Hong Kong – So Much at Stake

I’ve just returned from Hong Kong, where I found myself face-to-face with a swarm of protesters, who were peaceful and polite. My Page colleague, Peter Debreceny, and I had set out for our business appointments with leading corporate communicators, only to find that the MTR public transit trains were out of service, blocked by protesters. We took a taxi to our appointments, but when we finished our last one, we could just see the protesters gathering near the government building. With some encouragement from our host, we decided to walk back to our hotel to see if we could get a glimpse of the action from a bit closer.

Along the way, we saw a group of protesters walking peacefully on an overpass about a block away. It looked like a non-event, so we continued our walk back to the hotel, traversing the city, as many do, on a labyrinth of above-street-level walkways lined with shops – about a third of which were closed, apparently out of caution. Suddenly, we rounded a corner and found ourselves at the Admiralty train station, where we had begun our trek that morning, only to discover the trains weren’t operating. The place was absolutely mobbed with protesters. Seeing them up close, I was struck first by their youth: mostly in their late teens or early 20s. Our presence was of little interest to them. Peter walked over to chat with a young woman protester, who was seated with several colleagues with her back to a wall. She cheerfully explained that she was handing out water bottles and tear-gas-decontamination wipes to the other protesters. Another young woman was lying on a set of stairs, being attended to by others with fans. At first, we thought she might have been gassed before realizing it was probably heat stroke. It was an extraordinarily hot and humid day.

After a bit of time, we made our way back to the hotel, only to find that the streets below our rooms were being flooded with protesters, who were systematically blocking streets and diverting traffic. As with the trains, they were impeding the normal movement of people about the city, creating inconvenience, to be sure, but not engaging in violence. From above, they resembled a colony of ants, moving in unison, as if guided by an unseen force, to accomplish their mission. After a time, the police gathered on a nearby overpass and dispersed the crowd quickly with tear gas. 

Peter and I had hoped to go out into the city for dinner that evening, but the hotel concierge was unable to find any restaurants open nearby, so we stayed close. Late in the evening, some violence did break out some blocks away from us, but it was relatively inconsequential. Judging by subsequent events at the airport and Victoria Park, it appears that the vast majority of protesters are determined to remain peaceful, but they are undeterred in pursuing the cause that they believe is just.

In our business meetings, a number of the corporate communications executives expressed concerns for their teams, who they said were exhibiting signs of mental stress due to uncertainty about the future of their beloved city. Having spent the previous week in mainland China, just being in Hong Kong felt liberating. I appreciated getting easier access to familiar news sources and technology platforms.

I’m fighting an uncomfortable feeling that this can’t end well, but take heart from the rededication to non-violence in Victoria Park this past weekend and the earnest demeanor of the young protesters, who remind me a great deal of the anti-Vietnam-war protesters I joined as a youth. I’m also encouraged by this report from Fortune’s Clay Chandler, whose brilliant insights into all things China are always worth a read. 

I hope that Hong Kong’s place as a gateway to both China and the rest of Asia will continue to thrive. With its seamless blend of Eastern and Western cultures, it serves as a vital buffer and bridge between competing world views. I can only hope and pray that the protesters' efforts will not bring the opposite of what they seek to achieve.

This post has been edited since its original publication.