This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/after-weeks-of-clashes-hong-kong-takes-time-out-to-debate-political-showdown/2014/10/21/b20ad262-5866-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html?wprss=rss_world

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
After weeks of clashes, Hong Kong takes time out to debate political showdown After weeks of clashes, Hong Kong takes time out to debate political showdown
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING – Hong Kong’s political showdowns shifted Tuesday from the streets to a drab university hall as protest leaders faced off with government officials in a prime-time debate with sweeping discourse but few hints of concessions from either side. BEIJING — Hong Kong’s political showdown shifted Tuesday from the streets to a drab university hall as pro-democracy student leaders faced off with government officials in a prime-time debate marked by sweeping discourse but few concessions from either side.
The two-hour session — by turns nerdy, riveting, wildly philosophical and dense with legalese — acted as a breather for a city on edge after more than three weeks of unrest that began over opposition to China’s sway over Hong Kong elections. The two-hour session — by turns riveting, wildly philosophical and dense with legalese — came as a breather for a city on edge after more than three weeks of paralyzing unrest that has turned some of the world’s most expensive real estate into arenas of violent clashes.
Every moment of the debate was closely watched; every phrase and inflection parsed for nuance and subtext as the back-and-forth was broadcast live on TV and streamed over the Web. The debate was closely watched, each phrase and inflection parsed for nuance and subtext as the back-and-forth was broadcast live on TV and streamed online.
In the end, each side emphasized a different spin. But the exchange only accentuated the gulf between the two sides – with the government refusing any electoral reform and students making arguments for democratic rights but not offering any workable compromise.
Hong Kong leaders said it was a first step in dialogue to end a crisis that has paralyzed major districts and turned some of the world’s most expensive real estate into riot zones. Pro-democracy protesters saw mostly disappointment as authorities refused to yield any significant ground. From the start, the debate had a unique, bizarre quality, with five of Hong Kong’s most powerful leaders in business attire on one side and five college students on the other in black T-shirts emblazoned with the words “FREEDOM NOW!”
“If the government doesn’t plan to give something, I will continue to stay’’ on the streets, said Felix Choi, a 21-year-old university student, before the debate. “I think this dialogue will not have any results.” It felt surreal at times that after weeks of tumult, the future of this city could turn on what was essentially a high-school-style debate between two unlikely teams.
Although the protests began over Chinese-imposed election rules, they have touched on deeper questions: pitting Beijing’s authority against demonstrators’ demands for greater latitude to chart the political course in the former British colony. The students pressed with detailed arguments on law and procedure as well as impassioned appeals to the conscience and speeches about the nature of democracy.
“This is not a competition tonight,” said Hong Kong’s chief civil servant, Carrie Lam, to open the debate. “There is no losing or winning.” “Some say we students were chosen by fate,” Lester Shum told the government leaders. “But you officials were also chosen. . . . Will you go down in history as the ones who deprived Hong Kong of democracy?”
But that was not how it was seen among many protesters, who expressed deep pessimism about what — if any -- effect the carefully staged event would have on the stalemate. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s second-highest-ranking official, acknowledged that the protests had been of a “massive scale with far-reaching implications” but chastised the students for what she characterized as their unrealistic idealism.
Police fanned out across protest sites, where hundreds gathered to follow the debate live on mobile phones. At the heart of the standoff is the protesters’ demand that Hong Kong residents be allowed to choose their own leaders rather than having their candidates vetted by China’s Communist Party leaders.
Hong Kong media reported that the five students representing protesters in the debate had holed up in cram sessions for several nights. They were coached by an impressive roster of elder statesmen in Hong Kong’s pro-democratic circles, including a former justice secretary. The five student representatives followed a clear strategy, divvying up their debate duties and ticking off their grievances one by one. First came an overview by one debater, then an attack by another on the legality of Beijing’s election rules.
The demands of the protesters are well known: Seeking to have Beijing roll back plans to vet candidates for 2017 elections in Hong Kong and allow voters to pick their own leader, who operates under Chinese authorities but still wields considerable influence. Hong Kong representatives responded gamely, trying to avoid any appearance of bullying. But their tone was occasionally patronizing — as they praised students for doing their homework on constitutional law and invoked their own days at their alma maters.
