visual resistance and visual culture go hand in hand to make Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong possible and creative

1. Visual Resistance &
Umbrella Movement in
Hong Kong
Wai-Kwok Benson Wong @ bwkwong@hkbu.edu.hk
Department of Government & International Studies
Hong Kong Baptist University
June 18, 2015

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3. Why important? (1)
1. Challenge the mainstream & hegemonic discourse &
understanding of local politics
 Self-determination of destiny: Only Hong Kong people, not
the Beijing authorities, can make
 Powerlessness  empowerment
2. Redefinition of social protests as well as Hong Kong
 Stability, development, order  challenge deception,
distortion, control
 Economic, commercial city, a city in China ONLY  city-
state with vision, hope and future
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4. Why important? (2)
3. Power of the powerlessness
 Umbrellas VS tear gas bombs
 Civic resistance and creation VS police
brutality & government’s ignorance
 (Re-)Creation VS indoctrination & stereotyped
thinking
 Emotion  energy to keep power for
resistance
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5. Political contexts
1. “The China Factor”: Political manipulation of the Beijing authorities:
2017 Chief Executive Election
 manipulate the nomination: political screening of candidates being loyal to
the PRC under the nomination committee of 1,200 members who are not
elected by the general public
 Repeatedly name the 2017 election to be direct – 1 man,1 vote – in order to
mislead the public: “Putting lipstick on a pig” (*rejected by the Legislative
Council on June 18!)
2. Civil responses:
 Deployed the bottom-up approach to come up with the public views of the
democratic proposal: Deliberation Days
 Occupy Central: If gov’t rejects the proposals
 Civic referendum on June 22, 2013 to endorse the popular proposals – civil
nomination
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6. Political contexts
3. The official suppression & responses
 August 31’s declaration by the Beijing authorities: manipulating the
nomination committee, imposing political screening, rejecting
democratic proposals as well as civic nomination
 Class boycotting at tertiary institutions in the week of Sept 22
 Arrested the student’s leaders (e.g., Joshua Wong)
 Protestors besieged the Government Headquarters
 Police suppression on Sept 28 but failed  Umbrella Movement
 Occupation period in Admiralty, Causeway Bay & Mongkok till mid-
December  Post-Umbrella Movement’s era
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7. Umbrella [1]
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8. Umbrella [2]
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9. Umbrella [3]
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10. Umbrella [4]
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11. Umbrella [5]
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12. Umbrella [6]
1. Police brutality (tear gas bombs)  powerful, violent
VS civil resistance (umbrellas)  powerless, non-
violent
2. Symbol of resistance: police, HKSAR, Beijing gov’t
 manipulative political reforms  authoritarian
rule
3. Interpretive meanings:
 open: spreading;
 hold: supporting/insisting, protecting the students…;
 yellow: hope, vision and energy
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13. Lion Rock [1]
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14. Lion Rock [2]
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15. Lion Rock [3]
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16. Lion Rock [4] + Umbrella
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17. Lion Rock
1. Mountain, symbolizing HK
2. Historical context: pre-1980s HK: diligent, adaptive,
competitive, (apolitical) = success story =
depoliticizing
3. Hanging a yellow banner: “I want genuine universal
suffrage” that questioned & transformed the
hegemonic meaning  persistent, fearless &
resistant in striving for democracy and being free
under the China threat
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18. Police [1]
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19. Police [2]
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20. Police [3]
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21. Police [4]
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22. Police [5]
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23. Police [6]
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24. Police
1. Question the police’s doing
 Police violence & brutality: from tear gas bombs to beat
the protestors illegally
 Beast, Chinese police (Gongan), triad society’s
members
2. Political instrument of the regime
3. People’s enemy: division between the police and
citizens – people’s hostility
4. Interpretative meanings: undermine peace, order,
rule of law & profession
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25. Conclusion: Visual resistance as
1. Collective memory: as vision, direction, emotion…
2. “Political” Identity & cultural framing: China VS HK;
Police VS citizens; Stability & prosperity VS equality
& power; Bad/Evil VS Good/Kind; Government VS
people
3. Energy of resistance: socially & politically
undermine hegemonic discourse, language &
brutality
4. Creation, recreation Transformation
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