Nathan Law Quits Demosisto

Nathan Law was the youngest elected lawmaker to the Legislative Council

Former legislator Nathan Law Kwun-chung has had enough and is quitting Demosisto, the political party he co-founded.

The 24-year-old pro-democracy activist made the announcement yesterday on social media, saying he was stepping down as chairman of the two-year-old party, while co-founder Joshua Wong Chi-fung remains Demosisto's secretary-general.

Law said in his Facebook post on Wednesday that he is not abandoning his vision or beliefs, but wanted to "open up paths that were not explored before".

Law (far left) with Joshua Wong and Alex Chow at Occupy

"Since the umbrella movement, I have been living in the vortex of the political storm. In the face of the stern political situation, I found myself overloaded both physically and mentally. I need time to rally my forces and think about the road ahead."

Indeed he has been through a lot since he and Wong started Scholarism exactly seven years ago this month and since then Law has been in the public eye, particularly during the Occupy Movement in 2014.

Two years later the duo started Demosisto and Law ran and won a seat in the Legislative Council elections that year.

However, Law was dogged with law suits and jail time -- he, Wong and Alex Chow Yong-kang were convicted and jailed for six to eight months last August for their role in the Occupy protests that were deemed illegal.

Also after he was elected democratically into Legco in 2016, he was disqualified last year by the court for his improper oath-taking in which he made a short speech before taking the oath.

Law campaigning in 2016 with the Demosisto party

He quoted Mahatma Gandhi in saying: "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." And then as he took the oath, when it came to the word "republic", he changed the tone of his voice as if you ask a question -- "I swear allegiance to... the People's Republic of China?" he asked.

Although his oath was validated by the clerk, there was an unprecedented legal challenge mounted by then chief executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung. First it was Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung who were disqualified, then Law along with three others.

So one can imagine Law might be mentally and physically exhausted after what he has gone through. He also hints it's time to figure out another way to fight the establishment, though how else can one do that without doing something illegal these days?

The pro-Beijing side must be elated -- one less opponent to deal with (for now), and now there is speculation how much longer Demosisto will be around now that one of the co-founders is leaving.

It's not easy to walk away from something you have started, but perhaps Law feels now is the time to take a break and figure out what to do next.

Occupy Trio Walk Free, but with Caveat

Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law outside the Court of Final Appeal

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang may have walked free from the Court of Final Appeal today, but the future of the democratic movement in Hong Kong is uncertain.

Their prison sentences ranging from six to eight months for storming Civic Square days before the Umbrella Movement erupted in late September 2014 were thrown out by Hong Kong's highest court, but there is a serious caveat.

The five judges also ruled that there should be new sentencing guidelines laid down by the Court of Appeal last August to impose tougher punishments in cases of unlawful assembly involving violence.

September 26 the trio and others stormed Civic Square

So while civil disobedience may be allowed in Hong Kong, any violence attached to it would result in criminal punishment because it would not be considered civil disobedience anymore.

Basically, it reiterates that what happened from September to December 2014 would not be considered civil disobedience because there was violence.

When the trio appeared outside the court, Wong described the judgment as "sugar-coated harsh punishment".

"It's not a time for celebration," Wong said. "In the future... maybe more and more activists will be locked up because of this harsh judgment."

Law was also not pleased. "Although our appeal was allowed, Hong Kong's democratic movement has lost a battle," he said.

The storming of Civic Square led to the 79-day Occupy protest

Where does this leave Hong Kong's ongoing push for democracy?

Participants in marches for democracy must take extra care in ensuring things don't get out of hand, otherwise arrests possibly leading to convictions will be made. While we are pleased that the right to civil disobedience is defended, there are strings attached.

This makes the way forward perilous but the push towards democracy needs to keep going. At least we know it must be non-violent. But how violent is violent? That was not clearly defined...

Where's the Hope?

Many young people are stuck in retail jobs, like the ones in Sogo

Last night I had dinner with some friends and talked about a perennial hot button issue -- housing prices.

One has been keeping track of her home evaluation and while she's pleased to see the price of her flat increasing quickly, at the same time she is dismayed that buying a home is even more impossible for young people in Hong Kong.

Most customers are mainlanders, but are we catering to them?

I had that in mind after dinner I went to the Sogo department store to see what I could buy for myself for Chinese New Year. The place wasn't very busy, with shoppers split between mainlanders and locals, the majority the former.

