Umbrella Movement

This article is about the political movement in Hong Kong. For related protests in Hong Kong also known as the Umbrella Revolution, see 2014 Hong Kong protests.

Umbrella Movement

A common symbol
Date	26 September 2014 (26 September 2014) – 15 December 2014
Location	Hong Kong
Organised by	Civil disobedience movement
Participants	Scholarism Hong Kong Federation of Students Occupy Central with Love and Peace Civil Human Rights Front Civic Party Democratic Party Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood Labour Party League of Social Democrats People Power Power for Democracy Civic Passion

Umbrella Movement
Colours of Labour Party, Democratic Party, Civic Party, CTU, League of Social Democrats and ADPL flying in Umbrella Square
Traditional Chinese	雨傘運動
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin yǔsǎn yùndòng Wade–Giles jyu5 saan3 wan6 dung6 Hakka Romanization Yi3san4 Yun4tung4

The Umbrella Movement is a loose pro-democracy political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong Police, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.

The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 26 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace are groups principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision. Since the start of the 2014 protests, movement activists have complained of harassment from political opponents "alarmingly similar to the way mainland Chinese activists and their families have long been targeted".

Names

The term 'Occupy Central' (佔中) is commonly used to describe the occupy campaign in Hong Kong, named after a group that has advocated a civil disobedience protest since 2013. The name 'Umbrella Revolution' was coined by Adam Cotton on Twitter on 29 September, in reference to the umbrellas used for defence against tear gas, and quickly gained widespread acceptance. The name was later rejected by some prominent members and supporters of the Occupy Central campaign who were not comfortable with the supposed violent connotations of the name, and concerned as to how it would be perceived by Chinese authorities. They emphasised that the movement was not a colour revolution but rather a demand for free and fair elections, and proposed the name 'Umbrella Movement' as an alternative.

Since there is no true leadership or formal organisation overall, both names have been used by the participants at the same time. Some participants that oppose peaceful protests, including Civic Passion, oppose the name of Umbrella Movement.

Political movement

Main article: Reactions to the 2014 Hong Kong protests

Echo of the occupation in campus

Almost all students in universities of Hong Kong were in echo of 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, and fully supported the "Umbrella Movement". Many secondary schools established political reform concern groups, for supporting student protests and "Umbrella Movement". In addition, after the Lion Rock was suspended a giant banner "I need real universal suffrage", in Hong Kong universities such as University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong secondary schools such as King's College, Queen's College, Immaculate Heart of Mary College, St. Paul's College, small copies of Lion Rock banners were hung.

Echo of the occupation in Hong Kong areas

On 23 October at the peak of Lion Rock, mountaineering enthusiasts "Spiderman" and his companions hung a giant banner "I need real universal suffrage", which made a sensation in Hong Kong; but on the next day it was dismantled by the government. Since then the public launched the campaign of "demolish one, hang ten", on each of Hong Kong mountains and islands, including Tai Mo Shan, Devil's Peak, Tai Tung Shan, Castle Peak, the Peak, Kowloon Peak, Tung Ping Chau and so on, banners "I need real universal suffrage" were hung, while on the Lion Rock many times during and after the occupation, banners "I need real universal suffrage" were hung again. In addition, between 30 September and 2 October, various areas in Hong Kong were in echo of the occupation, including nearby the MTR Sheung Shui Station (30 September), Sham Shui Po, Kwai Shing East, Tai Wai, Tuen Mun, Chai Wan, Kwun Tong and other places.

Echo of the occupation in home and abroad

New campus of University of Macau, which is located on Zhuhai was hung with banner "Macau also need real universal suffrage", similar that of Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution, for echoing the street protests in the occupied territories of Hong Kong.

