Localist group in Mong Kok violence unlikely to make headway in Hong Kong political arena

The Mong Kok riot has thrown the city’s mushrooming localism movement into the spotlight once again, but observers doubt the groups can make significant headway in the political arena even though they succeeded in mobilising the crowds in Monday’s clashes.

Propelled overnight into prominence was Hong Kong Indigenous, which said yesterday about 20 of its members were arrested for taking part in the violence. Among them was spokesman Edward Leung Tin-kei, a candidate in the Legislative Council by-election on February 28.

EXPLAINED: Who are Hong Kong Indigenous and what was their role in the Mong Kok protest and riot?

Leung, a 24-year-old University of Hong Kong student, was seen at the forefront of the protest that began on Monday over unlicensed hawkers being subjected to spot checks by the authorities.

Group member Ray Wong Toi-yeung – who was spotted at the height of the fracas with police atop a damaged taxi – has denied the group was the agent provocateur behind the riot, even though it made a midnight appeal online urging people to join Leung’s “election parade” in Mong Kok and to bring protective gear.

Chung Kim-wah, director of Polytechnic University’s centre for social policy studies, described Leung and Wong’s group as having played a role in “kickstarting” the mayhem and drawing in many “freeriders” who might not have been their supporters.

“Wong has been a high-profile radical figure and is known to be on the far end of the localists’ spectrum,” Chung said.

“I don’t think he or his group was able to summon such a large crowd. But what we must admit is once they came out, many other people who are discontented with Leung Chun-ying’s administration will take the chance and vent their anger.”

READ MORE: Shots fired and bricks thrown – Hong Kong tense after Mong Kok mob violence on first day of Lunar New Year

Localism has its roots in discontent at what Hongkongers see as the rising influence of the mainland on the city’s autonomy. Many in the movement say they want to reclaim Hong Kong for those born in the city, not newcomers, but they differ on how to go about achieving their agendas.

In the case of Hong Kong Indigenous and similar groups, Chung said they were unlikely to gain any significant advantage in the election because moderates from both the pro-establishment and the pan-democratic camps were likely to snub anyone they consider to be radical. But radical groups would likely continue to operate a kind of “city guerilla warfare”, exploiting issues to mobilise street crowds.

Professor Stephen Chan Ching-kiu, of Lingnan University’s cultural studies department, echoed Chung’s views. He said the “disturbances” stemmed from unresolved problems.

“All these problems and dissatisfaction remained unresolved after the Umbrella Movement, but the government has not taken any initiative to address them, if not making the situation worse,” he said. “The hawkers issue is not anything new and is just a contingent factor which triggers such huge protests.”

Chan said Hong Kong Indigenous could neither represent young people nor those who backed localism. “But if the government ... refuses to address the root of the problems, the groups which advocate violent protests might win further support as Hongkongers see no way out.”

No Hong Kong Indigenous members could be reached for comment yesterday.

While localist groups often share similar views on immigration issues and emphasise priority should be given to locals rather than new mainland immigrants and tourists in resource allocation, Chung believed localist groups that were not militant or who advocated “valiant” strategies would be more successful. He pointed to the NeoDemocrats founded by former Democrat Gary Fan Kwok-wai, as an example of a localist group that could change the political landscape.

The lawmaker’s party, which has advocated a “Hong Kong people first” approach in government policy formulation, was a big winner in November’s district council election, with 15 out of 16 candidates winning seats.

Not all localist groups identified with the protest. Hong Kong Localism Power suspected Hong Kong Indigenous’ motives in getting involved. It said on its Facebook page that the latter was “helping Edward Leung Tin-kei’s campaign”.

Wong Yeung-tat, leader of Civic Passion, said his group kept its distance from the mayhem. “I joined only after I heard police fired the two warning shots. I didn’t mobilise anyone and only went there to see if anyone was seeking help,” he said.

Derek Lam Shun-hin, a core member of student activist group Scholarism, complained of police abuse of power yesterday after he was arrested at the airport.

The Chinese University student was intercepted as he was about to fly to Taiwan. Lam was later escorted by police to his home in Western. His group said in a statement that police had tried to search his home without a court warrant and only called it off after his lawyer arrived to assist.

Police denied this and said officers had secured Lam’s consent to search his home and later obtained a court warrant.

Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong Chi-fung said he and Lam were in Mong Kok but left at around 2am on Monday.