Rant #2

Disagreement is normal. That is what allow a conversation to progress, for change to happen and for improvement to take place.

However, at such a fragile and critical moment, I do feel that, there is no need to openly and publicly voice your opinion only because you have a multimedia platform ie social network. Reading different pages and seeing comments from people, those from oversea who have never really lived in Hong Kong, have not experienced what Hong Kong had been through in the past 17 years, sorry to say but you don't need to voice your opinion.

Yes, there is freedom of speech and it is even easier now, with the existance of world wide web, you can anonymously speak your mind freely but how many people have really thought about the repercussions? How many people can really take full responsibility for what they said just because at the moment they feel like saying something?

I have never voiced my opinion regarding many other political issues around the world because, even though I am interested and I like to research about it and sure I will have a stance, I am not in that situation. It would affect me but not directly. I have not lived in those countries for years, to give me the right to say what I think. I am pretty sure every words I would write for other international political issues would have went through different people's mind at time. So why would I need to express to the world what I think? I don't think my opinion matter that much, so instead of making my own assumption, or my own conclusion, I only want to continuously follow the updates, research further, really understand as much background information as possible. That is not to say I won't discuss with my friends, but what need to I have to speak so openly about these subjects say on facebook, when I live thousans of miles away?

I appreciate all the international press we have been receiving about the situation in Hong Kong, and I love reading all the different views from Hong Kong. There could be disagreement, but these would be discussed in private. After all, we want to fight for democracy so to completely shut down the opposition opinion is exactly what we are fighting against. There will always be multiple angles to an event and which angle people choose to view from is their choice. To be able to voice our opinion openly is great, and we would never want to become China, where the smallest political outbreak happens and censorship is already in place (think about instagram, the downplay of the event in HK, the lie a tv news channel put out claiming we are celebrating the national day, the censorship of hashtags invented to promote the current movement in Hong Kong)

This is where I will get subjective and voice my opinion.

For my friends who are all saying, be grateful for what we have already, we need to appreciate it, what people are doing right now is disturbing the peace and harmony of Hong Kong. 

Here are some questions to you, just so I can understand your perspective. (To be honest, these are rhetorical questions.) Why is it that when you or friends go to China you tell them to be careful, careful of what? They have law in China no, surely that can protect you? Or the people? Why? Would you like to live in a country where press is limited and controlled and skewed? A country where the rich has all the power in the world and the poor don't? Where a country, the law protects the rich and political figures and completely ignores the benefit for its everyday citizens? A country, where, if you voice a different opinion, the next day you would disappear and your family will also face the same some other time and never be found? A country where, if someone doesn't like the look or action you did, they have the potential to invent some sort of reason to condemn and arrest you? A country where they think money is everything even those they are called a communist? A country where, even its citizens don't trust any of its produce, people or law because nothing is ever real and set and stone? A country where you fear the law enforcement because they are not out there protecting you, they are out there only for the government's interest?

Well if you answer yes to all those, then ok, continue to condemn what the Hong Kong people are doing right now. Just don't complain in the future.

People often say democracy and rights are earned and not given on a silver plate. And the new political reform, and the promise of a 'universal suffrage' is a step forward already.

Oh I am sorry, I thought it was basic human rights that we have democracy and rights, and that these are only not present in a world of dictatorship? Yes, there will be misuse of these powers but that doesn't mean we don't deserve them.

From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 21: 3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Why is it wrong for the Hong Kong citizens, mostly students and elderly to fight for a right that we should have, especially given the treaty that England and China signed?

'Chief executive will be appointed by the Central People’s Government on the basis of the results of elections or consultations to be held locally, and he will nominate the principal officials.' Since when have we had an election or consultations held locally? 

Hong Kong was to remain the same as before the handover for 50 years, until 2047, however, before we knew it, China has already changed our system. For those who are still only so short sighted, and only blaming people creating troubles and nuisance, well, sorry for fighting for something that was promised to us and was never given.

Sorry that we can't appreciate what china has so generouslly given us already. (What, I have no idea.)

One more thing, I am sorry, that cling film and umbrella are such dangerous weapon. May be the police should re think about their uniform, if umbrella pose such a danger, so much so that they needed to fire 87 rounds of tear gas at 9 different locations. In one night. Really now?

Lastly, what I really want to say is, why is the government so afraid of addressing its citizens? We make the city, if we are facing problems, we should be able to trust the government to listen and provide a solution. Building a fence around your administrative building when it used to be a public open area is nothing but action of a coward. And now? People really should not be pointing fingers at the protestors or the police, we should all be pointing fingers at the government. What government in the world, in a supposedly developed country, is happy to see its citizens turning against each other, and still not able to stand up and face the very apparent problems, only to keep pushing it further and further away. How many times have we requested mutual conversations and meetings? This protest would have never taken place if the chief executive or the political reform group really listened to what we wanted.