At one shop space selling sneakers, I was mortified to hear the young female shop assistant's Mandarin was atrocious. It was more Cantonese than Mandarin. Another shoe shop was the same. Another spoke in a tone that was laced with condescension.

Were they high school dropouts? Or they were unable to get into university? It was hard for me to tell, but on the whole most shop assistants' Mandarin skills were not good. Not only that, but their attitude towards their job was hardly enthusiastic.

Young people can't even afford one of these flats in the city

I know retail is not a career path many people aspire to, but surely it would be a motivator to find a way to get out? Or are they resigned to the possibility that this is their job forever? There wasn't any interest in trying to be a cheerful person, nor trying to improve their Mandarin skills.

Is this the generation the Hong Kong government claims it wants to foster? If so it's no wonder mainlanders feel a sense of ambivalence in the city; they want to enjoy it, and yet they are not welcome.

Why?

Preventing Agnes Chow Ting from running in the by-election, scorning the nomination of Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang and the Umbrella Movement for the Nobel Peace Prize, and making no efforts to rein in housing prices and creating more job opportunities for young people shows the government doesn't care about the next generation.

The rift between young people and government grows wider

My friend pointed out the government has been pushing for closer links to China, which has resulted in young people retaliating by becoming "localists", focusing more on Cantonese -- which has resulted in English being left by the wayside.

How can Hong Kong call itself international anymore?

Beijing and the Hong Kong government have a lot to do to heal the rift -- they are the ones who have the power to change things for the better. Giving people hope makes the world go round instead of now, stagnant and bitter.

Yellow Umbrella Nobel Nomination

Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow were nominated for the peace prize

Late last night the news broke that 12 US congressmen had nominated Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang and the Umbrella Movement for the Nobel Peace Prize. It is the first time there has been a nominee from Hong Kong.

As expected, Beijing and pro-establishment politicians were up in arms about it.

In a strongly worded statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in part: "Hong Kong's affairs are China's affairs, and China firmly objects to anyone intervening through any means.

Marco Rubio is one of the congressmen who nominated Wong

"We would urge the relevant congressmen to stop meddling with Hong Kong's affairs and China's domestic affairs. They should do more things that are conducive to the development of China-US ties, and not the opposite."

It's a reaction that was totally expected, but will this mean repercussions for Hong Kong?

A friend of mine asked me this today when she asked for my thoughts on the Nobel nomination.

Hong Kong would probably not be punished per say -- the activists have already done their jail time and further restricted in what they can do with their lives. No financial institutions want to open bank accounts with them nor employers hire them for jobs so they are pretty much confined in their livelihoods.

Also with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at the helm, Beijing has full confidence she has control over the city; protests of that scale will never happen again in the city.

Therefore it's a bit strange that these US congressmen who are critical of China choose to nominate the trio and the Umbrella Movement when it failed to achieve anything in the end. Some may point out things have gotten worse with the further politicization of issues and people. Even the colour yellow has political connotations.

The 2014 Umbrella Movement was unprecedented in its scale

Hong Kong residents didn't get one man, one vote. The government tried to ram electoral reform down their throats but the majority of people didn't buy it.

However a few good things came out of the movement. Young people became less apathetic and more interested in politics. Sadly they have been dismissed as decent political contenders in the upcoming by-election for seats in the Legislative Council -- we're thinking of Agnes Chow Ting here -- but that hasn't stopped them, even those in high school to be more politically aware of what is going on.

The other good thing about this Nobel nomination is that it reminds the rest of the world about the plight of Hong Kong. Some may vaguely remember the relatively peaceful protests that went on for 79 days, or others will learn about it for the first time. Drawing attention to Hong Kong is a good thing. Any publicity is good publicity.

We're assuming this news was blocked in China, and besides, Beijing should realize that anyone can nominate anyone for a Nobel prize and it doesn't mean the committee will take all the nominations seriously.

Regardless, being nominated is a sign that Hong Kong's struggle for democracy is not forgotten.

Strength in Numbers

Thousands of people at Johnston and Luard roads waiting for march to start

It turns out there weren't only a few people outraged about the jailing of the three Occupy leaders, Joshua Wong Chi-fung Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang -- there were tens of thousands of them.

Police estimated there were about 22,000 people who started the march at Southern Playground in Wan Chai -- which probably means there were many, many more people willing to be outside in the hot sun, pouring with sweat.

We were stuck on Luard Road for an hour --  in the shade!