Solidarity rallies in home and abroad

3,000–4,000 people gathered outside Chinese Embassy London to support the protests in Hong Kong on 1 October 2014

Rallies in support of the protests have occurred in over 64 cities worldwide, principally in front of Hong Kong trade missions or Chinese consulates. The demonstration in front of the Chinese embassy in London attracted 3000 participants. Petitions in Australia and to the White House urging support for the protests have collected more than 500 and 183,000 signatures respectively. In Taipei, locals organised a solidarity protest, where participants were reported to have scuffled with Taiwanese police after crowding a Hong Kong trade office. On 1 October, a gathering in Taipei's Liberty Square drew over 10,000 people in support of the protests. At the East Asian Cup qualifying match against Hong Kong on 16 November, Taiwanese football fans waved yellow umbrellas in a show of support. While the Chinese national anthem played, spectators sang "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies". In Singapore, hundreds of people participated in a candlelight vigil at Hong Lim Park on 1 October to show support to the Occupy Central protesters. In Australia, during the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, Hong Kong student Alvin Cheng and Nardo Wai started a 4-hour rally in support for the Umbrella Revolution on the lawn near the South Bank Parkland Suncorp Piazza outside the G20 summit venue. Numerous oversea students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China participated in the rally. A few days ago, Nardo participated in a hunger strike, and unfurled a banner with "Support HK Umbrella Revolution" outside the hotel in which Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping was scheduled to stay, but were banned from the G20 security zones, doubted by media Australia losing its democracy.

Process

Occupation time

The duration of each occupied territory is as follows:

• Admiralty occupied territory: 26 September to 11 December
• Causeway Bay occupied territory: 28 September to 15 December
• Mong Kok occupied territory: 28 September to 27 November
• Tsim Sha Tsui occupied territory: 1 to 3 October

Events

Some of the major historical events in "Umbrella Movement" are closely related to the occupied territories, including but not limited to the following events:

• 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign (22–26 September)
• Action of regaining the "Civic Plaza" (26–27 September)
• "Occupy Central" official launch (28 September – 3 December)
• "September 28" action of tear gas dispersion (28–29 September)
• Disperse and clearance operation in Mong Kok (25–27 November)
• "Aligned with the regime, vows fight democracy" operation of surrounding the government headquarters (30 November – 1 December)
• Clearance operation in Admiralty (11 December)
• Clearance operation in Causeway Bay (15 December)

De facto membership

See also: Direct democracy and Consensus decision-making

The movement is composed of many fractious groups, but has no leadership or formal organisation overall, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) are among the most prominent groups, whose agendas differ and may even oppose each other. Although the term "Occupy Central" was often used interchangeably in the press to describe the protests and the movement, OCLP declared themselves as supporters rather than the organisers of the protest, stated that the ongoing protest "[was] the Umbrella Movement, not 'Occupy Central'". Colours and members of the following groups have been regularly seen on site during the occupation:

• Civil Human Rights Front
• Civic Party
• Democratic Party
• Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood
• Labour Party
• League of Social Democrats
• People Power
• Civic Passion
• Valiant Frontier

Philosophical principles

OCLP, the originators of the campaign, as well as the student groups – HKFS and Scholarism – adopted and adhered to the principle of non-violent civil disobedience and the willingness to assume the consequential legal responsibility. The protesters' politeness, tidiness and "staunch adherence to nonviolence" was widely commented on. Protesters have written signs to apologise for the inconvenience caused and to denounce isolated incidents of vandalism.

The civil disobedience actions opened up debate within and outside Hong Kong as to its effect on the rule of law.

Factional philosophical and tactical differences

Important philosophical and tactical differences between the students and OCLP have been noted. While the 3-day OCLP civil disobedience was due to start on 1 October, to send a message without causing major disruption; students wanted immediate occupation and staged a sit-in on 26 September. OCLP's hand was effectively forced by the turn of events, and their proclamation of the start of the civil disobedience campaign met with widespread criticism that the action was not "Occupy Central". OCLP's goal from the outset was passive resistance campaign of a defined duration, after which they would surrender to the police; their plan was to not resist removal or clearance, and there is radical sentiment of students and others to resist and escalate. The scale of the protests exceeded the expectations of most people, including the groups involved, and after police manifestly failed to contain and control the gathering crowds even through use of tear gas on 28 September, demonstrators did not heed the advice of the HKFS and others to de-escalate to avoid the possibility of use of heavier weaponry.

