Hong Kong democracy protesters enjoy broad support in North America, including in Vancouver

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      A Vancouver lawyer who was raised in Hong Kong says he has "mixed feelings" about what's taking place in his former hometown.

      Tommy Tao told the Georgia Straight by phone that he has "grave concerns" about the safety of young people who are in the streets protesting the Chinese government's decision to thwart democratic reforms scheduled for 2017.

      At the same time, Tao said that he feels "a deep sense of pride that Hong Kong people have written themselves into Chinese history".

      "I call it a 2,000-year pursuit of democracy," Tao added. "Although democracy was not understood as a system from the beginning, the seeds of that pursuit have always been there. I think people in Chinese history have always valued speaking out—telling the truth to the people in power—as to what is right, what is wrong, and what's in the best interest of the country."

      Tao, also a writer and frequent commentator in the Chinese-language media, acknowledged that this has very often resulted in the loss of human lives—not only of those who dare to speak out, but also their closest relatives.

      He applauds Hong Kong residents for launching demonstrations in response to the Beijing government's decision to vet candidates who will be put on the ballot to become the city's chief executive in 2017.

      He called the People's Congress decision "clearly a regression instead of a progression", as the government has claimed.

      "It's clearly a lie, which the Chinese government as well as the Hong Kong government want to shove down the throat of the Hong Kong people," Tao said. "I just can't see how the intellectuals—the professors and the students—can swallow that. And I'm glad they refused to because to do so would be truly to be enslaved by the authority. That would be contrary to the national anthem."

      He noted that there's a tradition among students to question authority. That led to a government massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

      "I think when the British were ruling Hong Kong, the students tended to be more leaning toward the Chinese government," Tao said. "And now when the Chinese government has taken over, you then scrutinize the government's policies—what the government promises and what the government does and does not carry out. The target has changed."

      He added that he doesn't know how Chinese president Xi Jinping will react to the circumstances. The Vancouver lawyer described Xi as "inscrutable".

      "I have difficulty sizing him up," Tao conceded. "My practice is to give people the benefit of the doubt for at least a fair length of time before judging them."

      However, Tao said he's troubled that not a single member of the Hong Kong executive has spoken up against Beijing's dictate.

      "There is no dissent at all," he stated. "It's clear how strong the control is and how willing people within the executive or within the government are willing to follow orders."

      Tao's comments came a day after Hong Kong–born students at UBC held a pro-democracy demonstration.

      Overseas Chinese groups support students

      On September 22, a dozen  North American civil-society groups, including Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, wrote an open letter supporting college and university students who went on strike in support of universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

      "In June of this year, the Beijing Government issued a white paper on Hong Kong claiming its 'ultimate authority' over the territory and that the judges in Hong Kong 'must be patriotic' (i.e., loyal to the Communist Party of China), and so on and so forth," the letter stated. "This is a flagrant violation of China's international commitment in the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984, which guaranteed Hong Kong a 'high degree of autonomy' and the fundamental principle of 'Hong Kong people to rule Hong Kong.' " 

      The letter noted that there are more than one billion mainland Chinese who share Hong Kong residents' "aspiration for democracy and freedom".

      "There are tens of millions of overseas Chinese, many of them with ties to Hong Kong, who share their concern about the territory's future and democratic development," the letter added. "There are also billions of citizens in this global village who share their desire to embrace and uphold the universal values of human rights, freedoms and democracy."

      The signatories also included the North American Alliance for Democracy in China, the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, the Toronto-based Canada Hong Kong Link, the Calgary-based Movement for Democracy in China, the Tiananmen Memorial Foundation, the Washington-based Federation of Overseas Hong Kong Chinese, the San Francisco–based Chinese Democracy Education Foundation, the Boston-based Association of Overseas Hong Kong Chinese for Democracy and Human Rights, Friends of Hong Kong and Macau of Boston, the Los Angeles–based Hong Kong Forum, the Alliance of the Guard of Canadian Value, and the North California Hong Kong Club.

