Two very different young democrats in Hong Kong tell their stories: book excerpt
Ben Bland’s Generation HK: Seeking Identity in China’s Shadow attempts to define what it means to be a Hongkonger 20 years after the handover
Hong Kong’s educational conveyor belt is meant to produce accountants, bankers and lawyers who will keep the economy ticking over in a city that is reliant on financial services and trade with China. Their mission, as the political establishment would have it, is to make money, keep their mouths shut when it comes to sensitive issues and produce another generation of besuited drones. So something must have gone terribly wrong with Kelvin Lee.
An ambitious insurance broker in his early 20s, he used to care more about selling policies than meddling in politics. Yet, everything changed on September 28, 2014, when he decided to take a look at the early stages of the Occupy protest near the main government offices in Hong Kong. As the police grew alarmed by the growing numbers gathering for what they regarded as an illegal assembly, they fired tear gas and charged with batons raised in an attempt to disperse the crowd. “That day was really remarkable for me,” said Lee, now 26. “I saw the tear gas explode in front of me more than 20 times and saw how frightened people were.”
At that time, he did not agree with the protesters’ demands for democratic reforms but felt the urge to defend the students from the police assault. Roused by the Occupy spirit, he started to wonder what he could do to promote a better future for Hong Kong. He started to read about Hong Kong’s strange political system, determined to learn before he could plot a way to change it from the inside.
Fresh-faced and wearing an expertly ironed white shirt, Lee came straight from work to meet me at the upscale mall in the International Financial Centre on the Central waterfront. Talking in a deliberate and earnest fashion, he explained his metamorphosis from unquestioning finance worker to a disciple of political change.
“There are about 100,000 people working in insurance but no one talks about politics in the office, not even during the Umbrella revolution,” he said. “Are these people living in Hong Kong or what? They are just working and living as normal, as if nothing happened.” During the 79 days that central Hong Kong was occupied, Lee met several other people from his industry on the streets and together they decided to do something, forming a pro-democracy lobby group called Insurance Arise. It is very small, with just 10 to 15 members, and it is one of several similar organisations founded in recent years by professionals trying to extend the fight for freedom and Hong Kong’s values to a broader audience. Action Accountants, IT Voice and Financier Conscience: the very names of these groups are designed to belie the stereotypes about professionals in Hong Kong (and beyond).