Ming Pao: Arguments Against Occupy Central Amount to Scare-Mongering, 10.5.14
Analysis for Ming Pao (Hong Kong Chinese press)
Only in Hong Kong could one spend 18 months debating a protest. This is Protest City where there are hundreds each year, on every topic, often with accompanying counter-protests and protests to counter those counter-protests. They are usually formulaic but come in all sizes. Some are angry, some are solemn; some take the form of hurling hell money or fruit around LegCo, whilst others involve thousands of Hong Kongers surrounding government headquarters forcing leaders to pay attention.
One thing, however, that unites post-colonial protest culture is how consistently peaceful such gatherings are. Having witnessed the city’s strong tradition of nonviolent dissent from the frontlines over the past 9 years, it is obvious that Occupy Central should be no different. For people such as C. K. Chow, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, to suggest otherwise amounts to alarmist hysteria.