How Ferguson's 'hands up' protest spread to Hong Kong ... sort of
The symbolic 鈥渉ands up, don鈥檛 shoot鈥� gesture used by protesters in Ferguson, Mo., appears to have gone global this weekend as thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong have been confronting aggressive police crackdowns with raised arms and open palms.
Calling their movement 鈥淥ccupy Central鈥� 鈥� also a direct echo of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US 鈥� Chinese students in the sprawling Asian financial center continue to protest the Chinese government鈥檚 restrictions on candidates for upcoming local elections. They marched and set up camps, shutting down highways and shopping districts throughout downtown Hong Kong this weekend.
But when riot police began to shoot tear gas canisters to disperse the crowds on Sunday, marchers began to respond with the now-familiar 鈥渉ands up鈥� image from Ferguson, where a police officer shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown, who witnesses say had his hands in the air when he was shot.
Observers caution that so far there have been no direct confirmations that Hong Kong students are consciously emulating the Ferguson protests鈥�, however鈥�.
Instead, protest organizers in Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997, had previously trained marchers to raise their hands with their palms face forward to indicate their peaceful intentions to authorities, Organizers have officially dubbed their protest 鈥淥ccupy Central with Love and Peace,鈥� and had publicly鈥� announced the weekend protests months鈥嬧�� in advance.
Still, on Sunday some Ferguson protesters with their ostensible Chinese counterparts, some reading 鈥淪tay Strong鈥� and 鈥淗ands Up! Don鈥檛 Shoot!鈥� in both English and traditional Chinese characters.
Hundreds continue to gather in the St. Louis suburb nearly two months after Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Mr. Brown, who is alleged to have assaulted the police officer during a street stop.
鈥淲ill you please show this to's parents &let them know that he changed the WORLD!鈥� , as many in the US continue to connect the closely watched street protests and 鈥渉ands up鈥� gesture. 聽
Indeed, as images of the Hong Kong protests are beamed throughout the globe through social media hashtags and photo sharing sites, many are beginning to see the defenseless gesture, especially in the haze of tear gas, as a symbol for nonviolent resistance.
On Monday morning, the Chinese government announced it had taken riot police off the streets as citizens 鈥渉ave mostly calmed down,鈥� but they continue to urge protesters to disperse. They have also focused on social media, shutting down the photo-sharing application Instagram countrywide and blocking the hastag #OccupyCentral on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, .
When Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, the nations agreed that the former colony and financial center would have a 鈥渙ne country, two system鈥� structure that allowed the densely-populated city to retain its capitalist economy鈥�, even鈥� as it rejoined mainland China鈥檚 communist regime.
But the Chinese government may allow only Beijing-approved candidates to run for the office of chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, which operates with more autonomy than other regions in China.
鈥淗ong Kong is in the midst of a passionate debate about our constitutional development,鈥� wrote current chief executive C.Y. Leung in a on Monday. 鈥淚t's a debate we must have. But it's a debate that must be tempered with reason. Raw emotion 鈥� for or against the proposed political reform 鈥� will get us nowhere.鈥�
