Memories of -- and lessons from -- the (fall of the) Berlin Wall

Spotted at Admiralty 25 years to the day after

the fall of the Berlin Wall

Who'd have thought even a few weeks ago that 

we'd see a sight like this in central Hong Kong?

On November 9, 1989, I happened to be visiting German House, the special interest house for students interested in German language and culture at Beloit College, where I was an undergraduate, when news came that the Berlin Wall had fallen.  

 

Twenty-five years on, I still remember the shock and euphoria that rippled through the house upon our hearing the news -- and my having been poured a glass of straight gin (which I found absolutely foul tasting, and had to ask for some 7-Up to mix into my drink!) to toast the occasion with fellow students who included friends from Japan and the Bahamas as well as Americans and West Germans!

 

As it so happened, I had visited West Berlin in the summer of 1989 -- and had seen and touched the Berlin Wall with my own hands.  While in Berlin, I also had been to the Reichstag and while I was  looking over the Berlin Wall to see the Brandenburg Gate and other landmarks that lay at the time in East Berlin, I heard violin music float over from the eastern part of the city to the western part where I was -- and I remember thinking how sad and ironic it was that the music could go from East Berlin to West Berlin but people couldn't freely do so.

 

If you had asked me at the time whether I could ever envision a time when the Berlin Wall would no longer divide the city, I'd have told you that I couldn't.  At that time, it seemed so very permanent.  And yet, fall it did -- and within just a few months from when I thought it'd be standing for a very long time, if not forever.

 

So... twenty five years on, here I am in Hong Kong -- where a socio-political movement that began seven weeks ago now is still going on.  Pretty much every week since it began, there have been various individuals calling for the Umbrella Movement -- or, at least the Occupy part of it -- to come to an end.  One reason some of these people give is that the protesters are inconveniencing others.  Another is that the protests are futile and doomed to fail.

With regards to the former: I don't think I can do much better than quote a sign I saw at Causeway Bay on Thursday -- "SORRY, blockage today is for no political blockage tomorrow".  As for the latter: as the example of the (fall of the) Berlin Wall shows, what seems impossible now can become possible at some point in the not too distant future.  Also, you never know if you don't try -- and people power sometimes can be very powerful indeed. 

The Umbrella Movement is still going on!

At Occupy Causeway Bay today, there's 

the pretty artistic...

 

 ...and the political and/but polite...

 

 ...and the whimsical (and should it not be clear,

that is just a cutout of Xi Jinping there!)

At some point in the near future, I can see myself blogging again about something other than the Umbrella Movement.  In fact, there's already a part of me that wonders "why write some more about the protests in Hong Kong since I've already written thousands of words about it and others combined have probably written more than a million words on the subject"?

The reason why I do is to help publicize the fact that the Umbrella Movement is still going on in Hong Kong -- something many people outside of the Big Lychee may not realize due to accounts of it having vanished from the front pages of many newspapers in the rest of the world and international news websites too.  (Heck, it's not even the number one news in Hong Kong newspapers for some days now.)

The thing is that -- let's face it: for many people, being peaceful is rather boring.  Far more exciting are news of violent clashes and outcomes.  But when even one evening's worth of celebrations of a World Series win has resulted in more mayhem than the Umbrella Movement's many days and nights of protests, surely that's something worth noting, if not commenting on?

 

Also, the truth of the matter is that there's currently an impasse -- and that's not very interesting to report on either.  Increasingly, there's a sense that "Occupation" alone is not going to yield the political results that were the stated principal aims of the Umbrella Movement.  And yet, how does one escalate matters without resorting to violence or something so desperate that it will cause things to backfire?  

I'll leave that question for greater minds to answer.  All I know is that, in the meantime, the protests are indeed still taking place -- thanks to a number of admirable people being prepared to sacrifice their time, bear physical discomforts and the ire of impatient others, and more.

Yellow is the color...

Occupy Lion Rock inspired climbing Minion spotted 

at Admiralty this evening (and also on the weekend)

 More Minions -- these at a Mongkok barricade!

What a difference a year makes...  if this time last year, you had asked the average Hong Konger what they most associated with the color yellow, I would have been willing to bet that top most in their minds would be the giant rubber duck that made its home in Victoria Harbour for a time or the Minions of Despicable Me 1 and 2 fame.  

