Given OCLPs announcement just now that they will hand themselves in, maybe a good time to revisit a piece I wrote on Civil Disobedience on August 26th Civil Disobedience 101 (edited original can be found at link below) Point 1 Power is a gift from citizens, workers or stakeholders. It has to be given continuously. If subordinates stop giving it, it vanishes. This is the power of civil disobedience. The specific disobedient action is not important, the power of the action is when enough people stop fearing the consequences imposed by an unjust entity. This gets the whole of society questioning morality and the chosen dialogue is amplified, or in Hong Kong’s case, what components make-up a free and fair election. For example, when Gandhi made salt, all he did was pick up a handful of salt off a saltpan, hardly a world-shaking action. But it was the symbolism and the lack of fear by those that supported him that rocked one of the most powerful organisations of its time, The British Empire. For Gandhi, the picking up of salt demonstrated to the world how unjust the British ruling system was, for how could a country of hundreds of millions not even control a vital element to life like its own salt production? Likewise, when Occupy Central supporters go onto the streets and ask to be arrested, the global dialogue will not be, can the Occupy Movement close down Central and cause maximum inconvenience? The dialogue is – how come an advanced city like Hong Kong still can’t freely choose its leaders in 2017. The focus of the action then shifts to the body that denies that right. For Gandhi it was the British Empire, for Hong Kong it is the Communist Party of China. Point 2 Civil disobedience depends on direct contact with those that support the system. The disobedient actions lead to trials, which are absolutely necessary in order to give the dialogue more momentum and amplify the message of an unjust government. Or in other words, the activists want to get arrested in the easiest way possible. They don’t want to rampage through the streets causing chaos and tearing down the pillars of society. Point 3 Punishment is the most important part of civil disobedience, not creating chaos or blocking streets. Pro-Beijing supporters extort that any civil disobedience movement will plunge Hong Kong into chaos. In broadcasting this message they are in fact dealing in the only currency they know well, fear. They use fear to spread fear and completely misunderstand the power of civil disobedience. For any civil disobedience movement the assumption that punishment is an unfortunate consequence of resistance is incorrect. Punishment is the source of strength of civil disobedience. The aim is not to burn the streets, neither is it to attack the police or society. The aim is to make an unjust government punish them for what they believe are just beliefs. The rest of society, or as in the case of Hong Kong, the rest of the World will be left to judge. Point 4 Civil Disobedience is not a singular event in time but a protracted struggle to reveal the unjustness of the targeted entity via peaceful means. Civil disobedience isn’t over just because the participants have been cleared off the streets or handed down prison sentences. It’s only over when a mutual solution to the problem has been reached. The tightrope a government has to walk is, can it suppress the message before it reaches a critical mass and confidence in the government totally collapses. Triumphing over a peaceful civil disobedience movement is made all the harder as usually the government actors know that the more they try to suppress the message the louder it becomes. All indications to-date point to a Hong Kong government that has completely misunderstood this fact and has set in place enormous plans to control protests but has given little thought to what message this will resonate across the world. Time will tell. Or in practical terms, when the streets of Central have been cleared, the focus of society will not be on, how well the police did their jobs, but on the thousands of protestors held in makeshift jails and their next move. Can Hong Kong still function as an international city with thousands of ‘political prisoners’ clogging up police cells and internment camps? Point 5 The threat of violence in any civil disobedience movement comes from the State, not the movement, for a civil disobedient movement to work it has to be non violent. That’s why all those taking part in the Occupy Central Movement have been asked to sign a pledge of non-violence. Disobedience in combination with violence strengthens the opponent’s power, therefore those that wish to occupy the streets of Central will offer no resistance to being arrested. In fact we may see protestors imploring the police to arrest them for the smallest of infractions, such as Jaywalking. Don’t be surprised if you see a Hong Kong Police Force, beefed up and ready for a fight, bemused at arresting thousands of people so easily with maximum compliance. Occupy Central is not an anti WTO protest, and the police may find themselves all dressed-up with no one to fight. Point 6 Civil disobedience movements are born out of a lack or genuine discussion by all interest groups. Although there have been many meetings between Beijing representatives and pro-democracy advocates, these are not seen as being forums where genuine discussions have taken place. Only by isolating or prejudicing significant swathes of society can a successful civil disobedience movement come into being. Or if pro-Beijing supporters are right and the silent majority does not support such actions the civil disobedience movement will immediately fail. Foreign agents can’t create such movements from nothing. A significant proportion of society needs to feel disenfranchised, yet also socially engaged enough for a civil disobedience movement to take root. The Occupy Central Movement is not something that can be bought by ‘evil entities’ that wish to defame China. Civil disobedience movements are predicated on genuine, grass-roots support. Their success hinges upon it. This is what makes them such an anathema for unjust, undemocratic governments. If popular support is there, then civil disobedience movements can become unstoppable agents of change. This is what makes the Occupy Central Movement so interesting as there are not many movements that can take on the might of the biggest organization in the world, The Communist Party of China.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 07:11:05 +0000
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