About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (November 28, 2014)

handle is hein.crs/govcazp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.ri E~$~ & November 28, 2014 Protests in Hong Kong: The Umbrella Movement (Update) Students and others took to the streets of Hong Kong on September 23, 2014, launching a protest movement that its organizers now call the Umbrella Movement. That first day, a group of students organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and another student organization, Scholarism, marched through central Hong Kong to protest against the an August 31, 2014, decision by China's National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) that would restrict the number of candidates for the city's next Chief Executive and the way they may be selected. Over the two months of sit-ins that followed, the movement raised questions about the limits of Hong Kong's autonomy from China, the ability of Hong Kong's Legislative Council (Legco) to pass reforms that could lead to a more democratic government in Hong Kong, the socio- economic policies of the administration of Chief Executive (CE) Leung Chun-ying (C. Y. Leung), and the proper role of the United States and other nations in the ongoing political crisis. The current Chief Executive was selected by a 1,200- member Election Committee, consistent with Article 45 of the Basic Law, a 1990 law enacted by China's National People's Congress as Hong Kong's mini-constitution. That same article, however, states that, The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures. The NPCSC August 31 decision allows the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage provided that a 1,200-person Nominating Committee nominates only two or three candidates, and that those candidates receive the support of a majority of the Nominating Committee members. In addition, the NPCSC decision specifies that the Nominating Committee is to be created in accordance with the number of members, composition, and formation method of the current Election Committee. The protesters and other pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong maintain that the nomination process required by the NPCSC would produce a nomination committee that is not broadly representative and would preclude the nomination of pro- democracy candidates. The protesters initially called for Chief Executive Leung's resignation and retraction of the NPCSC's August 31 decision. More recently, their main demand has been the ability to elect the Chief Executive by genuine universal suffrage, and to meet with Hong Kong officials to discuss ways of achieving that goal. In its initial days, support for the student protesters grew. An estimated 30,000-50,000 people gathered in Admiralty (near Tamar Park) on September 28, in response to a call from HKFS and Scholarism. Around 6:00 pm that day, Hong Kong police began firing tear gas into the crowd of protesters and sprayed others with pepper spray. The use of tear gas and pepper spray continued for over six hours. Protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves from the pepper spray and tear gas, prompting the protesters to adopt the umbrella as the symbol of the demonstrations. The following day, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the postponement of planned public consultations on election reforms until we have settled down for a while the sentiments that we are now seeing in society. The use of tear gas, pepper spray, and riot gear appeared to rally greater popular support for the protests, as well as spread the demonstrations across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. On the nights of September 29 and 30, an estimated 100,000 people gathered in Admiralty, near most of Hong Kong's main government buildings, and hundreds rallied in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, to protest the use of tear gas and support the protests. Over the following week, the number of demonstrators at the three main locations-Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok-declined, but the Hong Kong government appeared to make no overt effort to stop the demonstrations. Anti-protest groups appeared, complaining about the economic impact and inconvenience caused by the protests, especially in Mong Kok. On October 8, the Hong Kong government and HKFS agreed to hold talks on October 10. The following day, Chief Secretary Lam cancelled the talks because she realised that the basis for a constructive dialogue between us and the students has been seriously undermined, apparently in response to a call from HKFS and Scholarism for supporters to gather in Admiralty to show support. On October 16, Chief Executive Leung announced that the Hong Kong Government was reaching out to HKFS via unnamed middlemen to reschedule the cancelled talks. Those talks, rescheduled to October 21, were held live on local television, but yielded no specific results. No subsequent talks have been held. Two separate civil court cases have been brought against the demonstrators for blocking roads. The owners of CITIC Tower in Admiralty asked the courts to open the roads around their building, and Hong Kong taxi drivers asked the courts to open several major roads that protestors had blocked in Mong Kok. The Admiralty injunction was enforced by bailiffs of the court, with police support, on November 18 without incident. The police removed the barricades and protesters in the Mong Kok on November 25 and 26; over 100 protesters were arrested. .O 'T mppm qq\ p\w gmmw' ggmm a 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most