I took the MTR from Admiralty to Wan Chai and there were so many people getting on the train that I knew already that lots of protesters would show up. That was the biggest concern of my friend YTSL who worried that only a few people would show up like on July 1.

One would think the 20th anniversary of the handover would be enough to spur people to get out into the streets, but it was this hot button issue of jailing what the foreign media are calling "Hong Kong's first prisoners of conscience" that got people out.

YTSL and I managed to find each other and then headed out the to the Johnston Road exit where it seemed everyone else was heading, but after we got out of Southern Playground, we barely moved for an hour.

Some confused tram riders refused to get off...

We speculate the police underestimated how many people would show up and so the march was halted from starting in order to get enough manpower to close the streets and stand along the march path.

Or they were trying to make protesters annoyed enough that they would leave before it began. A few elderly people did -- it really was quite hot -- but other than that the rest of us stayed put and shouted "hoi lo!" or "let us march!"

At around 4.15pm we finally made our way up Luard Road and then turned left onto Hennessy Road. A few people tried to pump up the crowd with slogans, but for the most part we just wanted to show our presence.

Many yellow umbrellas reminiscent of the Occupy protests

One elderly protester seemed keen to pick fights with anyone, police officers in particular with verbal slurs, but his friends dragged him away or told him to calm down. We're just here to march, mister! No need to start a fight!

From Hennessy Road onwards to the Court of Final Appeal in Central, it was pretty smooth sailing and we could walk at a decent pace. Tons of buses going west were stopped in their tracks, along with trams going in each direction. We wondered why people would stay in the trams because they wouldn't be moving for quite a while...

It was kind of bizarre how we had to wait for an hour at the starting point, but it took less than an hour to march to Central. When we got to the end, volunteers were soliciting donations for the three pro-democracy groups that organized the march: League of Social Democrats, Demosisto and Civil Human Rights Front.

Afterwards people rallied at the Court of Final Appeal

They asked for a minimum of HK$10 but I saw several people put HK$100 and even HK$500 bills in the boxes.

We didn't stay behind for the rally, as there were thousands of people behind us who had yet to arrive, but we were just pleased to voice our opinion with our feet!

Joshua Wong's Mom Hits Back

Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow before sentencing yesterday

 When Joshua Wong Chi-fung was in the spotlight for his activism starting back in 2011 to protest against national education, his parents were media shy. But following Wong's sentencing yesterday, his mother could not help but make a statement.

Grace Ng Chau-mei wrote a letter to her son before the sentencing that was only released afterwards on Wong's Facebook page.

Wong is now staying at Pik Uk prison near Sai Kung

In it, she said Wong, 20, had sacrificed personal and family time since first entering political activism in May 2011, for the sake of "building a more beautiful Hong Kong".

Ng criticized the Hong Kong government for pursuing the stiffer sentences. "The justice department vowed to imprison them based on what they said... and to eliminate young people's passion and ideals, as well as their vision and commitment for the society," she wrote.

"Why is Hong Kong so depraved now to be treating this generation of children like this?" she asked.

In a reference to the biblical figure Joshua, who led the Israelites in the conquest of God's "Promised Land" in Canaan, Ng wrote: "Dad and I gave you this name 'Joshua'. So don't forget what God told Joshua: reflect on whatever you do, follow the truth, and you can be courageous."

While Wong's parents were not in court on Thursday, Ng visited him today at Pik Uk maximum security prison near Sai Kung.

A reminder in strength in numbers to create change

There he will have to study and attend vocational training, and as he is underage, he has to march military style to the canteen for meals, and clean his own toilet.

When he turns 21 in October, he will be moved to another correctional facility.

However, he may not have to be there long -- his lawyers are preparing applications for Wong, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang be granted leave to prepare for their appeal.

Last night and today on many people's Facebook feeds, they posted pictures they took during the 2014 Umbrella Movement as a reminder of what the trio (and tens of thousands of others) were fighting for.

Some felt it was yet another blow in the fight for self-determination, others a nostalgic reminder that we should not forget what happened almost three years ago.

No one knows how this will end, but it is important not to give up -- that's exactly what the Hong Kong government wants people to do.

This is about the city's future, and jailing the next generation isn't the solution.

Three Occupy Leaders Jailed

Joshua Wong in a police van before being sent to start his prison sentence

Joshua Wong Chi-fung hasn't been afraid to stand up for his convictions, but today he, along with Alex Chow Yong-kang and former legislator Nathan Law Kwun-chung will face their biggest test yet -- prison time -- for storming Civic Square, that led to the eruption of the Umbrella Movement almost three years ago.

Wong was sentenced to six months, Law eight, and Chow seven. Because their prison terms are longer than three months, they are ineligible to run for a seat in the Legislative Council for the next five years.

The trio were defiant before the sentences were handed down

Speaking before the ruling, and expecting to be behind bars, Wong said he wanted to see a "hopeful Hong Kong when I am out [of prison] next year", while Law declared he had no regrets about his activism.

While we know the trio are steadfast in their beliefs, are they physically strong enough to deal with prison life? Look at former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen -- he couldn't even handle two months and he had it really cushy.

Nevertheless we're deeply disappointed in the ruling. Wong and Law had already served their community service sentences that were originally handed down by trial magistrate June Cheung Tin-ngan, along with Chow's suspended three-week jail sentence.

The trio had testified they stormed Civic Square in the hopes of securing talks with then chief executive Leung Chun-ying over the restrictive framework set by Beijing over how Hong Kong would elect its next leader.

The storming of Civic Square led to the Umbrella Movement

Cheung had ruled the case was atypical, and that it called for a more lenient and understanding attitude since the three were young student activists who expressed their demands based on genuinely held political ideals.

At the time she said a deterrent sentence would not be fair.

However, the Hong Kong government wasn't satisfied with the punishment meted out and demanded a judicial review of the sentences, with prosecutors saying they were too lenient and sent the wrong message to young people.

Do those sentences send the wrong message? Are they too lenient? Or do they reveal the government's intentions to bend the law however it sees fit to punish those who try to defy it?

The three will already be punished for life anyway -- they cannot go to the mainland to travel or work, they will never be able to get a proper job in Hong Kong. Financially they are already stymied and they are less than 30 years old.

The government seems heavy-handed in this case, but it's meant to send a warning to others who may think they can take the trio's place to continue the fight.

"The freedom of assembly is never absolute," wrote Wally Yeung, a vice president of the Court of Appeal, who added the court must uphold the importance of public order even though "sentencing ambitious, idealist young people to immediate imprisonment" was not a judgment he made "readily".

Then why did the trio of judges decide on these sentences?

Fellow protest leader Lester Shum says the three plan to appeal their sentences.

On Twitter Wong posted this message soon after his sentence: "They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers."

Lenient Sentences for Trio

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow speak outside the court

Today Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang can thank their lucky stars today, escaping serious jail time after being convicted for their actions in storming Civic Square in the Hong Kong government headquarters on September 26, 2014, which two days later sparked the Umbrella Movement that lasted 79 days.

The trio were prepared for the worst, as their crimes, unlawful assembly and inciting others to join in unlawful assembly carried the maximum penalty of HK$5,000 and three years in jail.

Wong was handed 80 hours of community service for unlawful assembly, while Law received a sentence of 120 hours of community service for inciting others to join in unlawful assembly.

The three were part of the group that stormed Civic Square

However, Chow was sentenced to three weeks in jail suspended for a years so that he could study his Masters in the UK.

The community service sentence was a relief to Law, who is running for a seat in next month's Legislative Council elections. If he had to go to jail, that could have disqualified him from being a candidate.

It seems Magistrate June Cheung Tin-ngan considered the motives and intentions behind the offence because the case was atypical from other criminal cases. She described the three activists as passionate and genuinely believing in their political ideals.

"If their actions did not originate from personal gain or intent to harm others, the court should not only consider their actions and the consequences, but also try to understand the motivations behind their offence by adopting a more lenient and understanding attitude," she said.

Cheung added a deterrent sentence would not be fair as their actions were relatively moderate compared to political events after the storming.

Two days later the police fired teargas at protesters

"The three defendants' actions were undoubtedly reckless, but they were not very violent nor intentional in harming security guards or police officers," she continued. "They only wanted to enter the east wing forecourt, the Civic Square with a historical and symbolic meaning that they genuinely believe in, to form a circle and chant slogans."

Outside the court, Chow said he found the ruling powerful and that it was a wake-up call for those in power and an important warning to the community that one must consider the motives and political stances behind Hong Kong's different voices.

On Twitter, Wong said: "I was given 80 hours of community service for unlawful assembly. I will not regret for [sic] my commitment in the Umbrella Movement."