Now, of course, it's the yellow ribbons and umbrellas of the Umbrella Movement.  Still, when strolling about the protest sites, don't be surprised if you were to spot some yellow rubber ducks in the area -- and, yup, some yellow (and even orange) Minions too! ;)

Inspired art on display in Hong Kong's "Occupied" spaces

Lego artwork at Admiralty depicting a standoff between 

Umbrella Movement protesters and riot gear-equipped police

Occupy Lion Rock commemorated in Lego form!

While strolling through Tamar Park yesterday evening with a friend, I got to thinking of another friend's lament after I had shown her photos of the cool street art found in Penang's UNESCO World Heritage-listed section of George Town. "Why," she had asked, "can't the public art in Hong Kong be like that?"

Instead, as can be seen in that 1.76 hectare public space located adjacent to the Central Government Offices and Legislative Council Complex, the art on display in government created and operated gardens and such often manages to be simultaneously overly "safe" and silly looking.  (And the same often holds true as well for the art on public display at corporate created spaces like Swire Properties' Via Fiori located between Taikoo Place and Taikoo Shing.)

So imagine the surprise and joy of many people who share this opinion when beholding the refreshingly interesting -- and unpretentious -- creative efforts by Umbrella Movement members and supporters that are on show in the protest areas.  Admiralty particularly is a great place to view some really inspired artworks.

And while I've got too many 2-D favorites to list, here's stating for the record that my favorites of the three-dimensional works seen thus far are: the iconic Umbrella Man; the paper Totoro figurine which has been standing guard at the entrance to the Legislative Council Complex for some weeks now; and the Lego figurine reconstructions of a detailed scene depicting a standoff between groups of protesters and police, and a companion piece showing Lion Rock, complete with "I want universal suffrage" banner and a couple of representations of the people who enacted that inspired stunt! ;b

Into the sixth week of protests here in Hong Kong (Photo-essay)

The protests in Hong Kong have entered their sixth week.  This is quite the feat for a movement that few envisioned would last for more than a week, or even a couple of days.  Still, few members of the Umbrella Movement are celebrating at this point -- this not least because none of its explicitly stated goals have yet to be achieved.

Also, those of us with memories of the summer of 1989 have not forgotten that six weeks of peaceful protests in Beijing ended with the Tiananmen Square massacre.  So even while the atmosphere at the likes of Admiralty this weekend generally seemed on the relaxed side, I hope that people there don't let their guard down completely.  

At the same time though, I do hope as well that people will be unafraid to do such as (continue to) be there to bear witness to Umbrella Movement-inspired creative efforts, the messages that people seek to convey, and the fact of the protest areas remaining very much "occupied" -- as I'm hereby recording for posterity:-

A reminder spotted at Admiralty this afternoon of why 

people are out there -- and have been for six weeks now

 Tents on the road have become a sight that 

seems normal to the likes of me now

The Occupation of Lion Rock commemorated artistically

on the side of one of the tents pitched at Admiralty

And should there be any doubt, yes, the tents are 

occupied -- and there also still are people 

sleeping on the bare street in the protest areas!

 Tents, not just umbrellas, figure on the designs

of Umbrella Movement posters now

 An umbrella, Lion Rock, the famous "I want 

real universal suffrage" banner and Totoro

cleverly combined to make a cool protest poster

 Seen for the first time this afternoon :)

 Each time I see this image (which I first spotted 

a couple of weeks ago), I think the artwork and 

its message are really beautiful

Umbrella Movement ideas beyond wanting genuine democracy

The messages at Admiralty have gone beyond

cries for genuine democracy

 And ditto at Causeway Bay, where a map has been set up 

showing the locations of local retailers, etc. in the area

 And the cleaning, and cleanliness, continues at Admiralty!

Two thoughts have been on my mind today.  The first is -- with apologies to those who are not fans of the kawaii creature -- that today's Hello Kitty's 40th birthday!  The second is that it's now November and the Umbrella Movement, which got going back in September, is still very much alive and kicking -- and, to judge from the behavior of some of the people I saw at Admiralty this afternoon, still attracting new visitors to the protest sites as well as regulars and those who don't so much visit as have made themselves at home there.

