From Around the World, Support for Hong Kong Protesters
Source: NYTimes
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
From New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, San Francisco, Taipei and Sydney — even Ferguson, Mo. — a global movement in support of the Hong Kong democracy demonstrations is making itself felt in sympathy rallies or photographs posted on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. There’s a Twitter account: @GlobalSolidHK.
Hong Kong is a highly globalized city, beloved by an international financial elite who have lived in one of Asia’s greatest money capitals. But more important, its special status is rooted in its history as a refuge for Chinese fleeing the Communist-run mainland and as a point of departure for ambitious Chinese seeking their fortunes abroad.
In the 1980s, as negotiations between Britain, Hong Kong’s colonial ruler, and China, its future ruler, began their rocky course in preparation for the 1997 handover, many families left the city in search of political security. Vancouver, Canada, was a particularly popular destination, spawning nicknames like “Hongcouver” that linger to this day. Fathers became “astronauts,” commuting to jobs in Hong Kong while their families settled safely in the West.
Another factor that may be prompting support is a concern that China is increasingly powerful and rich — but remains adamantly authoritarian, a combination quite a few people dislike, with polls showing an increasingly negative view toward China among Americans. China’s favorable rating among Americans had slipped to 35 percent, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center in July. That was down from a positive rating of 51 percent in 2011, the center said.
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Hong Kong House, the city's economic and trade office in Sydney, was plastered with notes of support for the Hong Kong demonstrators on Monday.Credit Peter Parks/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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