Localists and pan-democrats must be relieved the three weren't severely punished, and perhaps the sentences demonstrate the authorities may have gone overboard in arresting anyone they thought was related to the Umbrella Movement in the hopes of jailing as many of them as possible as a lesson.

It'll be interesting to see how these sentences will affect the Demosisto vote on September 4 and if their support grows or wanes.

Three Occupy Student Leaders are Convicted

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow were leaders of Occupy protests

And so it began...

Two years ago on September 26, the government closed off an area at its headquarters, a large space that was dubbed Civic Square.

It seemed ironic the government was not allowing taxpayers into a space that they had essentially paid for, but this only propelled student activists like Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alex Chow Yong-kang and Nathan Law Kwun-chung into climbing the fence and occupying Civic Square.

They did get into Civic Square and Law encouraged others to storm the area too, but they were quickly surrounded by police. It was deadlocked for two days until that fateful Sunday, when members of the public demanded the police let the student activists go.

The police surrounded those who had stormed Civic Square

Later that afternoon all chaos broke loose in Admiralty, and thousands of people began spreading out into the streets, which suddenly began the start of the 79-day protest.

And now the three student leaders have been convicted for what they did.

Wong and Chow were found guilty of unlawful assembly, and Law was convicted of inciting others to join in an unlawful assembly.

While the three were released on bail, it is the first time the trio were criminally convicted and will be sentenced on August 15.

The maximum sentence they could get is a HK$5,000 fine and three years in jail.

Law said they did not regret what they did. "Because of our actions, the 'umbrella movement' started, and we believe it is very important for Hong Kong," he said. "We still think we did something right."

While we admire their actions from two years ago, where has this led us? Things have become more divisive than ever, though for the pan-democratic side, it's more honest in being outspoken and true to their hearts.

We'll have to see how their sentences play out, if it seems like the judiciary has an opinion about this trio...

Further Clampdown on Occupy Leaders

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow enter Wan Chai police station

Eleven months after the incident, three students were charged today for starting the 79-day Occupy Movement.

Scholarism leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Federation of Students secretary general Nathan Law Kwun-chung and his predecessor Alex Chow Yong-kang went to Wan Chai police headquarters to plead not guilty.

Wong was charged with taking part and inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly; Chow was charged for taking part in an unlawful assembly, and Law for inciting others to take part in it.

The trio were part of a group who broke into Civic Square at Hong Kong government headquarters last September 26. That incident was precipitated by students who had staged a class boycott for several days outside the building protesting Beijing's white paper on election reform, where all candidates would be vetoed by a 1,200-member pro-China committee.

The eruption of tear gas sparked the occupation of Admiralty

After the young people broke into Civic Square, police surrounded them and then two days later, members of the public (myself included) went there to demand that the students be released. Hours later the police shot 87 canisters of tear gas that sparked the occupation of Admiralty, Mongkok, Causeway Bay and briefly Tsim Sha Tsui.

"'Civic Square' had been a place where we gathered freely to protest against the national education curriculum and the free television license decision. We were only trying to get into that place... So this is a political prosecution," Wong said. "The break in was the best decision I made in the last four years."

Law explained the reasoning behind pleading not guilty. "We are jumping into this procedure today to expose [the injustice] in it. When the law is used to suppress the people, we will not bow down... and show remorse or apologize just to get a milder penalty," he said.

Wong's lawyer, Michael Vidler, is considering asking the court to end the legal proceedings permanently because it was wrong to prosecute 11 months after the incident.

Exactly. Why is this happening now? Is someone or a group trying to get revenge for the outright rejection of the political reform package, after several pro-Beijing lawmakers walked out of the Legislative Council minutes before the vote?

Why weren't these young people prosecuted as soon as the 79-day protest was over and they willingly gave themselves up at that time?

Benny Tai faces punishment at HKU for his part in Occupy

Meanwhile three academics at the University of Hong Kong, including Benny Tai Yiu-ting, faces punishment from the university for receiving donations and not following the rules.

The punishments were proposed by HKU senior management, that many see as retaliation against Tai, and HKU Public Opinion Programme director Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, and Humanities professor Daniel Chua. Others see the punishments as a way for the trio to avoid outright dismissal.

Tai, an associate law professor, faces a three-year ban on assuming managerial posts, receiving donations and supervising researchers at HKU. Chua faces the same three penalties as Tai, but for a shorter period, while Chung is banned from receiving donations for a shorter period.

