With the disappearance of the police, the crowds have relaxed and the calm
atmosphere that blankets most demonstrations in Hong Kong has returned. Protesters sit together on pedestrian bridges, on curbs, in the road, sitting in groups
of two or three, chatting as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. But they’re
far from finished. Near the government headquarters, people have set up microphones. They chant and they sing, chanting for Leung Chun-Ying, the current
Chief Executive, to resign, and signing the Cantonese version of “Do You Hear
the People Sing” from “Les Misérables.”
The situation doesn’t cease to amaze: the escalation of the demonstrations, from
student-led boycotts to protests over 100,000 strong, the police reaction, the
subsequent outpouring of support from the citizens of Hong Kong. Even now, the
protesters display discipline and order – even while building a barricade with
fences and plastic zip ties, protesters made a point of throwing used ties into
trash bags.
On Tuesday evening, thousands still sat in the roads. Nelson returned to the
protests and parked himself on one of the main roads in Central, eating biscuits,
talking to people. He marveled at the way these prote sts brought people together,
congregated them in spaces they could never ordinarily occupy. It was the magic
of public space, he decided. These demonstrations drew people out and together
in a way that no other protest in recent years has. Nelson said he saw more
concern and passion from the gathered students than he had ever seen before.
But despite Hong Kong’s awakened solidarity, there’s no telling what will happen next, no telling whether the people’s efforts will result in any changes. Some
believe the protests will simply end whenever people grow tired.
The legacy of the protests may lie in more than just the results, though.
“Whatever the outcome, the fact that the people of Hong Kong are willing to
express desires for freedom and representation, and willing to sacrifice some
of that to express their needs as a people, is important and necessary,” Nelson
said.
For him, it’s the less palpable changes that matter.
“Even if they don’t get what they want, it’s killed the image of Hong Kong as an
apathetic people.”