Hong Kong is on a slow march towards full democracy, but as protesters up the pressure, business is increasingly fearful about the possible impact of the protests themselves, writes Simeon Mellalieu
Calls for universal suffrage traditionally reach a crescendo each year in Hong Kong on July 1. The anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from British colonial rule is traditionally a day of the annual protest to rally support for universal suffrage and civil liberties.
Calls for a fully democratic electoral system never really die away in Hong Kong. But this subject is moving up the political agenda as the timetable for electoral reform edges along.
The next Chief Executive election is due to take place in 2017 and the candidate is to be directly elected by the people of Hong Kong for the first time rather than by the 1,200-strong Electoral Committee. Direct election of all members of the Legislative Council is set to follow in 2020. As these dates draw closer, the Hong Kong government has been criticised by pro-democracy lawmakers for being slow to launch a public consultation on electoral arrangements.
In September 2012, the Occupy Central movement against social and economic inequality ended after 11 months when court bailiffs evicted protesters from the public plaza below HSBC headquarters in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district. It was the longest Occupy movement in the world. At that time, the protest was against social and economic inequality.
Now a new Occupy Central has been proposed for July 2014 if government promises for universal suffrage by 2017 are not kept. The organiser’s ultimate plan is to paralyse Central district with 10,000 protesters. Lawmakers and commentators on both sides of the political fence see the protest plan as radical and hugely disruptive. Some see that it will undermine the SAR’s reputation as an
international financial capital. Other business leaders are more practical and foresee disrupted productivity as workers will find it
difficult to get work, especially if the protest becomes violent.
While, July 2014 is a long way away, some commercial activities are earning the ire of pro-democracy campaigners in the run up to this year’s July 1 rally. A Facebook campaign has recently been mounted to boycott the Hong Kong Dome Festival, a music event featuring local bands and K-pop stars organized by the Performance Industry Association. This may seem a strange event to boycott, but as the festival is due to take place on July 1, pro-democracy campaigners see it as a political tool to divert young people away from their annual rally. The Facebook campaign has attracted 4,000 “likes”. The festival however is a sell-out with all 18,000 tickets sold.
Not everyone signed up
Clearly, not everybody wants July 1 to be known as a day of protest. The Hong Kong Celebrations Association is one such group. They have been charged with enlivening the public holiday and have arranged special deals at 1,000 shops and restaurants with
discounts of up to 50 per cent available in the afternoon of July 1.
The association is hoping to attract 100,000 people to 29 events in all of the territory’s 18 districts. The plans are supported by the Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Association that wants to turn “protest day” into “shopping day.” Pro-democracy campaigners see the move as another attempt by the pro-Beijing camp to divert people from their protest.
The rhetoric on electoral reform is set to continue and escalate for several years to come. The organisers of the July 1 rally, the Civil
Human Rights Front, do not own the public holiday. It is unfortunate that sensitivities are such that any company or organisation trying to earn a buck for the Hong Kong economy on this day might be labeled “anti-democratic.” These sensitivities will only get more acute if the government doesn’t engage on the issue.
The Occupy Central movement will judge its success by the amount of disruption to people and businesses is causes as much as by whether it achieves its political ambitions. Any lengthy occupation or violent protest could give many corporations a business continuity and public affairs headache they would rather not have to deal with.
Simeon Mellalieu is General Manager of Ketchum in Hong Kong
The “Greater China Briefing” is an online column and online article series sponsored by Ketchum, a public relations agency specialising in corporate reputation management and brand positioning
