Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Cyd Ho

Ho is a directly elected member of the legislative council of Hong Kong swissinfo.ch

Bruno Kaufmann: Last year, protestors were occupying large parts of Hong Kong’s inner city for many weeks. What triggered these protests?

Cyd Ho: It was the National People’s Congress’ decision not to allow free elections in Hong Kong in 2017 – as initially promised, but to give the nomination rights to an electoral body of the Chinese state instead.

B.K.: How did these protests develop, which made international headlines as the ‘Umbrella Revolution’?

C.H.: The term ‘revolution’ is actually a misnomer. The mostly young protestors simply wanted to draw attention to a promise Britain had made when it handed Hong Kong over to China – namely to introduce free elections of the local government. The protestors insisted on keeping this promise.

B.K.: Is it really so important to stick to this demand, which is obviously seen as a big provocation in Beijing?

C.H.: Hong Kong is like a toddler, who is able to hold a spoon but doesn’t get a chance to use it. We are dealing with a constitutional state, freedom of opinion and millions of people, who would like to take responsibility for their community.

B.K.: Does this mean that many citizens would also like to take part in the decision-making process on factual issues?

C.H.: Yes, of course. The democratic parties have conducted several self-organised public votes over the past few years. Switzerland’s experience has certainly inspired and motivated us in this.

Translated from German by Billi Bierling

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR