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| Hong Kong’s Young People Feel Less Invested in Fight for Democracy on Mainland | Hong Kong’s Young People Feel Less Invested in Fight for Democracy on Mainland |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| HONG KONG — For the first time in years, Hui King-to chose not to take part in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park here commemorating those who died during the Chinese government’s suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 4, 1989. | HONG KONG — For the first time in years, Hui King-to chose not to take part in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park here commemorating those who died during the Chinese government’s suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 4, 1989. |
| “I used to be a Chinese nationalist, and I considered myself Chinese,” said Mr. Hui, a 20-year-old business administration student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “I loved China the country — not the Communist Party — then. That was when I first started going to the candlelight vigil; I didn’t know better then.” | |
| “But when I came to realize how all these rallies were useless, I threw away all these Chinese nationalist thoughts,” he said. | “But when I came to realize how all these rallies were useless, I threw away all these Chinese nationalist thoughts,” he said. |
| Hong Kong, where residents enjoy civil liberties denied to mainland Chinese, has been the one place on Chinese soil where the government in Beijing has not been able to airbrush the events of 1989 from the collective memory. | Hong Kong, where residents enjoy civil liberties denied to mainland Chinese, has been the one place on Chinese soil where the government in Beijing has not been able to airbrush the events of 1989 from the collective memory. |
| But many young people, like Mr. Hui, have said they stayed away from this year’s vigil because they do not feel the need to commemorate events that happened before they were born — and in a place, mainland China, for which they feel little affinity. | But many young people, like Mr. Hui, have said they stayed away from this year’s vigil because they do not feel the need to commemorate events that happened before they were born — and in a place, mainland China, for which they feel little affinity. |
| An estimated 135,000 people were in Victoria Park Thursday night to commemorate the events in Beijing 26 years ago, according Albert Ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker in attendance. That estimate was lower than the 180,000 that organizers said took part last year, and the smallest since 2008. | An estimated 135,000 people were in Victoria Park Thursday night to commemorate the events in Beijing 26 years ago, according Albert Ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker in attendance. That estimate was lower than the 180,000 that organizers said took part last year, and the smallest since 2008. |
| The police estimate — normally a fraction of the organizers’ estimate — said 46,600 people attended. | The police estimate — normally a fraction of the organizers’ estimate — said 46,600 people attended. |
| Surveys have indicated that young people in Hong Kong, China’s richest major city per capita, feel less affinity toward mainland China than before the 1997 handover from British colonial rule. Instead of feeling an attachment to China, they are looking inward, disillusioned by Beijing’s uncompromising stance on freer elections in Hong Kong, which set off huge student-led protests last year. | Surveys have indicated that young people in Hong Kong, China’s richest major city per capita, feel less affinity toward mainland China than before the 1997 handover from British colonial rule. Instead of feeling an attachment to China, they are looking inward, disillusioned by Beijing’s uncompromising stance on freer elections in Hong Kong, which set off huge student-led protests last year. |
| A long-running semiannual survey by the University of Hong Kong found that at the end of last year, 42.3 percent of people in the city identified as Hong Kongers, while 17.8 percent identified as Chinese — among the highest and lowest numbers since 1997. | A long-running semiannual survey by the University of Hong Kong found that at the end of last year, 42.3 percent of people in the city identified as Hong Kongers, while 17.8 percent identified as Chinese — among the highest and lowest numbers since 1997. |
| Among people ages 18 to 29, 55 percent identified themselves as Hong Kongers, according to another widely cited poll, by the Hong Kong Transition Project. | Among people ages 18 to 29, 55 percent identified themselves as Hong Kongers, according to another widely cited poll, by the Hong Kong Transition Project. |
| For some, disillusionment with China has led to calls for more autonomy for Hong Kong, even independence. A separate rally organized by students at the University of Hong Kong was attended by hundreds of people. Some painted Chinese characters on the ground that read “The spark of democracy will glow forever.” | For some, disillusionment with China has led to calls for more autonomy for Hong Kong, even independence. A separate rally organized by students at the University of Hong Kong was attended by hundreds of people. Some painted Chinese characters on the ground that read “The spark of democracy will glow forever.” |