After the Mong Kok occupiers and occupation site were attacked by anti-occupation protesters, Benny Tai of OCLP, Lester Shum of the HKFS, and Agnes Chow of Scholarism urged immediate retreat from Mong Kok, to regroup at Admiralty to avoid violence and bloodshed, but their calls were not heeded. As another example of tactical divisions, not-so-passive occupiers re-seized the Mong Kok encampment after it was initially cleared by police. The divisions within the movement appear to have been most marked at the Mong Kok occupation site, where a left–right split followed the central divide on Nathan Road. Student groups and liberal NGOs mostly occupy the western carriageway, while groups with a more radical agenda urging more direct and confrontational protest actions sited themselves on the eastern side of the road. Civic Passion, which denigrates moderates and has even denounced student leaders as "useless", saw its influence in the movement increase as time went by as ordinary suffragists drifted back to their daily lives.

The Straits Times noted, after 33 days of occupation, that the two sides in the impasse seem entrenched and hawks gaining the upper hand as moderates leave. Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man left due to exhaustion from attempting to exert a moderating influence on the more radical members of HKFS, and on hardline groups; third parties who have acted as mediators have long been sidelined. Civic Party legislator Ronny Tong said that "Any suggestion that they leave [is] not a matter of rational discussion any more".

Members of radical group Civic Passion broke into a side-entrance to the Legislative Council Complex in the early hours of 19 November, breaking glass panels with concrete tiles and metal barricades. Legislator Fernando Cheung and other suffragists tried to stop the radical activists, but were pushed aside. The break-in was criticised by all the three activist groups of the protests, and legislators from both the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing camps, although the criticism from the student groups was less than categorical. The team organising legal assistance declined to help those arrested in the attempted break-in because the violence was not compatible with the principles of the movement. Tactical divergences have caused disagreement between some more "front line" activists and organisational core (大台/大會) when the latter came under criticism for preventing excursions or escalations of the former. After a failed attempt to block off access to government headquarters overnight on 30 November 2014, OCLP leader Benny Tai urged a full withdrawal to avoid any further physical harm by "out of control" police commanded by "a government that is beyond reason". On the day the OCLP trio surrendered to the police, Scholarism leader Joshua Wong and two others had entered a hunger strike.

Demographics

According to a survey of 1562 people between 20 and 26 October at the occupied sites by two young academics published on Ming Pao, over three-quarters of the respondents were aged between 18 and 39 years of age; 37 percent of respondents were aged 24 years or below. Only 26 percent are students, while 58 percent are self-employed or white collar workers. 56 percent were educated to university or post-graduate level. In terms of motivation, 87 percent of respondents demand "real universal suffrage", 68 percent felt that their grievances were being ignored by the government, and 51 percent were angry at the police handling of the protests overall. Fifteen percent of respondents had never participated in any protests or social movements prior to the September protests.

Notwithstanding, the movement is considered very much a student movement, a defining moment where an entire generation of youths have experienced political awakening similar to the Californian Summer of Love in 1967. Hong Kong youth are seen to have broken out of a cramped or cosy domestic environment into a community built around a cause, and held together with a sense of danger. Journals and documentaries have commented on the sexual politics, and remarked at the changing sexual stereotypes the movement has brought to the city, noting that females appear to be emerging from the undercurrent that women are expected to adhere to their domestic roles, and taking more leadership roles in society. Many of the city's once-spoilt youngsters have learned self-discipline and to live within a community, and playing a role that may include janitorial tasks.

The three street camps across Hong Kong have their own distinctive character. Umbrella Square (Admiralty site), was largely dominated by students, seen to be loftier and more idealistic, and its ambiance was likened to Woodstock. Mong Kok, being a typically more working-class neighbourhood, occupation was regarded as being more earthy and more volatile. Causeway Bay, the smallest encampment with only about a dozen tents towards the end of the occupation, had a reputation for earnestness.

