Viet Nam Human Rights
»
Analysis-Comment
»
home
»
News
»
political-social
»
Hong Kong protests and its potential impacts on Vietnam
Hong Kong protests and its potential impacts on Vietnam
8/10/14
As Hong Kong
protests have subsided we now should review what impacts it could make to Vietnam.
The 2014 Hong Kong protests, also referred
to as the Umbrella Revolution,
began in September 2014 when anti-government advocates in Hong Kong
protested outside the government headquarters and occupied several major city
intersections after the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) announced its
decision on proposed electoral reform.
Instead of allowing civil nominations, the NPCSC made it clear that a
1200-member nominating committee, which would remain nominated by the business
factions and strictly controlled by Beijing, would elect two to three electoral
candidates with more than half of the votes before the general public can vote
upon, which is seen as effectively screening out any pro-democracy candidate.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students
and Scholarism
began protesting outside the government headquarters on 22 September 2014
against the NPCSC's decision. On the evening of 26 September, several hundred
demonstrators breached a security barrier and entered the forecourt of the Central Government Complex, which was once
a public space that has been barred from public entry since July 2014. Officers
cordoned off protesters within the courtyard and restricted their movement
overnight, eventually removing them by force the next day. Occupy Central announced
that they would begin their civil disobedience campaign immediately. On
28 September, protesters blocked both east-west arterial routes in northern Hong Kong
Island near Admiralty. Apparent rough-handling by
police, including the unnecessary use of tear gas, and attacks on protesters in
Mong Kok by opponents that included triad members, triggered more citizens
joining the protests. The government set 6 October as a 'deadline' for the
protests to end, but this was ignored by protesters, although they allowed
government workers to enter offices that had previously been blocked. At least,
as an optimistic sign, Hong Kong government
officials and protesters agreed to negotiate, and talks will be held soon.
Let’s see. Hong
Kong protests obviously have global impacts not just in Asia.
International support for the movement is increasing, and the movement itself
is taking shape in a more structured manner, even with its own logo for the
protest. The 'Umbrella revolution' symbol is being shared on Twitter throughout
the world.[60]
A photo of a man holding an umbrella in the tear gas smoke has been likened to
as the new Tank Man
by the Western media.
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Ban “understands that this is a domestic
matter, but urges all stakeholders to resolve any differences in a manner that
is peaceful and safeguards democratic principles.”
The EU expressed
concern on 2 October over demonstrations in Hong Kong
and called on all sides to stay calm as a protester deadline for the island's
embattled leader to resign loomed. "We have been concerned about events in
Hong Kong and are closely monitoring
developments," a spokeswoman for the EU's diplomatic service said.
"In the light of the ongoing demonstrations, we welcome the restraint
shown by both sides. We urge all sides to continue to exercise this restraint."
A White House
statement following a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "the United States has consistently supported the
open system that is essential to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity,
universal suffrage, and the aspirations of the Hong Kong
people."
Vietnam’s response is quite noticeable. The Foreign
Ministry's Spokesperson Le Hai Binh said these were "internal affairs for China".
But Vietnam government has
allowed state-controlled media to report on mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, with one newspaper even carrying the profile
of a student leader of the unprecedented campaign.
Vietnam’s official Thanh
Nien newspaper has routinely covered the five days of Hong
Kong protests championing democratic elections, and recently ran a
popularly-received profile on 17-year-old student leader Joshua Wong, who has
become the unlikely face of the demonstrations, known as the “Umbrella
Revolution.”
A number of other
state-run newspapers, including Dan
Tri, Nguoi Lao Dong and Giao Duc, as well as online news
sites VNexpress, VNeconomy and VietnamNet, have also run articles covering the
protests.
But would that be
so risky! Emboldened by pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Vietnamese
democratic activists are rallying for demonstrations against the government’s
plans to hold an elaborate celebration marking the 60th anniversary of Hanoi’s
liberation from French rule. Meanwhile, nearly two dozen Vietnamese activist
groups issued a statement Tuesday expressing the hope that the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement would serve as
inspiration for freedom-loving people in their one-party communist state.
Apparently, the
week-long peaceful pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong will have a lasting
impact on human rights not only in the semiautonomous Chinese territory and China but also
across the world.
However, don’t you be worried, because the situation
in Hong Kong is different from Vietnam’s.
Our electoral system has been operating smoothly and democratically, which
received nation-wide support of our people, and there will be no chance
something like that would happen in Vietnam./.
Popular Posts
-
Religion is a part of the spiritual life in society, this phenomenon of the superstructure has been strongly changed with economic - social... -
Vietnam has just done well for the second cycle of Universal Periodical Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland. So, what’s the UPR? an... -
Thai people in Shutdown Bangkok protests Not until this crisis, we have realized the ne... -
Representatives from foreign countries congratulate Viet Nam on its election to the Human Rights Council for the first time on November ... -
A street flowers vendor in Hanoi Another new spring has come to Vietnam, bring... -
If nothing changes, there will be a preferential credit program with hundreds of thousands billion of capital for agriculture and r... -
Recently, several anti-governmental individuals have established series of illegal groups and organizations in the name of civil soci... -
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit international broadcasting agency of the United States government that broadcasts and...
All comments [ 10 ]
From the begining, I know this movement couldn't last long, just some students can't push back the stream.
We have been concerned about events in Hong Kong and are closely monitoring developments.
Don't be foolish to be puppets for others to control!
We should stay alert to any plot that takes advantages of these event to incite and provoke people to protests against authorities.
The state-run Chinese media claimed that the West had played an "instigating" role and that "more people in Hong Kong are supporting the anti-Occupy Central movement," and warned of "deaths and injuries and other grave consequences" if the protests continue.
So pity for China's authority! they should mind their own business before thinking of taking the South China Sea.
Hostile forces could use this event as an inspiration for their own purposes.
Yes, I think our electoral system is more democratic than Hong Kong's, so our situation is definitely different from them.
Neither Beijing nor Hong Kong will benefit from a prolonged standoff, the protests themselves are rooted in economic disparities and resentment.
Don't let reactionary elements take these as an example to hold protests that damage our economy, stability and safety.
Your comments