These are the best of times, these are the worst of times. Since the 1980s, Hong Kong has repeatedly been oppressed by Beijing, but after every defeat, Hong Kongers have stood up again and carried on the struggle.
In the past, the territory’s pro-democracy groups placed their hope in reforming the colonial system through “democratic reunification” and achieving self-governance through “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” with “a high degree of autonomy.”
However, China’s increasingly rampant interference in Hong Kong’s affairs has shown this path to be a dead end. Consequently, localist factions arose that are critical of the existing strategy and advocate self-determination.
Through many years’ hard work, localist parties have gained the support of nearly 20 percent of the voting public. However, this success has inspired other localist groups to be opportunistic and do adventuristic things.
Hong Kong legislators-elect Yau Wai-ching (游蕙禎) and Sixtus “Baggio” Leung (梁頌恆) of the Youngspiration party have been banned from taking their seats in the Legislative Council after changing the words when taking their oaths. Their behavior has caused an uproar, all because of their poorly thought-through political attitude.
The humiliation the two are suffering should be a wake-up call for localist factions, as it shows that some changes need to be made.
With a powerful country on their doorstep, Hong Kongers have to win the sympathy of pan-democrats and even some centrists. Even if these people do not yet appreciate the need for self-determination, they do want democracy and autonomy.
In past struggles between different political strategies, there has been a failure to distinguish between two kinds of people: On the one hand are enemies willing to sell out Hong Kong, and on the other are worthy forerunners who are simply trapped in the limitations of their times.
The adventuristic actions of some localist groups have caused problems for the entire opposition camp, and they must sincerely apologize for that.
Confirming Hong Kong’s national status cannot be based on a negation of China.
What do Hong Kongers have to be proud of? It has nothing to do with purity of breeding. Rather, it is because they have fought for the collective interests of the community, borne witness to the development of Hong Kong’s society and lived through the joys and sorrows of Hong Kongers.
While Hong Kongers must resist China’s invasion, they cannot stand taller by belittling Chinese. Rather, they should try to keep working to make Hong Kong a better place.
If Hong Kongers want to be self-reliant, they need to look further afield and demonstrate the contributions they have made to the free world. They must try hard to find allies in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian nations and establish an alliance against Chinese hegemony through people-to-people links.
Only by so doing can Hong Kongers safeguard themselves. They should also show neighborly concern for China.
Even though the prospects for the democratization of China are dim, Hong Kongers should still have empathy and show concern for the freedom and rights of people living in continental East Asia.
In the past, arguments about whether Hong Kong should commemorate the tragic repression of China’s 1989 democracy movement caused discord between localists and pan-democrats. However, Hong Kongers are all members of the free world. Everyone was moved to see how the students in Beijing strove for their dream of liberty. How could that feeling of sympathy be confined by national borders?
The sympathy that people felt at the time of those tragic events also encouraged more Hong Kongers to take the path of protest. The events of the past cannot be forgotten. The tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party regime and the anxiety that Hong Kongers felt on that momentous night must not be forgotten.
Those memories should make Hong Kongers all the more determined to take control of their own destiny.
Eric Tsui is the author of A Natural History of Hong Kong.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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