<p>At the entrance to the sanctorum of the Confucius temple in Qiufu in northern China is the famous slogan – wanshi shibiao – “for ten thousand generations, you are my teacher”. This suggested for the Chinese, wherever they live, to follow the analects of the teacher – triggering ancestral worship that is fundamental to the Chinese culture.</p>.<p>Ironically, in usurping the Confucian legacy, the Communist Party is suggesting that all Chinese-speaking peoples across the world toe its line. The tension currently in postmodern Hong Kong is partly related to this subjugation.</p>.<p>Hong Kong has added a new dimension to its identity. Previously known as a free port, hub for rule of law, shipping, banking and insurance, it has now become a hub for civil disobedience. The Chinese world order traditionally prefers order and face value. That was punctured with the intense dissent triggered by China’s effort to reinforce “one country” (that is China), instead of “two systems” (socialist China and capitalist and liberal Hong Kong).</p>.<p>In the nearly 100 days since the protests (which began around the end of March) intensified from early June till now, over 130 protests erupted, of which 110 ended in violence in Hong Kong. The continuing clashes between police and protesters (mainly students and professionals) in Hong Kong saw five suicide deaths, 748 arrests, 2,100 injuries and deployment of 1,000 rounds of tear gas, 160 rubber bullets and 150 sponge grenades.</p>.<p>The protesters were demanding the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an amnesty for those arrested, permanent withdrawal of the extradition bill and implementation of universal suffrage in Hong Kong. The governments in Hong Kong and China are reluctant, as they were during the previous Umbrella Movement of 2014. Who blinks first has now become an issue, and at stake is not only the future of over seven million residents of Hong Kong but also that of a rising China.</p>.<p>Beijing castigated the movement as anarchic and warned of “sprouts of terrorism” and Hong Kong as the ground for experimenting another “coloured revolution” that erupted in post-Soviet authoritarian states. China’s political, diplomatic, coercive mobilization of paramilitary and its extensive use of social networking sites for cyber-attacks have proved counter-productive so far.</p>.<p>Hong Kong will be a test case for China on its “one country, two systems” approach towards Taiwan and Macao as well as with the others in Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia taking a cue. China’s insistence on sovereignty at the cost of the well-being and democratic aspirations of Hong Kong’s people is taking a heavy toll.</p>.<p>At the root of the discontent in Hong Kong are the curbs that Beijing intended to impose, including by introducing representative form of legislature rather than by universal suffrage, a pliant Chief Executive and a patriotic populace from the mainland.</p>.<p>The residents, on the other hand, are concerned about the imposition of political education since July 2012, implementation of official Chinese language on the local dialects in 2010, the despicable language depicting Hong Kong residents as “dogs and thieves” by a Peking University professor in 2012, muzzling of local publishers and media houses through curbs on the freedom of the press or even elimination of journalists like Ming Pao, and their own inability to procure decent housing due to the high real estate prices caused by Mainlanders’ ill-gotten money.</p>.<p>Hong Kong has stood up every June 4 – the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 when Beijing authorities mowed down thousands of students, workers and peasants. It is standing up today for its rights as enshrined in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. By raising the bogey of “separatism” and terrorism, China is alienating Hong Kong further.</p>
<p>At the entrance to the sanctorum of the Confucius temple in Qiufu in northern China is the famous slogan – wanshi shibiao – “for ten thousand generations, you are my teacher”. This suggested for the Chinese, wherever they live, to follow the analects of the teacher – triggering ancestral worship that is fundamental to the Chinese culture.</p>.<p>Ironically, in usurping the Confucian legacy, the Communist Party is suggesting that all Chinese-speaking peoples across the world toe its line. The tension currently in postmodern Hong Kong is partly related to this subjugation.</p>.<p>Hong Kong has added a new dimension to its identity. Previously known as a free port, hub for rule of law, shipping, banking and insurance, it has now become a hub for civil disobedience. The Chinese world order traditionally prefers order and face value. That was punctured with the intense dissent triggered by China’s effort to reinforce “one country” (that is China), instead of “two systems” (socialist China and capitalist and liberal Hong Kong).</p>.<p>In the nearly 100 days since the protests (which began around the end of March) intensified from early June till now, over 130 protests erupted, of which 110 ended in violence in Hong Kong. The continuing clashes between police and protesters (mainly students and professionals) in Hong Kong saw five suicide deaths, 748 arrests, 2,100 injuries and deployment of 1,000 rounds of tear gas, 160 rubber bullets and 150 sponge grenades.</p>.<p>The protesters were demanding the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an amnesty for those arrested, permanent withdrawal of the extradition bill and implementation of universal suffrage in Hong Kong. The governments in Hong Kong and China are reluctant, as they were during the previous Umbrella Movement of 2014. Who blinks first has now become an issue, and at stake is not only the future of over seven million residents of Hong Kong but also that of a rising China.</p>.<p>Beijing castigated the movement as anarchic and warned of “sprouts of terrorism” and Hong Kong as the ground for experimenting another “coloured revolution” that erupted in post-Soviet authoritarian states. China’s political, diplomatic, coercive mobilization of paramilitary and its extensive use of social networking sites for cyber-attacks have proved counter-productive so far.</p>.<p>Hong Kong will be a test case for China on its “one country, two systems” approach towards Taiwan and Macao as well as with the others in Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia taking a cue. China’s insistence on sovereignty at the cost of the well-being and democratic aspirations of Hong Kong’s people is taking a heavy toll.</p>.<p>At the root of the discontent in Hong Kong are the curbs that Beijing intended to impose, including by introducing representative form of legislature rather than by universal suffrage, a pliant Chief Executive and a patriotic populace from the mainland.</p>.<p>The residents, on the other hand, are concerned about the imposition of political education since July 2012, implementation of official Chinese language on the local dialects in 2010, the despicable language depicting Hong Kong residents as “dogs and thieves” by a Peking University professor in 2012, muzzling of local publishers and media houses through curbs on the freedom of the press or even elimination of journalists like Ming Pao, and their own inability to procure decent housing due to the high real estate prices caused by Mainlanders’ ill-gotten money.</p>.<p>Hong Kong has stood up every June 4 – the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 when Beijing authorities mowed down thousands of students, workers and peasants. It is standing up today for its rights as enshrined in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. By raising the bogey of “separatism” and terrorism, China is alienating Hong Kong further.</p>