Hong Kong: Hong Kongers have delivered a clarion call for change over the last fortnight with a landslide local election defeat for the government and more than one in ten hitting the streets peacefully on Sunday — but will Beijing listen? Monday marks the sixth month anniversary of a movement that has upended the semi-autonomous Chinese hub’s reputation for stability and blanketed its streets with unprecedented scenes of political violence.
But the last two weeks has seen a dramatic drop-off in clashes and vandalism — something the city’s pro-Beijing leadership has insisted must be a precursor to any meaningful dialogue. The question on many lips now is whether chief executive Carrie Lam — and Beijing — will take the opportunity to reach out before anger explodes once more.
“Ignoring our voices will only make the snowball get bigger and bigger and there will be consequences to that,” Bonnie Leung, a prominent figure within the pro-democracy movement’s more moderate wing, told AFP. The rare period of calm began in the run up to city-wide local polls in late November — the only election with universal suffrage.
Millions turned out tipping pro-establishment parties out of office and flipping all but one of the city’s 18 local councils to the pro-democracy camp. The vote shattered government claims that a “silent majority” opposed the protests.
Then on Sunday the city witnessed its largest mass rally estimating some 800,000 people turned out, a vivid illustration of the public frustration that still seethes under the surface. (AFP)
