Hong Kong citizens demand democratic safeguards for upcoming election (Umbrella Movement), 2014

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has spent the last several centuries under the control of alternating powers. In 1942, Britain began its occupation of Hong Kong, following the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking. Japan occupied the island from 1941-1946, and then Britain gained control again after the Allied Powers won World War II. 

Britain and China’s 1984 Joint Declaration established that Hong Kong would return to Chinese rule under the “one country, two systems” strategy. Under this system, Hong Kong became part of China’s communist rule while also retaining its capitalist economy and pseudo-democratic politics. 

It was not until 2007 that Beijing appeased Hong Kong’s ambitions for more democratization with the promise that the island would elect its own leader in 2017. Three years before elections for the Chief Executive Office of Hong Kong, on 31 August, Beijing announced that it would select pre-approved candidates for the chief executive office election in 2017. 

Rhetoric from the ruling HK party instilled fear that the nomination process would be controlled by elite Beijing loyalists, and the public would have no voice. Even prior to the official August screening decision, Hong Kong citizens had preemptively mobilized. Academics Chan Kin-man and Benny Tai, as well as Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming, co-founded the Occupy Central for Love and Peace (OCLP) campaign. In the spring of 2014, OCLP organized a practice sit-in and planned to engage in larger-scale civil disobedience if their fears proved to be true. 

However, upon the 31 August announcement, other groups mobilized more quickly, eventually gaining the partnership of the OCLP. From 22 September to 26 September, two student-led groups, the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and Scholarism, jointly organized a five-day strike. The students’ demands called for various steps of government action: civil nomination for the 2017 Chief Executive election, reformation of the HK Legislative Council, the resignation of Beijing-supported leaders (CY Leung, Carry Lam, Rimsky Yuen, and Raymond Tam), and a governmental apology to citizens regarding these grievances. 

On 22 September, 13,000 demonstrators (including students from over 20 colleges) staged a rally at The Chinese University of Hong Kong to launch the strike week. Faculty supported the students by teaching civics classes at the sit-in or recording lectures for participating students to watch later.

Chen Jianmen, a scholar at Chinese University and founder of OCPL, attended. Students and professionals alike gave speeches; one notable orator was Huang Biyun, pro-democracy legislator and professor at Poly University. Although professors and legislators attended, students occupied the primary leadership roles. Zhou Yongkang, secretary-general of the Federation of Students, read aloud the group’s declaration of strikes to the crowd of thousands.

At this opening rally, activists coordinated photos with their arms raised and crossed, forming an X. The pose was a symbol of their determination to strike. Some displayed banners with empowering calls to action, such as “The boycott must happen. Disobey and grasp your destiny.” Participants also wore black T-shirts with the slogan “Democracy Now” in bold lettering.

The night of 25 September, after several days of students’ striking, the HKFS led several thousand students on a march to Leung’s house. This action’s organizers generated social media attention through the protest’s bold, nearly comical imagery. The marchers carried a cardboard cut-out of Leung’s smiling face, with fangs drawn onto his teeth.

Leaders intended for the secondary school rally on the final day of the strike (26 September) to take place in Tamar Park. However, another organization was already approved to use Tamar Park to celebrate the PRC’s 65th anniversary, forcing the class boycott action to move to Tim Mei Avenue and the square outside the Legislative Council Complex. Despite the relocation, 1,500 secondary students attended, amounting to a total of around 3,000 participants. 

Towards the end of the event at Tim Mei Avenue, Anita Lee Chi Kwan, a professor at Tung Wuh College, had planned to present a film. However, instead of the film, student organizer Joshua Wong took the lead and called for the strikers to “retake” Civic Square – an open courtyard outside of the Central Government Complex in Tamar. The courtyard was a prime location for protests. However, earlier in the year, the Hong Kong government built a three-meter fence around Civic Square, claiming it was necessary to address security issues. Many citizens viewed the barrier as an infringement on their right to protest.

After his rallying cry, Wong and hundreds of other students scaled the fence. Police arrested Wong, but their forces were overwhelmed by the number of participants. Dozens promptly sat-in on the blocked-off government property, chanting “civic square is our square.” The protestors who did not scale the fence encouraged the others through the bars.

News spread quickly about the storming of the square, and non-students showed up too, including lawyers, bankers, and parents. Protestors formed human barriers and remained disciplined in their non-violence. Whenever they approached the police, they did so with hands raised. The HKFS even distributed a handbook to attendees on how to refrain from non-peaceful action.

Both student groups were highly organized and coordinated through the entire week-long strike. Student organizers also took inspiration from the Occupy Central sit-in that was quickly approaching. Nathan Law, another student organizer, led students in chants and gave out advice. He told everyone to send their personal information to the HKFS secretariat, so they could receive legal support if arrested.