Organisation

Operating funding sources

See also: Gift economy and Public good

The economy in the occupied territories is mostly maintained by people's spontaneous donation, in the form of Utopia through or not through supplies station to share to the local residents. In addition, there are conspiracy theories pointed out Jimmy Lai is the main source of income in the occupied territories.

Rest areas

The people living in the occupied territories initially mainly reside on the road, lying on the ground and sleep. After 10 October 2014, by the appeal of Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism, people mainly reside inside their spontaneous tents. Then, some tents are reinforced by plastic plate or board, to cope with the rain water penetration. Later, people finish up the tabernacles, making the tent groups to have some form of small communities, such as Nathan Village, Harcourt village and so on.

Logistics

Volunteer-organized recycling station on Harcourt Road, Admiralty, inside the occupation zone

Time magazine described the organised chaos of the protest sites as "classical political anarchism: a self-organizing community that has no leader." Teams of volunteers working in shifts deal with garbage collection and recycling, security and medical care. Well-stocked supply stations dispense water and other basic necessities such as toilet paper, saline solution, instant coffee and cereal bars free of charge. The medical team in Admiralty consists of more than 200 volunteers across four stations. Wooden steps have been built to allow people to cross over the central divide of the eight-lane carriageway in Admiralty. A study area has been created, complete with desk lamps and WiFi; mobile phone charging stations are powered by electricity generators and wind turbines.

Security

Security as an issue was anticipated by OCLP, and a team of 50 marshals was put in place to secure the sites, although this was not universally welcomed. The head of the team is a professional life-guard and unionist. However, the fragmented leadership of the movement means that is complicated by some groups, which challenge the leadership of OCLP, also refuse to submit to the marshals' authority, for example, their removal of some barricades was challenged.

Communication

Some protesters have used the online forum HKGolden to communicate plans, and occasionally to dox anti-Occupy figures, in addition to inventing memes and parody songs. The operation to block Lung Wo Road on 14 October 2014 was planned on the forum. On 18 October, the police arrested a HKGolden user for urging others to join the Occupy protests in Mong Kok, charge at police cordons, and paralyse the railways. He was charged with "access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent", the first such arrest since the protests began. As of 9 November fourteen protesters have since been arrested for "access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent".

The protesters have been targeted with malware, according to a security consultancy, which believed that Chinese intelligence was responsible. Protesters used peer to peer messaging, such as WhatsApp and FireChat due to fears of the police disrupting mobile services. Mesh networks such as FireChat and Serval Mesh have the potential to circumvent government oversight even if the Internet is being shut down. Since FireChat messages are not encrypted, protesters also used Telegram.

Art and culture

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  The Umbrella Man

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  Umbrella art strung between two footbridges

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  The Umbrella Installation on the Tim Mei Avenue

Main article: Art of the Umbrella Movement

Art works and installations have appeared at protest sites, attracting interest from the world's media. These include the walls of the circular staircase leading up to the pedestrian skybridge near the entrance of Hong Kong's Central Government Office covered with multi-coloured post-it notes bearing messages of good cheer or defiance, named the "Lennon Wall" after the Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech Republic. John Lennon's song "Imagine" is often quoted on pro-democracy posters and banners, and became one of the anthems of the occupation. In addition to the use of traditional protests songs, banners, logos for the movement, installations and sculptures of all sizes have been created, including 'Umbrella Man', an iconic 3-metre statue created out of wood blocks, with an arm outstretched holding an umbrella. The umbrella and the yellow ribbon have inspired a large number of memes. The 28-metre banner hung on Lion Rock also inspired numerous memes, and a 3D scale model. An image of Xi Jinping holding an umbrella that won a top photojournalism award in China inspired another bout of meme-creation, and has appeared on banners and cardboard cut-outs. There are efforts to preserve the art, but the city's government-funded museums are uncooperative.

