19年: Memories of Hong Kong in June of ‘89
There are times when the places and times of your life coincide with significant historical events. Those moments in time and space can come and go, but you are left with a sense of being a small part of history.
For me, one of those moments was the summer of 1989 in Hong Kong, nineteen years ago. I had secured a summer internship in Hong Kong from a small consulting and trading firm. I was excited about the summer, and also following closely the events in China.
I flew into Hong Kong, most likely on June 8, 1989. Prior to boarding my plane, I was following the massive rallies and demonstrations in Hong Kong mourning the victims of the cr4ckd0wn a few days earlier. After a typically harrowing landing at Kai Tak airport, my 7th aunt picked me up. I expected the hustle and bustle of one of the most densely populated places of the world. But instead, the city was eerily quiet.
My aunt told me that riots had occured earlier that day in Mongkok, on the Kowloon peninsula, and the city was shut down by the police. There were motorcycle police driving around and a few cars, but hardly any pedestrians. I had been to Hong Kong a few times before, but never saw the city deserted like that.
I think the city felt like it was perched on the edge of history. There was growing anxiety, increased by the June cr4ckd0wn, about the impending 1997 handover to China. At that time, there was no pledge of 50 years of stability from the Chinese Government. The doctrine of “one country, two systems” was hard to believe that summer for Hong Kong residents. People were glued to their TV sets. I watched Pearl Channel, Jade Channel and devoured the South China Morning Post and the International Herald Tribune, tracking the aftermath of the protests. Yes, I even bought a slew of Giordano t-shirts, commemorating the various student leaders.
In that moment, Hong Kong seemed caught between the East and the West. Hong Kong still had the feel of a British colony, with an appointed governor from the U.K., a very limited form of democracy, and defective “British National (Overseas)” passports that did not granted the right of abode in the home country. There were certainly grievances against the British government, and plenty of pride in being Chinese. But the colony had freedom of speech, freedom of press, personal liberties, and especially that summer a sense of responsibility to speak out. And many people felt the unstoppable movement toward reunification in 1997 and their own personal stake in the outcome of events in China.
Despite the fashionable sentiment that Hong Kong’s best days are in the past, I still feel Hong Kong has a special role to play in China’s future. During the next day, as we come up on the 19th anniversary of June 1989, I will be thinking of that summer in Hong Kong and the sense of history in the making. Jia You Xiang Gang!
source: AP Photo/Vincent Yu via Hong Kong Today
UPDATE 6/5: some related links on the general sensitive subject - Brendan OKane (h/t ChinaLawBlog), SydneyMorningHerald, Hypocrisy.com, PekingDuck (h/t Kai Pan).
6 Responses to “19年: Memories of Hong Kong in June of ‘89”
I feel like I’m promoting for someone else but I enjoyed The Peking Duck’s post on this same subject.
Same as Kai about the pecking Duck.
(I’m french living in Hongkong)
The way China has progressed these past 20 years shows without doubt that the decision to suppress the students was the right one.
Those students strumming guitars, putting up that ridiculous, absurd, embarassing ’statue of liberty’ lookalike shows they were dupes of the West.
There is nothing more sickening on the face of the planet than a Chinese rocker. Perhaps the only thing that equals that in terms of sheer depravity is Chinese women who spread their legs for the white man.
I went to University. I never grew my hair long. I never took part in a protest. That is because I respect those older, more experienced and wiser than myself. And when I saw those delinquents I would quite happily have taken a baseball bat to their heads myself.
Wow.
Well, first of all, I think we can safely say that we have no idea what China would be like now had the students and government been more successful in compromising than the eventual decision of the government to suppress. On one hand, I do agree that the current apparatus has yielded certain advantages with regards to developing China’s economic growth. There’s no denying that. On the other hand, we can’t say economic growth couldn’t have been achieved otherwise. You making that causal connection with the certainty of “without doubt” is a absolutely fallacious.
Second of all, your distaste for students being students, Chinese rockers, or Chinese women who prefer white men over Chinese men (for whatever reason), has absolutely nothing to do with the propriety of the government’s decision and whether or not today’s positives of China were a direct result of those decisions.
I’ve taken you seriously, but few others will. I trust you’re intelligent enough to recognize the difference between a conclusion supported by valid premises and an assertion coupled with random prejudices. Hint: you’re of the latter, but hey, you’re welcome to try again.
Kai/
I regard myself as pretty tolerant of ignorant nutters on internet but this reply from Wayne made me genuinely pissed off.
Thanks to your comment I could regain my posture and decided not to feed that troll.