At 3 AM, police attempted to cross the road’s divider and an organizer, Oscar Lai, ran to meet them, arms spread out wide and eyes closed, bracing for pepper spray. Other protestors followed after Lai. In the rush, someone raised an umbrella to protect themselves. Such a simple action set off a wave of reaction as others opened their own umbrellas as shields. Throughout the 79 days of this campaign, protestors continued to shield themselves from police violence with umbrellas, which became a lasting symbol of the movement.

The raid on Civic Square was not entirely spontaneous. HKFS and Scholarism organizers planned it a few days prior, but did not notify the students or the media. Leaders only notified participants two hours before the raid, at 10:15 pm.

The next morning, the police responded by using pepper spray and arresting the 61 demonstrators who remained in the square. Authorities detained three legislators, including Albert Ho and Emily Lau.

OCLP was originally planned to begin on Wednesday, 1 October. However, due to the students’ sit-in at Admiralty, the campaign decided to capitalize on the momentum and launched earlier. Organizer Benny Tai announced that the OCLP disobedience campaign would begin on Sunday, 28 September – by that morning, thousands of sit-in participants arrived, and by that evening, the authorities responded with force.

Police deployed tear gas, batons, and pepper spray, but failed to disperse the occupation. In fact, the use of violence by police to deter protestors mobilized other citizens to organize solidarity demonstrations in other areas, such as Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. The Hong Kong government temporarily withdrew the riot police from Admiralty on Monday.

The protestors used the police retreat as an opportunity to upscale the disruption. 80,000 people took to the streets in Admiralty district, bringing traffic to a stop. Banks and schools closed, and companies told workers to stay home. Protestors slept outside the entrances of government headquarters. In order to build defenses for future police advances, the group set up metal barricades and parked trucks in the streets. Some organizers created supply stations with water, snacks, towels, and tents. HKFS and OCPL designed a long-term action, which shut the city down.

On 1 October, the occupants in Admiralty created a piece of artwork using umbrellas – titled “the Tree of Democracy.” They displayed the art next to the Legislative Council building, and it was the first of many umbrella-themed creative displays. 

With the occupations rapidly spreading, Chan Kin-man, co-founder of the OCLP campaign, called on the demonstrators to stick to three sites - Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok. He apologized to HK citizens for the inconvenience and traffic caused by his movement, seemingly worried about losing public support.

The students, however, did not mince their words. HKFS leaders called on CY Leung to step down before Thursday, 2 October. They did not state the exact nature of the ultimatum, but it can be reasonably assumed that the activists were gearing up to expand their sit-in to government building interiors. Leung did not resign before Thursday; however, he allowed his Chief Secretary, Carrie Lam, to talk with students. 

As the occupations continued, the various groups leading the campaign faced inner conflict among their respective organizers over the mood of the growing crowd of participants. Scholarism, HKFS, and OCLP leadership wanted to remain moderate and, as Kin-Man expressed, not lose public support. However, thousands of unaffiliated Hong Kong residents joining the movement desired escalation.

In the event, escalation was forced on them. A large group of counter-demonstrators physically harassed 200 protestors in Mong Kok, leading some to suspect that this violence was a result of government collusion with the counter-demonstrators. 

Hong Kong authorities had reason to be worried. The protests were costing Hong Kong retailers an estimated $4 billion, due to the movement organizers’ strategic timing. China’s Golden Week holiday (from 3 October to 7 October) typically brought shoppers from mainland China into Hong Kong. Due to the protests, however, the Chinese government suspended travel, and some retail stores near large protest sites closed.

The occupation continued in Mong Kok district. As police intensified violence, the demonstrators fortified their defenses. Their armor included helmets and goggles, in addition to their trusty umbrellas. Police began to use riot shields in response, even resorting to beating one protester bloody with a baton.

On the evening of 21 October, the first (and last) meeting between HKFS and the Hong Kong government commenced. However, the meeting was largely unproductive and resulted in little other than each side re-stating their respective arguments. The government emphasized China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong and the finality of the electoral reform. It became clear that, rather than addressing the occupation, Hong Kong planned to wait it out. A few weeks later, Chief Secretary Lam announced they would hold no more meetings with students.

Towards the end of October, the OCLP began to withdraw from the campaign. Benny Tai and Chan Kin-Man both decided to return to their teaching jobs. However, the student-led organizations retained their momentum for the time being. The same day that Tai and Kin-Mah left the occupation, a one-month anniversary rally in Admiralty attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators.

The campaign continued to become characterized  more by failures than successes. In early December, the three founding members of Occupy Central turned themselves into authorities for leading unauthorized protests. They encouraged their followers to focus on turning inward and building community. 

Through the rest of December, the sit-ins disbanded. Group leadership had retreated and conversations with the government led nowhere. On 11 December, construction workers removed barricades and cleared out the Occupy site in the Admiralty district. Four days later, the government declared the protest over after officials cleared out the last of the occupation sites.

A campaign that began with thousands ended with one lone protestor in the last square to be cleared. Accompanied by a cardboard cut-out of Xi Jinping, the demonstrator played drums as police removed the last of the barricades.