All three declined to comment citing confidentiality, and it seems they want to read the fine print to get a better understanding of what possible punishments they are facing.

It's interesting these developments are happening now, one month to the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Movement. Surely it's an attempt to preempt some kind of event happening a month from now, but is it really necessary?

After Occupy was shut down eventually in mid-December, the momentum and appetite to continue the protest significantly died down, mostly because it ended so ugly with violent clashes with police.

While Wong, Shum, Law, Tai and Chung gained notoriety for being the faces of the movement, they are already paying the price for sticking their necks out. Chung received a number of death threats, and what are the chances of someone employing Wong after he graduates from university?

Surely these are punishment enough?

Joshua Wong vs CY Leung

Student leader Joshua Wong armed with his mobile phone

Fortune magazine has released its world's 50 "greatest leaders" and student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung rounded the top 10, while Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was no where to be found on the list.

Wong's in good company, with Apple CEO Tim Cook at No. 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping at No. 3, and Pope Francis at No. 4.

The 18-year-old student leader beat out other top personalities, such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda (No. 18), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (No. 25), and basketball star Yao Ming (No. 26).

The magazine said Wong was one of the most compelling figures during the 79-day Umbrella Movement, blocking several main roads in the city and demanding universal suffrage.

"Wong doesn't look like Hollywood's idea of a charismatic rebel leader," Fortune said, but "his non-violent protest message and energetic idealism galvanized crowds, that, over months, numbered in the hundreds of thousands."

Fortune says Leung was not a leader during the protests

Meanwhile, the magazine compared Wong to Leung, saying the chief executive lacked leadership while the student activist walked the walk.

Geoff Colvin, Fortune's senior editor noted that Leung had a range of powers from signing bills and issuing executive orders to appointing judges, but many Hong Kong people chose not to follow him during the Occupy protests.

"When they learned that the 2017 election for Leung's position would not be free and democratic, as authorities had previously suggested, they poured into the streets and followed Joshua Wong, then 17, who had started a pro-democracy student group," Colvin said.

"Leung, 60, commanded a vast city administration, including police wielding pepper spray and truncheons. Wong had a cellphone. Yet the protesters paralyzed Hong Kong for three months."

In the end the magazine says: "So who's the real leader? The answer is obvious: Leung has the leader's job, but he doesn't have leadership. Wong is the one who demonstrated that."

Fortune compiled the list based on nominations from its reporters and more than 20 leadership experts. They were looking for such qualities as vision and the ability to move others to act with them on a shared quest last year, as well as being brilliant, admirable or powerful.

We agree with Fortune's choice of Wong -- but up until the point when Leung completely ignored the student leaders to have another round of dialogue, and Wong began his pathetic hunger strike.

That's when the Open University student began losing credibility, and his weak attempt at gaining attention yielded nothing except health concerns.

Nonetheless, we're pleased Wong is in the top 10 because he as well as Alex Chow Yong-kang and Lester Shum really were the leaders of the Umbrella Movement, who inspired young and old to fight for what they believed in.

Keeping the movement alive is what the Umbrella Movement is about, and with the six-month anniversary to the start of the protests tomorrow, Fortune's praise of Wong is a reminder of the goal of true universal suffrage.

Here We Go Again

Twenty-four pan-Democrats walk out of Legco with yellow umbrellas

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet Ngor addressed the Legislative Council this afternoon, announcing the second round of public consultation regarding Hong Kong's political reforms.

She said the public being able to vote for the next chief executive in 2017 was "an opportunity not to be missed" and "the only way to create a solid foundation for further democratization".

What a sales pitch.

But instead there is no change on how candidates will be nominated -- as decided by the national legislature in China on August 31 last year -- that the public must choose between two or three candidates who have been chosen by a 1,200-strong nominating committee.

Isn't this what people protested about for 79 days?

As a result, 24 pan-Democrats opened yellow umbrellas in Legco and stormed out while chanting, "I want real democracy".

The pan-Democrats had promised long ago to veto the government's public consultation, though Lam urged them to give up their protest.

Chief Secretary Lam is in tough position to deliver

"At this stage, any person refusing to participate in the consultation, or even vowing to veto any constitutional development proposal... is tantamount to depriving 5 million eligible voters of their opportunity to elect the chief executive by universal suffrage," she said.

"Even if certain 'legal space' is available, the 'political space' must be created by all of us. I urge all Lego members to think twice and not to destroy completely the limited 'political space' remaining before the second round of public consultation has yet to commence.