The demonstrators also want China to allow Hong Kong more general autonomy from China’s tight political controls. Making the government’s only real concession of the night, Lam said Hong Kong’s leaders would be willing to send a supplemental report to Beijing outlining the views that had emerged from the protests.
The five student representatives divvied up debate duties in a well-organized fashion, ticking off their grievances one by one. For weeks, protesters had been agitating for such a report, hoping it could lay the groundwork for electoral reform. After the debate, student leaders expressed frustration at Lam’s vagueness about how the supplemental report would be prepared. It is unclear, they said, what effect such a report would have.
Hong Kong representatives met their points gamely, but also struck a slightly patronizing tone at times — praising students for doing their “homework” on constitutional law. In one limited concession, Lam said Hong Kong officials were willing to submit a report to Beijing outlining the views from the protests and its “far-reaching implications” Large crowds camped out at three protest sites watched the debate on large projectors and on their phones with rapt attention — cheering, jeering, yelling at various points.
The debate also was a chance for the protesters to try to win over residents who have been uneasy about the demonstrators’ methods of blocking streets and confronting authorities in the normally efficient and highly organized city. Afterward, government representatives called the debate a positive step and said they had listened with patience and even admiration to the students’ arguments.
The student-led protesters continued to hold their ground despite attempts by police to disperse them overnight. The students, however, called it a disappointment and urged demonstrators to continue their protest at all cost.
Dozens have been injured in sporadic clashes between police — using batons and pepper sprays — and students often armed only with umbrellas, which have become a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. In mainland China — where censors have worked overtime to limit coverage for fear that the pro-democracy protests could prove contagious — some state-run media outlets reported the talks in real time but mostly focused on arguments from the government team, not the students.
The crackdowns also have moved to the online world, which has become a key element in organizing the protests. On Monday, a 23-year-old man was arrested on charges of using social media to encourage protests in the congested Mong Kok district and urging crowds “to charge at police and to paralyze the railways.’’ Ahead of the debate, anticipation ran high even though many on both sides expressed doubts about whether it could resolve the impasse.
China has used state media editorials and statements from its foreign ministry to insist that the protests are being driven by unnamed foreign forces — a claim protesters have dismissed. Hong Kong media reported that the five students chosen as representatives for the debate had holed up in cram sessions with an impressive roster of elder democratic statesmen, including Hong Kong’s former justice secretary, as their debate coaches.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying repeated Tuesday that “external forces” are behind the student protests, and hinted he may be releasing some form of proof backing up that claim. The debate also was a chance for the protesters to try to win over residents who have been uneasy about the students’ blockading of streets in the normally efficient and highly organized city.
It’s highly unlikely that Chinese authorities will consent to any serious change in its policies on Hong Kong, which was turned over by Britain in 1997. Dozens have been injured in sporadic clashes between police, who used batons and pepper spray, and students often armed only with umbrellas, which have become a symbol of the pro-democracy movement.
A Hong Kong social worker, Alice Man Oi-Yee, 37, viewed the unfolding events as a defining moment regardless of whether the protesters manage to force Beijing to back down. The protesters have held their ground despite recent police attempts to disperse them at times by force.
“Looking back from five to 10 years later, no matter this is successful or not, I think this is an important milestone for Hong Kong for democracy,” she said. “When I talk to my child and say that your mother joined this movement and protected the students, I think this is very valuable.” “I don’t know what to do next,” said Cheung Lap-kan, 25, a food wholesaler, who had been showing up at the protest for days. “The government is not giving in on anything.”
William.Wan@washpost.com “The meeting didn’t help at all,” said Ho Yick-nga, 26, clerk. Like many watching at the main protest site Tuesday night, she vowed to remain in the streets.
brian.murphy@washpost.com But Alice Man Oi-Yee, 37, a social worker supportive of the protests, said she considered the debate a defining moment regardless of whether the students managed to extract concessions from Beijing.
Murphy reported from Washington. Kris Cheng in Hong Kong contributed to this report. “Looking back five to 10 years from now, no matter if this is successful or not, I think this is an important milestone for Hong Kong,” she said. She said she can imagine telling her children about the wild, unpredictable days of protest their mother was part of. “I think this is very valuable.”
Murphy reported from Washington. Kris Cheng in Hong Kong and Xu Yangjingjing in Beijing contributed to this report.