Hong Kong we have a problem. Understanding the way forward.
Today is China’s National Day and it marks a significant milestone for the People’s Republic of China- and the Hong Kong protesters and administration know it.
The ChangeMakers podcast’s latest series features never-heard-before interviews with survivors of the Tiananmen Square protests, casting new light on the origins of the protests in Hong Kong.
After 100 days, Hong Kong’s protests show no sign of ending. With no official fireworks display in Hong Kong tonight, the focus will be on protest not celebration.
So what is happening right now in Hong Kong and what is going to happen? How will this end?
Dr Amanda Tattersall is a community organiser (co-founder GetUp, Sydney Alliance) and urban geographer at the University of Sydney researching social movements in cities like Hong Kong. She hosts the ChangeMakers Podcast, that has launched a series that follows the Hong Kong protests. Over many months she been speaking with a range of civil society leaders and protesters in Hong Kong.
Her latest Op Ed, to be published in The Conversation this morning, explains the reality of the conflict and the possible ways forward. More than a series of flashpoints she understands that protests are deeply rooted in a long series of discussions across Hong Kong civil society that have occurred in Hong Kong since the 2014 Umbrella Movement and before.
As she states:
But there is a problem. The rest of the world is growing weary of watching the same battles play on Hong Kong streets. Is this protest script getting tired? The thing that made the protests initially, so captivating was their novelty and bravery. But what began as original is now predictable. And this brings dangers
This article and her two episodes on the ChangeMakers Podcast about Hong Kong and looking back to the Tiananmen Square protests make her a highly relevant and credible expert voice. ChangeMakers – the “This American Life of Social Change” has over half a million
