Rights campaigner bids Hong Kong a reluctant farewell. When Professor Michael Davis landed in Hong Kong from his home in Hawaii to take up a job at Chinese University teaching politics more than 3. Over his three decades in Hong Kong, Davis has witnessed – and participated in – numerous social movements. He took part in protests backing the pro- democracy drive by Beijing students in 1. Ahead of his reluctant departure, he shares with the Post his views on stagnant political . I lived in Japan before for a couple years and Hawaii is a really Asian place. So to me, Hong Kong seems to be a more attractive option than some schools in the middle of America. HONG KONG (NNS) -- Dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) departed Hong Kong following a successful port visit, March 25. The visit allowed Sailors and Marines the opportunity to experience culture, cuisine, people and. Flower delivery in Kowloon, New Territories NT, Mid-Levels, Cyberport, Pokfulam, Saikung, Western & Eastern District, Hong Kong. I do work across Asia, all the way from India and Afghanistan to Korea, China and Tibet. The whole region has continuously been in some level of constant crisis. As a constitutional expert who focuses on development, it seems I am in the laboratory of the world for the problems that interest me. Do you see yourself as a human rights lawyer, a scholar or an activist, and why is that so? Probably all of the above. I think my attraction to academic work was to be involved in processes of social change. Mostly in my early days in schools, the Vietnam war was going on. Lots of us were protesting against the war and I think that introduced me to social activism. When I went back to Hawaii, I was a lawyer for native Hawaiians and the indigenous people’s movement. As an academic, I think I am stronger if I am not just marching on the streets but offering analyses and explanations. It is like being a witness but that doesn’t mean you are . I think the first which caught my interest was the 1. Hong Kong. This is where social activism was born in Hong Kong. It became a lesson for people that they had to speak up to protect their rights. It was not enough to just rely on the British or some kind of treaty. I was a member of the Article 2.
We distributed pamphlets on the streets. We held press conferences, and . By this time, I understood that what I could do was explain things .. Not in the sense that our freedoms are more secured; they are not. But in the sense that society is more politically aware. When I first came here, most people didn’t have any knowledge of politics. They did not get involved in social politics under colonial rule .. Like my university students in the 1. It’s a dramatic change to see our students so active in political and social affairs. I think it’s a big change and a positive one. Are you confident of Hong Kong’s future and the implementation of “one country, two systems”, especially after the case of the missing booksellers? I’m a believer that if the public constantly demand something, eventually they will get it. A government that ignores the public for too long will pay a price. What is complicated here is that the government making decisions is not the Hong Kong government, it’s the government in Beijing. The task has become to persuade the government to accept Hong Kong’s right to have its basic core values implemented, . If the public don’t argue for this, then the Hong Kong they know may cease to exist. I think the protests are directly a consequence of these repressive policies. I hope at some point someone will understand maybe a softer approach would be more useful. The implementation of “one country, two . We have no government that can guard Hong Kong’s . If the government wants to bring this to an end, the answer is to be less repressive and more committed to implementing promised reforms. Do you think the so- called invisible hand of . It is very visible. The university heads depend on the government for money and the establishment resources for their . This means more establishment- oriented professors may take up positions. In this environment, there’s a pressure that you shouldn’t raise contentious issues. So I think they have the idea in their heads that they need to fix the education system in Hong Kong. The next target was when Benny Tai Yiu- ting and others promoting Occupy Central came along . I get the sense the government wants to retain control over the university councils. Do you think there is a growing fear among fellow scholars that discourages them from speaking up or touching on politically sensitive issues? It is self- censorship. I have seen it for years and it is probably growing. When I was a young professor in the Chinese University, some colleagues said they did not want to speak up because they did not want to jeopardise a promotion or their tenure. I think it is just more visible today. I remember in the past, . I responded: “Well, if you are a physics professor, . But if you are a human rights professor, can you remain silent when human rights issues arise?”How do you see the rise of localism in Hong Kong? I see it just as a movement to defend Hong Kong, but whether they are realistic in their goal – that is . I see them as loyalists in that sense. Some take a more extreme view that they are going to be violent. For them, it’s not their local pride that is the problem but their tactics. I personally am a believer in non- violent struggle. What will you miss the most when you leave Hong Kong? Politics. The politics of Hong Kong is just like a two- edged sword. It is an expression of . We have a society where people really care about Hong Kong. I think the biggest resource for Hong Kong is that passion.
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January 2017
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