End for a muddled movement?

The evening drizzle that had set in dampened none of the enthusiasm of the crowd that had gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park attending a 4 June remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. As speakers took their turn on a wet stage, hundreds of earnest young faces came alight in the glow of candles held fervently aloft. They sat quietly, some with parents, as mourners bowed repeatedly before an illuminated memorial, tears streaking many faces.

It was evident that this gathering was an intergenerational mark of solidarity. Yet, incredibly, the main beneficiaries of this public outpouring were conspicuous by their absence. Gone were the student firebrands who had vociferously flirted with causes from democracy to independence. 

The decision taken two years ago to split from the mainstream 4 June rally is an odd turn of events. Student movements across the world have been naturally supportive of global struggles. 

The Internationale, a rousing anthem of the left since the nineteenth century, has been sung in this city where it has been a torment for authorities to coax the mainland national anthem out of unwilling tongues.

So why the volte-face? One answer lies in its focus on localism, which seeks a shrinking of activity into something clearly defined and with a direct relationship to Hong Kong. Practicality trumps passion. Yet, erratic leadership has put off many students from union participation.

In June 2016, Paul Liu Chun-sing of the Hong Kong Federation of Students made the astounding revelation that a democratic China would spell the end of Hong Kong’s special identity as this territory would then be the same as Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen. He went on to say, “We wouldn’t fly all the way to Cuba and North Korea to fight for their democracy… Human beings are selfish, and we should admit that.” 

While this thinking is wrong on all counts, it reveals both political naivety and a deep fear. Student leaders know they lost a remarkable opportunity for a mainstream voice when the antics of their elected tyros cost them legislative council seats while gaining little, save for public derision and prison time. 

Quite chuckleheaded though is the assumption that their movement can survive in a vacuum. Boycotting a rally that holds genuine meaning for many while rubbishing student sacrifices elsewhere has alienated the very people whose support provided the oxygen that enabled the Occupy Umbrella Movement to run on for three months. 

Student awakening is a rite of passage that energises family, society and the polity. The more robust the discussion — howsoever unpalatable to politicians — the better it is for society as a whole. It permits a safe venting of steam and presents novel solutions. Youthful passion is the fuel that drives society forward. 

The disparaging argument that student movements are simply an Oedipal clash with the authority figure of the State is debatable. It is a fact that since the 1960s and 1970s, young people around the world have taken to the streets for a number of causes with surprising results.

The 1970 Kent State University shootings in Ohio by the National Guard lit the tinder that saw anti-war student protest explode across the US. It eventually, saw America pull out of Vietnam. South Korean students have taken to the streets since the 1960s to fight for democracy. The ferocity with which the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising (against the unpopular government of military strongman Chun Doo-hwan) was put down shocked the world and helped pave the way for civilian rule by the 1990s.

The Thammasat University massacre in Bangkok on October 6 , 1976 saw scores of pro-democracy students killed when the police sealed the university to pour in withering fire aided by right-wing thugs who shot and killed many as they leaped into the river to flee. In India, in 1977, students played a major role to evict the hated Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Student movements the world over — when they won, or even when they spectacularly failed — have left an indelible mark on society, culture, and politics. Huge sacrifices have been made. It is a tragic departure from the universal script then to see Hong Kong’s student leaders opting to intellectually maroon their movement in ‘selfish’ solitary confinement. 

Vijay Verghese is a Hong Kong-based journalist and editor of the online magazines AsianConversations.com and SmartTravelAsia.com