What’s the story?

Hong Kong, one of the world’s most important financial hubs, exploded on September, 26th 2014. The so-called “umbrella revolution”, a series of sit-in street protests, turned the city’s central business district into a virtual conflict zone.

The “Umbrella Movement” is a pro-democratic political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protest of 2014.

How this happened ?

Hong Kong, a former British colony of 7 million people, has been governed under a “one country, two systems” framework since it was handed back to Chinese control in 1997.

The principle is simple: Beijing is responsible of the city’s defense and foreign affairs; Hong Kong enjoys limited self-governance and civil liberties, including an independent judiciary and unrestricted press.

The chief executive is chosen by a “nominating committee” of 1,200 people, most of them from pro-Beijing elites.

When Beijing regained control over the city, it promised that the region would be able to elect its top leader by universal suffrage by 2017. The group guiding the current protests threatened to paralyze the city’s central business district if Beijing broke its word.

In August 2014, Beijing passed a reform to stipulate universal suffrage on its own terms – only two or three committee who “love the country” would be allowed to run. Activists considered this the last straw. Students began a class boycott, and had an active participation during those sit-in streets protests such as JOSHUA WONG.

The violence of Police

Installations

A number of installations and sculptures were created at occupation sites, of which one of the largest is a patchwork hanging in the middle of Umbrella Square made of fabric taken from more than a hundred broken umbrellas which were sewn together. Baptist University art students, to bolster the movement in the early days, developed the concept. A group of about ten other students stripped the fabric from umbrellas that were broken and had been stained by tear gas in the police bombardment of 28 September, and wove them together and deployed it above what is now referred to as "Umbrella Square". The project leader, hoped that the umbrellas broken by the police, fashioned into canopy, symbolises an extended physical protection for citizens that also serves as a reminder of the presence of other citizens who are behind to support, in other ways. At Admiralty, large yellow umbrellas have been installed at many lampposts; Happy Gadfly concept by mainland artist Miso Zo inspired by The Gadfly, by Ethel Lilian Voynich. Made from discarded umbrellas, plastic bottles and other discarded materials, the project's originator says the installation symbolises how "They can destroy the movement, but like the fly it will come back." Other sizeable installations include a pepper spray installation at Causeway Bay, a shrine to Kwan Yu at Mong Kok.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVOLUTION

One year later, the debate is still present in the minds.

In politics, they lost on both counts because first the Chinese government did not established a full and complete universal suffrage for the 2017 elections in Hong Kong.

Indeed, Beijing only permitted a direct popular vote and left the appointments in the hands of a pro-establishment committee of 1,200 members. The problem is that this framework offers few significant improvements to the system that is already in place, where it is the committee itself who selects the CEO. Worse still, the Beijing plan would give false legitimacy to the head of the elected executive and make future changes to the electoral system unlikely. All this means that the next chief executive will be chosen by the same committee, and the prospect for future changes to election rules is uncertain.

Furthermore, the protesters wanted the city's chief executive to resign but Leung Chun-ying survived the protests, although its popularity is very low and didn't rule out re-running in 2017 for a five-year term.

Concerning the economy, many serious economic damage has been caused by the protests and it touched Hong Kong’s and China’s economies which are linked to each other as well as to the global economy.

The sector that was hit first was the transportation sector as protest camps in the Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay areas caused disruptions, blocked bus and tram routes and slowed down traffic on certain roads. Some stores located on or near the protest sites experienced significant closures and customer downturns. The most affected stores were the jewellery stores and pharmacies in Mong Kok that supplied Chinese mainland tourists.

The overall effect on growth and the business environment has changed. But, last October, the World Bank said that Hong Kong was the third-easiest place in the world to do business and that demonstrations had not affected the key components of the rating, such as transparency, Administrative formalities or equitable application.