The sight of tens of thousands of students pouring onto the streets of Hong Kong last week, calling for electoral reforms, was deeply ominous. As the demonstrations dragged on, testing the patience of the Chinese leadership, some feared a repeat of the violent 1989 crackdown on student democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Given the rapid escalation of the situation in its early days, such concerns were not unrealistic or unjustified. The demonstrations had begun on a violent note, with Hong Kong police using tear gas and pepper spray on protesters. Rather than disperse the crowd, this fuelled further protests. Thousands more Hong Kongers came out against the heavy handed response, calling for the resignation of the chief executive, CY Leung.
Fortunately, the authorities realised the risk and de-escalated the conflict. Riot police were withdrawn, leaving the streets to the protesters for most of the past week. Although Mr Leung made it clear that he would not resign, he offered to have his deputy meet protest leaders to seek a compromise. No talks followed, but it was a significant concession.
While protesters came out in large numbers, it is also significant to note that opinion polls put support for them at just 30 per cent, with 46 per cent of Hong Kongers saying they did not support the movement. By late yesterday, the protest leaders had agreed to dismantle the barricades blocking access to many buildings, allowing schools, businesses and government offices to return to normal.
There may not be such a thing as a perfect protest, but both sides deserve credit for cooling down what had the potential to become an incendiary situation. Given the events of 1989, the government merits praise for allowing the protesters to voice their concerns, while the protest leaders also deserve credit for keeping the scale of their protest in check. It can only be hoped that such maturity might help pressure Beijing to allow Hong Kong more of the electoral freedom that the protesters have been demanding.