Hong Kong protests: Little remains of Umbrella Movement

Ten years after a million Hong Kongers took to the streets to stand up for democracy and free expression, in what later came to be called the Umbrella Movement, a Hong Kong man was sentenced to 14 months in prison for wearing a t-shirt reading: "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times."

He is among three people to be sent to prison last week under Hong Kong's expanded national security law for the first time.

The other two men were accused, respectively, of scribbling pro-democracy graffiti on a bus seat, and criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping on social media.

This week, a Hong Kong court sentenced the former editor-in-chief of Stand News, Chung Pui-kuen, to 21 months in prison for "sedition" under a draconian, Beijing-backed, national security law.

According to Megan Khoo, a researcher and policy advisor at Hong Kong Watch, a UK-based human rights group, these most recent legal moves have greatly "increased fear" among the populace. 

"There's lots of uncertainty around where the red line is … also lots of self-censorship that's imposed," she added.

For many Hong Kongeres, these recent cases are a stark contrast to what many had hoped for when they took to the streets ten years ago during the Umbrella Movement. 

Hong Kong's movement of change

"It was the peak of peaceful protest. People still believed they could sit down and communicate well with the Hong Kong government," said Roy, a Hongkonger now working for a publishing firm in Taipei. He spoke to DW under a pseudonym due to safety concerns.

At the time, the protesters took to the streets in opposition of Beijing's attempt at reforming Hong Kong's electoral system to require pre-screening of possible candidates to ensure support of Beijing's policies.

Protesters felt that this was a violation of the principle of free and fair elections and set out to push for change through non-violent occupations of the city's political and economic centers.

"It was a really significant moment for Hong Kong," said Khoo.

"Hong Kongers were showing the world what they stood for, not necessarily what the Chinese government or [President]Xi Jinping wanted for them after he came into power. It was quite powerful," she told DW.

From peaceful protest to fierce resistance

After 79 days of peaceful occupation, the protests were brought to an end under a heavy crackdown from Beijing. Hong Kong police fired tear gas at protesters for the first time since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China from the United Kingdom.

The violent crackdown was a profound shock for many pro-democracy activists, including Roy.

"Everyone felt they had reached their limit. They were left wondering what to do when peaceful dialogue proved ineffective," Roy told DW. "So by 2019, during the Anti-Extradition Bill protests, people began to adopt different methods."

In 2019, large-scale protests erupted again in Hong Kong in response to Beijing's proposal to amend the Extradition Law, which democracy activists feared could be used as a political tool to crack down on dissidents in the city.

Tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets demanding the withdrawal of the bill.

In a departure from the tactic of peaceful occupation that defined the Umbrella Movement, clashes between protesters and police escalated into violent confrontations in many areas.

Some protesters used iron rods and petrol bombs to attack riot police, while the latter fired water cannons, rubber bullets, tear gas and even live ammunition.

In 2020, a year after the massive protests, Beijing passed the controversial Hong Kong National Security Law, leading to a new wave of political repression.

Politicians and activists were arrested with some facing sentences of up to life imprisonment. Many, including Nathan Law, fled Hong Kong and now live in exile.

'Failed' but still hopeful

In hindsight, Roy characterized Hong Kong's decade-long journey of social movements as "one failure after another" if solely looking at the outcome. But he emphasized that "there is still a group of people working hard" for change in their significantly transformed city.

"People are starting to accept reality," he said. "Some have given up on protesting entirely and focus on making money, but there's also a group using different methods to fight within the law."

"We might feel that after the 2019 protests, there are no other methods of resistance. But people felt the same way at the end of the Umbrella Movement," Roy told DW. "I truly believe there is hope."

Edited by: Ole Tangen Jr