"Adopting a negative and uncomfortable attitude, or even taking confrontational acts... would only aggravate social conflict and internal attrition, and cause harm to the ... well being of the whole society.

Meanwhile some critics felt the consultation process did not acknowledge the Umbrella Movement and what protesters were demanding.

But a government spokesman said the report had "reflected truthfully the events related to constitutional development" from August 31 to December 15".

Yesterday the police announced over 30 key figures of the Umbrella Movement face prosecution and must report to Wan Chai police station. These include Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit, League of Social Democrats' Leung Kwok-hung, as well as the Occupy Central trio: Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Dr Chan Kin-man.

Federation of Students' Alex Chow Yong-kang was also named along with Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Eason Chung Hiu-wah, or Federation of Students.

They have been asked to to go police headquarters to assist in the investigation over unlawful assembly. Those who show up will be arrested for instigating, organizing or aiding and abetting an unlawful assembly over the 79 days.

Security Secretary falls asleep as Lam speaks in Legco!

So what is the government doing? Just as the consultation kicks off, it silences its loudest critics. How appropriate.

However, one should also observe, that while Carrie Lam was speaking in Legco, Security Secretary Lai Tung-lok was spotted in Legco slumped to one side and asleep!

Reports say he leaned so far to one side that it looked like he may fall off his chair!

Is this what Lai really thinks about political reform in Hong Kong? Sounds like Lam's speech was hardly invigorating...

A New Normal

A last look at Admiralty two nights ago...

Just after 9pm tonight, Harcourt Road which was occupied for 75 days was finally cleared for vehicles to go back on it.

I was out all day and didn't get a chance to catch the play-by-play of the removal of the barricades and arrests of over 200 people, including Cantopop star Denise Ho and several pan-Democrat politicians like Martin Lee Chu-ming and Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, Next Media chairman Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, as well as Federation of Students' Alex Chow Yong-kang.

Earlier this evening the area was quickly cleaned up...

So now I see these pictures of the area that used to be a place I, YTSL and some friends hung out almost every weekend is now back to being an overpass.

It's so strange to see it return to what it was before, but sadly in time we will get used to it. However we will always have fond memories of what it was like for over two months.

What's next is the logical question and everyone hopes that occupying the area for 75 days is not in vain. Some protesters were distraught last night, wondering if what they had been doing for 10 weeks was all for nothing.

Vehicles are back on the road again like nothing happened...

It's definitely not. It may seem like the protesters have given up, but really they have voiced their opinions to the Hong Kong government and Beijing.

It really is up to both to engage with Hong Kong people, particularly the young ones who have identified themselves so closely to this movement.

So the ball is still in their court and we await their reply.

If not -- We Will Be Back.

Fast Losing Moral Ground

Protesters gearing up to fight with police last night at Tamar

The Occupy/Umbrella Movement's credibility is sinking faster than a lead balloon with what has happened in the last 24 hours.

Around 10pm last night, protesters tried to storm the Hong Kong government offices, particularly the Chief Executive's offices in a bid to paralyze the authorities into having a dialogue.

Not exactly the most diplomatic way of going about things, but perhaps when the government ignores you for more than a month you get frustrated...

But the police were prepared, and armed with batons and pepper spray, they also escalated, and from the footage I saw, they had no mercy in hitting people, spraying them and arresting them.

Some of the young people seemed shocked by what was happening, but should they? The occupation of Admiralty, Mongkok and Causeway Bay has lasted 65 days. The majority of people in Hong Kong have had enough with the protests and want life to return back to some kind of normality.

Protesters running from police on Lung Wo Road

Someone from above had instructed the police officers to do whatever it took to keep Lung Wo Road clear, and also try to clean out several areas including Tamar Park, where several tents had been there for weeks.

The Hong Kong Government is to blame for its inaction, with no interest in having any kind of dialogue with the students. The authorities [Beijing] don't want to be seen as bending to the students' will, so it is a losing battle.

So the clashes in the end didn't make many advances, and it was shocking to see protesters with doors acting as shields, and some kind of metal sticks as weapons as well as bricks. This is not what the protest is supposed to be about.

Meanwhile how many cans of pepper spray have the police used?

Some 40 people were arrested and 58 sent to hospital for injuries.