      Taiwan's president expresses concerns

      The situation in Hong Kong is being watched closely in Taiwan, where 23 million residents live under democratic rule.

      Like Hong Kong, Taiwan (Republic of China) has been offered an opportunity to rejoin China under the "one nation, two systems" approach—something that the island nation has consistently spurned.

      Taiwanese (Republic of China) president Ma Ying-jeou said on September 29 that Hong Kong residents have come to his country in the past to observe elections.

      "We fully understand and support the Hong Kong people's demand for universal suffrage," Ma said at the World Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce event on the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong. "As Hong Kong is an extremely important global financial centre, any political turmoil that occurs there will impact not only Asia but the entire world."

      He called  on the mainland Chinese authorities to listen carefully to the demands of the Hong Kong people and adopt a peaceful and cautious approach to the current situation.

      Ma also said that Hong Kong and China would both benefit if Hong Kong residents were granted universal suffrage.

      Comments

      6 Comments

      Bruce

      Oct 2, 2014 at 11:45am

      If there are hundreds of thousands of protestors, that should also mean thousands of videos of any violence by the Beijing. And I would think that at least hundreds of Canadian, UK, and american citizens are in the crowd. Shouldn't that give Beijing a strong motive to avoid violence?

      ursa minor

      Oct 2, 2014 at 11:53am

      This morning at UBC "The Rock" on Main Mail was painted over with pro-Communist propaganda. I'm sure as this situation escalates the Peoples Liberation Army apologists will be out in full force. Any Chinese person who cannot state what happened in their country on June 4, 1989 should not be allowed into this country.

      Canadian Xpat

      Oct 2, 2014 at 11:54am

      Taiwan is the linchpin. If Beijing crushes Hong Kong, they will lose Taiwan permanently and most of Asia which is already uncertain of China will move closer towards US/Japanese interests.

      MD

      Oct 2, 2014 at 2:35pm

      ursa minor
      "Any Chinese person who cannot state what happened in their country on June 4, 1989 should not be allowed into this country"

      Please.

      What would you do with those born in Canada who cannot state who the Famous Five are, what Duck Lake is all about, the importance of December 11, 1931 and what happened with the Komogatu Maru?

      Or are you just trying to hide what appears to be xenophobic and nativist sentiments behind something you obviously did not think through?

      Since you are probably staring at the screen slack jawed as you read this, let me explain the he difference between your point and mine; Chinese citizens are not taught or even really allowed to know anything independent about Tiananmen Square, to the point that it is so heavily censored behind the "Great Firewall" it is completely unreasonble for any person with minimal knowledge on the conditions inside Communist China to expect that an average citizen would know anything until they came here, let alone share a Canadian opinion on the matter.

      On the other hand, my points are all taught in Canadian high schools, and as I am sure you just found out when Googling them to learn what I was talking about, you would be hard pressed to find many Canadians who could tell you their importance.

      So where do you plan to send those people?

      ursa minor

      Oct 3, 2014 at 10:13am

      MD - in response to your question, they can go to the same place as far as I'm concerned. I don't accept ignorance as an excuse. As far as the examples you cite, at least in this country we confront our disgrace rather than be confronted by secret police when we question our governments action.

      It angers me is that my family came here from the former Soviet Union when Ukraine was starved to death under Stalin's Holodomor. We hated the Communists, and everyone who came with my family hated the Communists, because they took our food AND our freedom. The Chinese Communists who come to Canada don't care about freedom, they're spoiled on cheap consumer goods that they traded their freedom for. They don't question their government, in fact, they cheer them on. They love money and authoritarianism, which is why they're thriving in Stephen Harper's Canada.

      If, as a result of the Hong Kong unrest, Canada gets more Chinese Democrats to get in the face of the Communists and shut them up, the better. Sorry if it offends you, but I believe that countries that try to upheld democracy, human rights and freedom are superior to countries that treat submission to authority as some kind of noble virtue.

      The only people from the People's Republic of China who should be allowed into Canada are those claiming Refugee status. It isn't like they don't have enough of an excuse to claim Refugee status.