We don't need another Occupy: Joshua Wong reveals new approach and plan for referendum on Hong Kong's post-2047 future
A year on from class boycott that triggered 79-day sit-ins, Scholarism convenor takes long view with plan for crunch vote in 15 years
Student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung said another civil disobedience movement "will not be of much help" for Hong Kong in the next few years, as the 79-day Occupy movement taught him the need to change people's belief that democracy is only achievable under the government's rules.
Scholarism convenor Wong - a key player in the protests last year - says his group is considering a campaign to advocate "self-determination" for Hong Kong and amend its mini-constitution to achieve "genuine democracy".
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The Basic Law stipulates that when Hong Kong elects its leader by popular ballot, a committee shall be responsible for nominating candidates. Scholarism and pan-democratic parties want the public to be allowed to put forward hopefuls.
"We hope that in three years, we can set up [new bodies to monitor the government] and a civil referendum system … and the long-term goal is to organise a vote to determine Hong Kong's political future after 2047," Wong said, referring to the expiry date of Beijing's 50-year promise under the "one country, two systems" formula.
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Wong, a 19-year-old Open University student, added that in such a vote, which could be held in 2030, Hongkongers should be allowed to choose from three options: continuing "one country, two systems"; adopting the mainland's systems; or independence after 2047.
But Wong says he is not a "pro-independence" activist because he does not think independence is the city's "only option".
Beijing has repeatedly warned against the rise of pro-independence sentiment in Hong Kong, and hinted it would not recognise any kind of "referendum".
But Wong believes that if the new bodies that monitor the government become popular and a mature voting system can be set up, the 2030 "referendum" will put much greater pressure on the authorities.
"It is crucial the pan-democratic parties push this with us, but … I am disappointed they are still calling for the government to restart the political reform process," Wong said.
In June, the pan-democrats voted down the government's reform package to achieve universal suffrage for the chief executive in 2017.
"The people's mindset has to change … because what if the government relaunches the political reform process and Beijing comes up with the same stringent framework" it set last year, Wong added.
"[All this] cannot be achieved by civil disobedience … in the future we will have civil disobedience but it won't help much in the next two years."
Labour Party lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan told the the pan-democrats' and Scholarism's plans and demands were not mutually exclusive.
One year ago today, university students launched a five-day class boycott in protest against Beijing's ruling on Hong Kong electoral reform.
Scholarism joined the sit-in outside the government's headquarters on September 26 and it evolved into the largest social movement since the 500,000-strong rally against national security laws in 2003.
Asked whether he had any regrets about the movement, Wong said the decision-making could have been better. "Some people said if we had escalated action the week after [the police fired tear gas on] September 28 … the government may have backed down in two months."