At the same time though, I think everyone knows that this "occupation" can't go on forever like this and talks of an endgame -- or, at least, the need for one -- have already begun.  In addition, while the road to genuine democracy looks to still be firmly blocked, certain other paths look to have been explored -- or even already taken -- by Umbrella Movement members to help make Hong Kong better, including the following (in no particular order):-

1) Looking after the environment -- by keeping one's surroundings clean.  This doesn't only mean no littering but also involves picking up trash, sweeping the roads, etc. -- and has been something that looks to have been done pretty much right from the start of the Umbrella Movement and remains the case at Admiralty, even if less so at Causeway Bay and Mongkok.  

2) Caring for the environment -- by recycling plastics, paper, etc., and also asking visitors to the protest areas to bring water in their own containers rather than keep on purchasing small plastic bottles of it.  Add to this that the protest areas are pretty much no go areas for cars and other motorised vehicles, and you've got yourself much more environmentally friendly areas of Hong Kong than the norm!

3) Caring for other people -- by doing such as donating and sharing food, drink, etc., and volunteering time and effort to a cause one believes in.  On a not unrelated note: a fellow blogger emailed to tell me that she has been worried about venturing to the protest areas because of safety concerns but that the protests have got her wanting to do something to help Hong Kong, and she's gone and done that by way of donating to those in need.  There may be people who scoff at her fears but I prefer to focus on her being motivated to do good -- and do look upon it as a positive outcome of the Umbrella Movement.  

4) Valuing local produce and agriculture -- and food security and self sufficiency.  It's been remarked by more than one person that if China wanted to quickly bring Hong Kong to its knees, it'd stop its supply of water and food to this territory with a "non-existent agricultural" policy.  While it's hard to envision a time when Hong Kong could ever be entirely self-sufficient, Hong Kong also should not be leaving 80 percent of its agricultural land idle.  And sure, not everyone wants to be a farmer -- but those who wish to do so should be encouraged, not discouraged, from doing so.  

5) Rethinking shopping strategies -- and doing such as supporting local businesses, particularly those ones that cater primarily to Hong Kong residents rather than those people (who I can't really think of as regular tourists) who come over to Hong Kong and treat it as not much more than a giant shopping area.  

Last Saturday, my friend over at The Fragrant Harbour wrote an excellent blog entry about the Umbrella Movement helping to re-balance the economy. It's also my hope that we're seeing a general move away from coveting luxury and "prestige" items, motivated in part by the sense that, contrary to what Deng Xiaoping said, to be rich per se is not glorious, not least since -- to judge from the examples of certain Hong Kong tycoons and other wealthy folks -- the pursuit of great wealth can sometimes make people become heartless, if not inhuman. How's that for a revolutionary idea?!

Horror and fear on Halloween?

An Umbrella Movement poster that's especially 

appropriate to highlight on Halloween

A shot taken this evening that may strike fear in the 

hearts (if they have them) of the Hong Kong authorities --

regular looking folks on their way to Occupy

...and for true horror, get a load of this from Laura Cha, a board member of HSBC Holdings who also is a member of Hong Kong's Executive Council, the chairwoman of the territory Financial Services Development Council and a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress in Beijing:-

American slaves were liberated in 1861 but did not get voting rights until 107 years later. So why can't Hong Kong wait for a while?

Firstly, Ms Cha, you need to do a bit of studying - because, as the blogger known as Hemlock has pointed out, slavery wasn't fully outlawed in the US until 1865 and it was just five years later, in 1870, that freed (male) slaves were granted voting rights.

Secondly, what constitutes "a while" to you?  Put another way: are you saying that Hong Kongers should wait for 107 years (after 1997) to get genuine voting rights?

Thirdly, those talking about time should do well to realize that, as Scholarism's Joshua Wong has pointed out, time is actually on the side of the youth.  In an article translated from Chinese to English for The New York Times, the 18 year old also stated the following:-

Today, there are many middle school students active in the pro-democracy movement: Students as young as 13 have boycotted classes, while teenagers of all ages have been staying overnight at the protest sites. They protest gracefully, despite being attacked by police and hired thugs.

...Hong Kong’s ruling class will eventually lose the hearts and minds of the people, and even the ability to govern, because they have lost a generation of youth....

..I would like to remind every member of the ruling class in Hong Kong: Today you are depriving us of our future, but the day will come when we decide your future. No matter what happens to the protest movement, we will reclaim the democracy that belongs to us, because time is on our side.