INFLATION, particularly in the price of food and housing; lack of democracy; public austerity followed by handouts, followed by howling protests, followed—some hope—by a change in government. Far from the now-bloody strife in the Arab world, a jasmine-scented spring breeze is rippling a civil and prosperous little Special Administrative Region of China.
On March 6th as many as 10,000 people thronged Des Voeux Road, the territory’s main commercial stretch, hoisting yellow flags and raising their voices against—well, against what it is not entirely clear. The rally ended with an uncharacteristic (for Hong Kong) smattering of violence. Metal barricades were knocked over, taking down a police officer or two with them. The police spritzed the crowd with pepper spray, hitting an eight-year-old along with the grown-ups, and dragged away more than 100 people to a local precinct office.
A recently unveiled public budget was the immediate inspiration for the protests. This one document, presented by a singularly wealthy government suffused with surpluses, managed to annoy every group imaginable. Those irritated included everyone from the true believers of Hong Kong’s traditional laissez-faire approach, who regard the new budget’s profusion of handouts as being corrupting and inefficient, to the labour unions and social activists, who think its subsidies insufficient and misdirected.
The budget was announced February 23rd as an effort to pre-empt inflation; as such it was left devoid of explicit cash rebates. But within hours, a sharp reaction prompted an abrupt change in course: suddenly the budget was to include a hand-out of HK$6,000 ($771) to every permanent resident, along with other one-off benefits. That, in turn, caused outrage among the territory’s many immigrant workers, who perform many of the toughest and lowest-paid jobs. It fed anger in other quarters too, where people would have preferred to see the money used to boost pensions, public housing, environmental protection, and other social services. Free-market advocates saw the move as a stroke of inept populism.
The protests may or may not have been encouraged by events elsewhere in the world, as some of their organisers have suggested. At their core they were an expression of the unpopularity of the financial secretary, John Tsang, who prepares the budget, and Donald Tsang (no relation), the territory’s chief executive and head of government. Both Messrs Tsang lack charisma and find themselves unable to communicate a vision for Hong Kong. Under the current Hong Kong system, neither was brought to office by a free election.
Discontent has been fed by a sharp rise in home prices—which are seen as a consequence of cosy relations between the government and a tiny handful of property tycoons—and by rising food prices. To the extent that the government is moving forward, notably in its quick decision to begin work on an extraordinarily costly high-speed rail-line to Guangzhou, the widespread perception is that the shots are being called by Beijing. Other big projects are similarly controversial. A potentially huge investment in facilities to play host to the Asian Games in 2023 is highly unpopular. On March 4th a long-suffering effort to build a cultural centre reached a sort of milestone, with Sir Norman Foster approved as its architect. But the project has become a revolving door for directors and the government has been unable to provide a compelling plan for the site.
At the protest, placards demanded the resignation of the two Tsangs, Donald and John. On March 1st, as he spoke at a ceremony to mark the centennial anniversary of China’s republican revolution, Donald Tsang was apparently struck in the chest by a protester. Hong Kongers may not get to vote for their chief executive, but they do have ways of making their feelings known, as Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first post-colonial chief executive, can attest. The current government has a year left to run. It is starting to look however as if its time has already passed.
Continue reading - Economist - Protests in Hong Kong
Protesters Arrested in Hong Kong over Budget Protests
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