Letter to Hong Kong students: tonight I picked a side

Letter to Hong Kong students: tonight I picked a side










UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 4:02pm Asia Literary Review






As a mainlander in Hong Kong, I constantly feel the prejudice and ill will
against us but also understand the helplessness that underlies these feelings.
For many years, I have lived with the awkwardness of being stuck between two
worlds; but tonight I picked a side. Tonight I stand by you, because you are
doing what I never dared to dream.








When I first came here, I was impressed by the political
awareness and involvement of Hong Kong students. The posts on democracy
walls and the frequent political discussions and lectures at the university indicated the major role that students played in leading social
development. I was often asked about the political situation on the
mainland and even about my own stance. I found the questions very difficult to
answer, not only because the situation was too complicated to be explained in a
few words, but also because of my ignorance of such
issues. Yet I appreciated your concern and your sincerity in reaching
out. Looking back at us mainlanders, not only do we seldom
care about Hong Kong issues, we barely understand our own. As a rough estimate,
fewer than one in ten mainland university students know in any detail the
procedure for electing our leaders. It is not even in our mindset to consider
the legitimacy and integrity of that process. We don't know that it's
possible to ask, 'What do we want?' Yet we label our silence
"maturity".
Tonight, I saw more than passion and participation. I saw a determination and
solidarity that I have never experienced, and that has not been seen in China
for a long time. When the boycott and occupation started, I did not expect it to
last long, let alone that it would grow to such an extent. Then I saw the yellow ribbons spreading from universities to all
of Hong Kong, not only on students but also on professors, on people who'd just
got off work and on tottering grandmas. I saw the crowd refuse to be driven away
by tear gas, and watched it create a poignant symbol out of an everyday
umbrella. I saw you running around, distributing food
and drink to people you didn't even know. Tonight, I saw you become brothers and
sisters.
I asked myself, when did I ever see such a scene back home? When did we ever
work side by side for the same goal, other than for our college entrance exam?
Sadly, not once in my life. Is it
for me to be blamed for regarding bravery as foolishness and courage as
naïveté? Some say this is just not the way we deal with things, but
seriously, how do we ever deal with anything? I cannot hide my jealousy of you
for having the opportunity to fight. In my twenties, I am one example of so many
who are going to be the hard core of our society – again, we
never knew that there is such an option.
I am also deeply impressed by how calm and disciplined you have been during
this revolution. In the occupied area, I saw students doing their reading by the
light of cell phones, picking up litter and sorting out the recyclables. In your operation guide
I read: 'Avoid physical
confrontation, but also avoid developing hatred in your heart'; and I saw the
banner declaring "Equality, Tolerance, Love, and Care." To stay
calm and rational may be the hardest act, for angry youths in particular. But
you learnt from previous experience, and you know it is the
sharpest weapon. Tonight, you taught me the real meaning of maturity.
A friend of mine, an activist, told me that she didn't really think the
Nonviolence Occupy Central Movement would lead to the result we all hoped for;
what she wanted was simply to have her voice heard and to raise consciousness,
so that one day it would succeed. I cannot imagine how much courage it must take
to strive for hope, and hope alone. But I know this is how you have come this
far. We are on our way.
I understand the fear behind your courage. If you don't do anything now, the day will
come that you are going to be just another me. Honestly, this is
my fear too. In a city so busy and crowded, you don't give in to its burdens but
keep your faith in democracy and liberty, in the power of the masses. To me,
this is the fascination of Hong Kong. I don't dare to think what the city would
be like without the hoarse voices on the streets and the fists waving in the
air.
Sitting next to you, I know the pain and anger I feel at this moment is less
than a thousandth of what you have felt. We cannot know if the situation is
getting better, or if the future is getting brighter. Nonetheless, I have to say to you that what you have now – your courage and
hope, solidarity and discipline – are so precious. You have no
idea how people in the dark corners of the world, me included, covet it. It is an honour and a blessing. Hold on
to it, for your own hopes, and for ours too.
I stand by you tonight, till the dawn of democracy.
Written by a mainland Chinese
writer studying in Hong Kong who used a pseudonym, this letter was first
published in Asia Literary
Review and republished by
the Post at ALR's permission.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1613682/letter-hong-kong-students-tonight-i-picked-side