Occupy Hong Kong has outlasted other global occupy encampments by months, even the beating heart of Occupy Wall Street’s encampment at Zucotti Park (Liberty Square).
Occupy Wall Street’s encampment lasted from September 17, 2011 to November 15, 2011.
Occupy London lasted from October 15, 2011 to June 6, 2012.
Occupy Hong Kong’s encampment has been active for nine months in the open air plaza at the foot of the HSBC Asian headquarters in the busy financial district.
Why Occupy Hong Kong has existed this long is a complex question which is well laid out in this New York Times article including, “Disenchantment with this dream has grown in recent years as the city’s wealth gap has widened, property prices have soared and average citizens have become increasingly priced out, in many cases by well-heeled investors and visitors from the Chinese mainland. The average home price is around 13 times the median annual household income.”
For how much longer it can remain is in doubt, as HSBC has finally gone to court to obtain an eviction order.
On Monday July 16, 2012, HSBC went to court against defendants Ho Yiu-shing and Wong Chung-hang of Occupy Hong Kong and Mui Kai-ming, who is demonstrating at the Occupy Hong Kong site at the foot of HSBC’s Asian headquarters over the execution of his sister’s will.
HSBC had first communicated to Occupy Hong Kong that it wanted the encampment to move or shut itself down on May 29, 2012, stating it wishes to clear the area for community and charity events.
Regarding the court case, Master K. Lo at Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance was soft handed on the demonstrators — who are without legal representation at this time — by allowing them until August 13, 2012, to define the reasons they feel they should be allowed to stay. That effectively gives occupiers another month to plan their defense or pack up.
“If there’s an order for us to move out at last, we will try our best to stay,” Ms. Wong said. “Of course, some of us don’t believe in law and may not follow the court order.”
At its peak, Occupy Hong Kong had 100-200 occupiers at the camp last autumn, but now numbers remain at an estimated 10-20 people who attend the regular twice a week General Assemblies and only a handful who actually sleep at the encampment overnight.
According to the report by the New York Times, “On Saturday afternoon on the plaza beneath the HSBC building, only three middle-age occupiers were visible. One was napping on a sofa. A dozen or so tents were mostly empty except for simple bedding, household items and protest signs.
Alan Chiu, a 48-year-old technology specialist who is unemployed, has been living at the camp full time for the last two months. He says things have gone smoothly, except for when one of the members of the proudly leaderless group tried to proclaim himself the one in charge. That member has since moved nearby, where he camps alone in front of a row of automated teller machines.”
Spurred on by the Adbusters call out and Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Hong Kong was once joined by sister occupies in Seoul, Korea, Taipei, Taiwan and Tokyo, Japan.
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