when you can only choose between Langham Place in Mong Kok and Kwun Tong’s Apm? The inside is very similar: you end up eating Pepper Lunch anyway. It’s much more complicated now. It’s tough figuring out why this politician is demanding this, or why this politician is teaming up with that one. The Alliance For True Democracy is breaking apart. There’s talk about kicking out [radical democrats] People Power. I think that most Hongkongers are tired of these discussions, considering even someone like me, who cares about politics, is as well. During the anti-national education protests, we all had the same goal: to get the government to retract the proposal. With the electoral reform, many groups seem to be on the same side, but the goals can be rather different. It’s the first time that a student group put forward a electoral reform proposal, and already our proposal has beat that of the Alliance of True Democracy by twice the number of votes. This win has upset the pan-democrats’ original plan and it’s a little awkward. Our proposal is straightforward. The nomination committee should be formed in a fair way, and every citizen should have the chance to nominate the future Chief Executive. Some might think that the goal is unattainable. But you only fight for something if it doesn’t exist to begin with. We students will devote our time and effort to trying. Albert Ho asked me on the radio, “Do you really think Beijing will accept public nomination?” I said, “I watched you oppose Article 23 when I was in primary school and you succeeded.” He didn’t have anything to say to that. The Democrats must think that we’re very annoying. Compromising before you even begin fighting is illogical. Grown-ups like to talk about political realities and the broader context. But the broader context is that Beijing won’t give you what you want. If you don’t persist, then it’s only more likely that they won’t listen to you. I have no problems with negotiating. But before doing that, you better have some bargaining chips. If you don’t have that, how do you fight a war? Teachers have always said my only strength is talking and that I talk very fast. That’s proven to be very helpful in debates. My favorite leisure activity is to eat. I’ve had more opportunities to eat good stuff after taking part in activism. It feels awesome being able to eat delicious foods with important people. Some say I’m a political fanatic. That’s crazy. I’m just a normal person. My life is more than politics and activism. I don’t really talk about politics in school. Not all of my schoolmates know what I’m up to. Some people think that my parents are into activism as well. That’s not true. The last things they went to were the anti-national education gatherings and the Article 23 protests. I got to meet Wang Dan, one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He just feels like a middle-aged man. He bought a bunch of potato chips from the convenience store at the end of the day. He doesn’t really talk about the Tiananmen Square protests. We discussed potato chips. I get it—I feel bored talking about electoral reform. Poor thing—he’s been talking about June 4 for more than 20 years! But I really respect him. It’s true that I don’t have a lot to worry about as a secondary school student. I don’t worry about buying a house or my career for now. I won’t leave Hong Kong. Taiwan is not that much better. You might think they’re better and they might think we’re better. The grass is greener on the other side. Find out what Joshua’s up to at www.facebook.com/joshuawongchifung.