The Umbrella Movement has not met its objective to force the government of China to withdraw its resolution on political reform in Hong Kong. Some people have ridiculed the students for imposing limits on the movement and accuse them of deliberately refusing to escalate the actions that could have delivered a victory.
But these critics failed to set out any real alternative strategy for success. As for their criticism, it is wrong. They forget that the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) called a general strike in support of Occupy. The strike was supported by the unions at the powerful Swire Group multinational, the social workers’ union as well as the teachers’ union.
But unfortunately, these strikes did not spread beyond that.This shows the weakness in our movement, and one that we need to draw serious lessons from. What is the political legacy of the Umbrella Movement?
First, it dared to break the taboo about not challenging the constitutional arrangement in the Basic Law (the 1997 agreement with former British colonial authorities that defines Honk Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China). Instead the students’ demands went beyond the provisions of the Basic Law, with the call for democratic nomination of the chief executive. This call for self-determination for Hong Kong people is especially resented by the Chinese Communist Party.
Secondly, the movement went beyond the “legalistic line” and practised widespread civil disobedience. With the deepening of the movement, the campaign of civil disobedience became more intense and stimulated many debates, including on the right to armed self-defence. In this sense the movement is also a great ideological liberation movement, one that is essential in building an even stronger movement in future.
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