Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong begins hunger strike to press for political reform STAFF REPORTER South China Morning Post UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 6:01pm Photo 1: Joshua Wong said said his hunger strike would go on indefinitely. Photo: Felix Wong Student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung announced last night that he had begun a hunger strike in a bid to force a meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor to discuss reform of the citys political system. The Scholarism leader, who has been instrumental in repeatedly bringing students onto the streets during the Occupy protests to push Beijing for a change in policy, said his hunger strike would go on indefinitely. Two other members of Scholarism said they would join the protest. Carrie Lam said earlier the door to dialogue was always open. Our humble demand is to ask for dialogue to discuss the possibility of withdrawing the current [reform] proposal and relaunch the five-step reform process, Wong said, adding that no other preconditions would be set for the talks. Photo 2: Joshua Wong sits in the rain as he pledges to start a hunger strike in order to force a meeting with Carrie Lam over Hong Kong;s political future. Photo: Dickson Lee Prince Wong Ji-yuet, a form six student who plans to join the hunger strike, said the democratic movement had stagnated and she hoped the hunger strikes would apply pressure on the government to respond to the student groups demands. She said she decided to go without food after seeing how protesters hit with police batons. I knew that from the start of this movement, we [would] have to persist. Weve been talking about [going on a hunger strike] since the very beginning, which we have yet to try. So we decided this is the right time, she said. Isabella Lo Yin-wai, a first year communication student at Baptist University, said that the hunger strikers “sincerely want to speak to the government”. Its one of the ways, as the umbrella movement has come to this stage, to appeal to people so that they would come out to support us, she said. We use this action to tell the government and the public that we want a dialogue. We will stop the hunger strike as soon as a dialogue on the reboot of political reform commences. When asked about the hunger strike this morning, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that he hoped students would look after their health now the weather has become cooler, but added that any struggle against Beijings plans for universal suffrage in 2017 would be futile. Photo 3: Going hungry: Prince Wong Ji-yuet will join Joshua Wong in his protest. Photo: SCMP Wong said that the chief executive should “focus his attention on the crux of the issue” rather than telling students to take care of their health. Instead of asking us to take care of our body, he should take heed of our request to meet officials, Wong said. I just hope that Leung Chun-ying and Carrie Lam, instead of sending regards, will seriously consider starting a dialogue with students. Then, students wouldnt have to go on hunger strike.” Union Hospital doctor Lee Ka-hing said a person fasting but still drinking water can survive for 40 to 60 days, but without water, a person will only last 10 to 14 days. “But ultimately it depends on the individual person’s body,” said Lee. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling light-headed, and no strength in the limbs, he said. The announcement of the students personal crusade came following some of the worst violence between police and protesters witnessed so far during the Occupy campaign. Wong said he had kept away from the frontline of the protest in recent days because to be rearrested would mean breaching his bail conditions and would see him jailed for weeks. Federation of Students leader Alex Chow said yesterday that the protesters plans to escalate action on Sunday night, in order to paralyse the government, had failed. Photo 4: Protesters and police have clashed in recent days, with dozens hurt and arrested. Photo: Sam Tsang As the days drag on and police show an increased willingness to crack down on protesters, differences of opinion have emerged on the way to keep the movement alive, with some advocating an end to the occupation while others vow to remain on the streets. “It will be particularly serious for us in terms of how it will go on,” said Chow. “We believe occupation has its’ strengths and limits, but what we’ve underestimated is the strength of [the government’s] political power.”
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 11:33:43 +0000