Umbrella Revolution

 

Umbrella Revolution

      Remember as a kid when you were given things to make up for the things you really wanted? Like brand cereal for store-brand cereal? Or like Coke to a soda completely different? If this has irritated you, then you feel the same way the people of Hong Kong do.

 

      Believe it or not, Hong Kong isn't a city in China; it's actually a country located south of China in the South China Sea and it's not a third-world country; it's actually over-populated with the Chinese. Hong Kong was occupied by the British regime for 152 years. On July 1, 1997, the British ended their rule and let China take over the small area that same day. This means that all of the rules and policies in China would apply to Hong Kong.

 

      Now let's talk some politics: China and Hong Kong are Communist countries. In the past, China has let the small country have its own privacy regarding politics until September 22, when demonstrations began due to China's decision to allow only Beijing-voted candidates to stand in the city's 2017 election for the top civil position of chief executive.
 

      The people of Hong Kong (mostly students) are angry because China has gone back on their pledge to allow universal suffrage in the small country and that's not all. Hong Kong is protesting for democracy (government by the people) but China is fighting back. The people in mainland China are afraid that if Hong Kong becomes a democracy, that it will spread from there to the mainland.

 

      As the students continue their protests and demand for the Chief Executive to resign, the current Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying (a deeply unpopular leader) is not backing down. He says authorities have handled protests with a "huge degree of tolerance'.

"I will not resign and I don't have to resign," Leung adds. The riots are being compared to the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

      There are some fairly good things coming from the riot, like the protesters trying to be as peaceful as possible. they use tactics such as 'Hands Up Don't Shoot' inspired by the Ferguson clamor. Umbrellas are used to protects other from the police and their pepper spray, which is why these demonstrations are named "Umbrella Revolution." There's also a picture of a man holding an umbrella high in the air refusing the run away as deadly clouds of tear gas surround him. He is called 'Umbrella Man' and this is being compared to Tiananmen Square's 'Tank Man'; the man who stood alone in front of an army line of tanks. As the Hongkongers make their protests known to the world, you can say that the protesters have bulletproof minds, bodies and hearts of steel.



The article's facts was pulled from CNN.com and CBC.com.