| And across the harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui, another, very different rally was underway. | And across the harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui, another, very different rally was underway. |
| One of the groups leading that rally was Civic Passion, which pushes for a more confrontational approach to mainland Chinese influence in Hong Kong. Hundreds of people gathered there, shouting “down with the Communist Party” and burning images of several Hong Kong officials made from cardboard cutouts. | One of the groups leading that rally was Civic Passion, which pushes for a more confrontational approach to mainland Chinese influence in Hong Kong. Hundreds of people gathered there, shouting “down with the Communist Party” and burning images of several Hong Kong officials made from cardboard cutouts. |
| Yolan Tsoi, an 18-year-old nursing student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said she is disappointed in the candlelight vigil’s “pointless” ritual, year after year. “Hong Kong’s democracy has nothing to do with China,” she said. | Yolan Tsoi, an 18-year-old nursing student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said she is disappointed in the candlelight vigil’s “pointless” ritual, year after year. “Hong Kong’s democracy has nothing to do with China,” she said. |
| Although most Hong Kong people fault the Chinese government for its crackdown on the Tiananmen protesters — hundreds of whom were killed, by many accounts — they increasingly think that they are not responsible for China’s democratic development, according to surveys by the University of Hong Kong. | Although most Hong Kong people fault the Chinese government for its crackdown on the Tiananmen protesters — hundreds of whom were killed, by many accounts — they increasingly think that they are not responsible for China’s democratic development, according to surveys by the University of Hong Kong. |
| “It is a deepening of Hong Kong people’s identity and the rise of localism,” said Steve Tsang, head of contemporary Chinese studies at the University of Nottingham and a Hong Kong historian. “Unlike people from the 1980s, they no longer see the future of Hong Kong and China as tied together.” | “It is a deepening of Hong Kong people’s identity and the rise of localism,” said Steve Tsang, head of contemporary Chinese studies at the University of Nottingham and a Hong Kong historian. “Unlike people from the 1980s, they no longer see the future of Hong Kong and China as tied together.” |
| Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong who was a student in 1984, the year Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China, has worked to guarantee the democracy promised Hong Kong before the handover. | Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong who was a student in 1984, the year Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China, has worked to guarantee the democracy promised Hong Kong before the handover. |
| He has been a leader in the Occupy Central movement calling for China to fulfill its commitment to Hong Kong by introducing a system in which the city’s top official, the chief executive, would be chosen by popular vote. | He has been a leader in the Occupy Central movement calling for China to fulfill its commitment to Hong Kong by introducing a system in which the city’s top official, the chief executive, would be chosen by popular vote. |
| But the National People’s Congress of China, which has final say over changes to Hong Kong’s governing mini-constitution, ruled last year that only candidates vetted by a nominating committee dominated by Beijing loyalists would be allowed to run for the office. That prompted huge sit-in protests that paralyzed parts of the city for months. | But the National People’s Congress of China, which has final say over changes to Hong Kong’s governing mini-constitution, ruled last year that only candidates vetted by a nominating committee dominated by Beijing loyalists would be allowed to run for the office. That prompted huge sit-in protests that paralyzed parts of the city for months. |
| Pro-democracy members of Hong Kong’s legislature have promised to block a motion, to be put to a vote on June 17, that would pass Beijing’s plan into law. But blocking the proposal would mean continuing the present system of selecting the chief executive, also dominated by Beijing, with no popular vote. That bleak choice for pro-democracy advocates has helped fuel the students’ disillusionment. | Pro-democracy members of Hong Kong’s legislature have promised to block a motion, to be put to a vote on June 17, that would pass Beijing’s plan into law. But blocking the proposal would mean continuing the present system of selecting the chief executive, also dominated by Beijing, with no popular vote. That bleak choice for pro-democracy advocates has helped fuel the students’ disillusionment. |
| “What happened in Tiananmen Square was our neighbor’s affair, not ours,” said Mr. Hui, the business administration student. “As long as they keep saying that they want to build a democratic China, I don’t think I’ll ever return to Victoria Park again.” | “What happened in Tiananmen Square was our neighbor’s affair, not ours,” said Mr. Hui, the business administration student. “As long as they keep saying that they want to build a democratic China, I don’t think I’ll ever return to Victoria Park again.” |