Protesters are now fighting amongst themselves or angry at the student leaders for not having a concrete plan. Alex Chow Yong-kang apologized tonight, but that won't retain support for the movement anymore. Some people are angry at them -- these protesters have been camping out for two months only to see things devolve into this.

Joshua Wong has started his hunger strike for attention...

And now the latest is that Scholarism's Joshua Wong Chi-fung is starting a hunger strike with two others in a bid to secure talks with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Really? Is that your solution? No one really cares if you starve... to death... people conduct hunger strikes everyday. And having lost so much credibility, pulling the sympathy card is not going to work this time.

It's conflicting and sad to see the protest movement quickly falling apart now after all this time. And now the government has every reason to shut down the protest sites because people are getting violent.

How much longer will it last? Hard to say but could be less than two weeks now that the movement has lost moral credibility. Who is going to continue to stick it out and at what cost?

Regardless, the Umbrella Movement has made it harder for Beijing to influence the next generation. And for Hong Kong, that's a victory to remember.

Denied Entry to Motherland

The three seats where the student leaders were supposed to sit on the plane

You really can't fault the students for trying.

They attempted to speak to the Hong Kong government. Finally there was a "debate" that the students won hands down through public opinion, but then nothing more has happened, because really it's Beijing that instructs the Leung administration on what to do.

Then the students suggested the pan-democrats resign en masse to trigger an election as a kind of referendum, but these politicians were too scared to actually lose their seats.

And then earlier this afternoon student leaders tried to escalate things by attempting to go to Beijing to petition their case.

But they only got as far as Hong Kong International Airport.

Three representatives of the Federation of Students tried to board a Dragon Air flight to Beijing earlier this evening but were denied the opportunity to even leave Hong Kong.

Apparently their home return permits were invalid...

Perhaps someone above instructed Dragon Air not to process their tickets? Even on the flight there were three seats with stickers on them with a red line running through them, indicating these were where the three students, including Alex Chow Yong-kang were supposed to sit.

It's also quite ironic, as someone on Twitter pointed out: "Denied entry into a country whose government insists that you belong to it?"

How true.

And how sad.

No one is taking these students seriously except their supporters, which is making this battle even more frustrating. These are the very people Beijing needs to woo and yet it denies them the opportunity to step foot in the motherland.

Just as well. I was concerned that if they did have that slim chance of entering the Chinese capital, they might attempt a public protest and then they might disappear into a black jail somewhere...

One would have thought the trio would have been allowed onto the plane but then turned back in Beijing. However, authorities obviously thought they'd save them the trouble.

There was an impromptu protest at the airport which didn't last long.

And then what happened in Admiralty tonight? Even more people showed up again...

As I said, you can't fault the students for trying to move things forward.

Still No Breakthrough

Joshua Wong and Alex Chow lead a small march through Central today

I took some friends from out of town to a foot massage place in Central and as I came out and walked along Queen's Road Central there was a protest march across the street.

Student leaders Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Alex Chow Yong-kang lead the march holding a sign that said they demanded dialogue with China's leaders.

There was some spurts of yellow and people periodically shouting slogans, "I want true democracy", "Hong Kong people want to govern Hong Kong". A few of the marchers carried yellow umbrellas, the real ones or one made of balloons.

At first it looked like a lot of people, but after walking towards the end of the procession I could see it wasn't a very large turnout, over 1,000 at best. The relatively small march was organized by the Civil Human Rights' Front.

Does this mean the Umbrella Movement is wavering? Or poor organization on the part of the Front?

Meanwhile the Federation of Students were outright rejected by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in its request for him to help facilitate a meeting between the students and state leaders.

Knowing where Tung stands, it was quite obvious he was going to tow the Party line...

"[Tung] thinks they are just repeating their views and stance in the letter, which won't help break the impasse," his spokesman said. "Mr Tung points out that the central government understands the different views in Hong Kong. The decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee on August 31 will not change."

Perhaps Tung has become public enemy Number 2 after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying...

Again Tung is adopting the stance of not even hearing the students out. What is wrong with that? As someone who is considered to have such influence in Hong Kong affairs one would think he would try to find some kind of wiggle room so that the occupation of the streets could end in the short term.

But no -- he shut the door before even hearing their concerns.

So much for being the elderly wise statesman in this situation.

In the meantime it looks like the protesters are digging in deep to wait this out for the next few months. Does Tung think the kids are out camping for fun? Has he even gone there to look at the protest sites for himself and see there are people of all ages there, including those his age and older who also want true democracy?