Mobile protests

Fearing re-occupation of the Mong Kok occupation site, in excess of 4,000 police were deployed to the area. Large crowds, ostensibly heeding a call from C. Y. Leung to return to the shops affected by the occupation, have appeared nightly in and around Sai Yeung Choi Street South (close to the former occupied site); hundreds of armed riot police charged demonstrators with shields, pepper spraying and wrestling a string of them to the ground. Protesters intent on "shopping" remained until dawn. Nightly shopping tours continued in Mong Kok, tying up some 2500 police officers, ostensibly at the behest of CY Leung to help restore the economy of the once-occupied areas. the minibus company that took out the Mong Kok injunction was in turn accused of having illegally occupying Tung Choi Street for years.

On Christmas Eve, 250 protesters marched from Southorn Playground to Civic Square. Around 7:00 pm, 500 "shopping" (referred to as "gau wu" by participants) protesters with yellow banners and umbrellas, gathered in Shantung Street, then Argyle Street and Nathan Road. Ten men and two women aged between 13 and 76 were arrested. In Causeway Bay, people hung a yellow banner on the Times Square clock tower. The banner was removed by the police. No arrests were made as the protesters were on private property. A group of students hung a banner on Lennon Wall. About 30 people had been arrested.

"Rule of Law" discourse

The rule of law is a pillar of Hong Kong society and a core value of Hong Kong, as opposed to mainland China. In an ongoing discussion since the beginning of the movement, there has been polarised definitions of "rule of law" as applied to the civil disobedience movement. The local government and Chinese state officials and media have repeatedly emphasised the aspect pertaining to obedience and respect of laws and pronounced on the illegality of the movement's occupation and protests, while pan democrats see the concept as being about the law as check and balance against absolute power of government. Even in a policy speech one month after the end of the occupation, the Chief Executive once again stated that the Umbrella movement has jeopardised the rule of law and risked plunging the territory into a state of anarchy. The tendency of the government preface with such mentions was noted in the speech of the outgoing chairman of the local Bar association, Paul Shieh, who spoke of his concern over "an increasing tendency on the part of the executive in Hong Kong, in its public statements, to emphasise the 'obey the law' aspect of the Rule of Law" in a way that mirrors practice on the mainland. Secretary of Justice Rimsky Yuen blamed the movement for "large-scale as well as sporadic unlawful activities that [bring] about blatant challenges to the rule of law". However, the Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma said people involved in the Occupation Movement have "demonstrated the respect that most people have for the rule of law and emphasised once again the pivotal position it occupies in our community". Ma reiterated that "It is no part of the courts' function to solve political questions, but only to determine legal questions even though the reason for bringing legal proceedings may be a political one."

Harassment and police violence

Before, during, and after the occupation, activists of the movement have been intimidated with threats, been victims of hacking, been put under surveillance and subjected to invasions of privacy and other forms of harassment that the Christian Science Monitor quotes analysts saying are "alarmingly similar to the way mainland Chinese activists and their families have long been targeted". All of the OCLP trio have been targeted: Chan Kin-man claims to have been subjected to all of the forms: Banners denouncing him have appeared near his home, hackers have attempted to access his email accounts, his family members have been tailed; Benny Tai has had his email account hacked, and has received hate mail and nuisance telephone calls; Chu Yiu-ming has stopped using his mobile phone due to persistent crank or threatening phone calls, his son has been followed, and also filmed when making school runs, and posters with the photographs have been seen near his home and church. Joshua Wong has had his telephone numbers (and that of his mother) and his purported address made public.

Some of the intimidation is from official sources. Activists have been arrested and had their residences searched, police have demonstrated elevated levels of violent suppression and brutality. The heavy-handed policing, including the use of tear gas on peaceful protesters, was widely credited with inspiring tens of thousands of citizens to join the protests in Admiralty. However, police spokesmen maintained that officers exercised "maximum tolerance" and blamed the violence on protesters, although this has been contradicted by the media.

Groups of anti-Occupy Central activists including triad members and locals attacked suffragists on 3 October, tearing down their tents and barricades in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. A student suffered head injuries. Journalists were also attacked. Police were criticised for reacting too lightly and too late when protesters were under attack. The Foreign Correspondents' Club accused the police of appearing to arrest alleged attackers but releasing them shortly after. Albert Ho of Democratic Party said communists in mainland China "use triads or pro-government mobs to try to attack you so the government will not have to assume responsibility."

During a police operation to clear protesters on 15 October, Civic Party member Ken Tsang was assaulted in an act graphically filmed and broadcast on local television. He was carried off with his hands tied behind his back by seven police officers; then officers took turns to punch, kick and stamp on him for about four minutes. Journalists complained that they too had been assaulted. Numerous other instances of excessive violence by police have been reported, namely the first attempted clearance of Mong Kok occupation, the Lung Wo Road clearance operation, and during the "gau wu" protests in Mong Kok.

Some individuals have also seen their freedom to travel curtailed by Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China authorities, and had their Home Return Permits revoked. The HKFS delegation led by Alex Chow was prevented from travelling to China on 15 November 2014. Airline officials informed them that mainland authorities had revoked their Home Return Permits, effectively banning them from boarding the flight to speak to government officials in Beijing. At least 30 other individuals have been similarly denied entry to the mainland. A junior member of Cathay Pacific flight crew out of Hong Kong airport was also prevented from entering Shanghai, and no reason was given. Media speculated from her Facebook account that the reason may have been her support for the movement and her attendance at the occupation site. Media sources suggest that that some 500 movement activists' names are on the PRC blacklist for inbound travel. Scholarism member Tiffany Chin (錢詩文) was detained by public security bureau officers as she landed in Kunming on a family visit on 18 February 2015; her baggage and those of her mother were searched, and officials pored over her notebooks. Chin was put under house arrest in a room in an airport hotel watched over by two officials and was forbidden from approaching windows. Chin said the officials told her that she was denied entry for endangering national security. She was permitted to return to Hong Kong the next day and her Home Return Permit was returned to her.

In December 2014, Police applied for Care and Protection Orders (CPO) for two young suffragists. Typically, CPOs are only used in severe cases of juvenile delinquency, and could lead to the minor being sent to a children's home and removed from his parents' custody. Police arrested one 14-year-old male for contempt of court during the clearance of Mong Kok and applied for a CPO. The CPO was cancelled four weeks later when the Department of Justice decided that they would not prosecute. In a second case, a 14-year-old female who drew a chalk flower onto the Lennon Wall on 23 December 2014 was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, but was not charged. A magistrate decided in favour of a CPO pursuant to a police application, deeming it "safer". The incident created uproar as she was taken away from her hearing-impaired father, and was unable to go to school. On 19 January, another magistrate rescinded the protection order for "Chalk Girl". The handling of the situation by the police raised concerns, as there was no explanation as to why the police failed to locate and consult a social worker before applying for the order in accordance with proper procedures. Use of the device against minors involved in the Umbrella movement was seen as "white terror" to deter young people from protesting.

"Umbrella soldiers"

The movement spawned new groupings such as Hong Kong Indigenous and Youngspiration seeking political change. The first wave of dilettantes, about 50 in number, many of whom were born in the new millennium having political aspirations and disillusioned with the political establishment and who were influenced by the Umbrella Revolution, contested the 2015 district council elections. Pitted against seasoned politicians, and with support only from friends and family, they are popularly known as "Umbrella Soldiers". Nine of these new politicians succeeded in getting elected; veteran pro-establishment legislators Christopher Chung and Elizabeth Quat were both ousted from their District Council seats by the newcomers.

External links

• "Hong Kong protests: Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' protesters refuse to back down". NBC News
• "Will Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement move China". Reason.com
• "Beijing just sent a chilling message to Hong Kong's umbrella revolution". Quartz
• "傘不走的女聲 Do you hear the women sing" (YouTube video). 香港基督教協進會性別公義促進小組
• "Occupy Central Sep. 29 time-lapse record" (YouTube video).
• "The end of Occupy Central Dec. 11 time-lapse record" (YouTube video).