[crowd cheering]
[man speaking in Cantonese]
[crowd speaking in Cantonese]
[crowd cheering]
[Joshua, in Cantonese] Greetings, my fellow citizens.
I am Joshua Wong, founder of Scholarism.
[crowd cheering]
The warning light of Hong Kong's political system is flashing red.
[man] At 9:30, Joshua made his speech,
and we are getting ready for Joshua to lead us.
I feel so sick.
You know, when you can't breathe,
because you're too nervous.
[Joshua] A crowd of 1500 is more than I expected here today.
I want to know, where are the adults?
[crowd cheering]
[Agnes] There was really a lot of students that day gathering together
to fight against Chinese government.
No matter what the price,
we can't dump this on the next generation.
This generation must complete our mission!
[cheering]
Now let's go take Civic Square together!
[Nathan] There's a moment that you thought,
"Wow, we are gonna make some massive change...
and we are gonna make history."
[yelling]
[typing]
[woman, in cantonese] Have you been to Mr. Siu's class?
Can I see your paper?
[in Cantonese] No, he hasn't given the paper back yet.
Oh, he hasn't graded it yet?
[teacher speaking in Cantonese]
[Joshua, in English] Before I was involved in politics
I was just a normal student, a normal kid.
I went to school, put effort in my studies, but those days are now gone.
Instead of just focusing on GPA,
why don't we try to care about the city that we live
and the city that we love?
[in Cantonese] Hello, Hong Kong.
We are Scholarism, a student organization.
Please take two seconds and sign your name
to demand the government withdraw National Education.
Defend freedom of thought.
Oppose brainwashing education.
[Ng] Being a young activist in Hong Kong,
you are bound to upset your parents.
'Cause most parents want their kids to, you know, stay in school
and do their homework, and every time the topic of politics comes up
they would just say, "Oh, you know, that has nothing to do with you."
And so parents would definitely get very anxious
when the kids start showing up in street protests.
[Joshua] The mainstream and the teachers just teach us,
if you become an accountant or doctor,
or even you become the management trainee of the investment bank,
you gain a successful life and future.
However, instead of asking society to define what is success,
I would just ask why I can't define what is valuable for myself
and what is important for the society?
It's the time for us to show our disagreement
against interference from the Communist Party of China.
[Shirky] It's the Joan of Arc story, right?
The youngster who can see the world clearly
and is not as jaded as adults comes into a complicated adult conflict,
and clarifies things. Wong fits that template.
He is taking on literally the largest country in the world.
But to understand Joshua Wong, you have to go back
to the Handover in 1997.
[reporter] A gray dawn for the last day of Britain's last significant colony.
And a wet welcome for the man who had come to take control.
After what China regards as more than 150 years of humiliation
President Jiang Zemin had a good reason to smile.
[Ng] In 1997, Hong Kong was handed back to the Chinese
by the British.
Hong Kong has been a British colony for a hundred and fifty years,
and therefore, it's really not China.
So, here you have a pretty much
Western-bred population...
being handed back to the communists, right?
So, you can imagine... the fear,
the discomfort.
[reporter] Behind the public optimism, there remains concern
about China's human rights record,
concern heightened by Beijing's eagerness to deploy troops in Hong Kong.
[Ng] Everybody with any means were leaving Hong Kong.
And so that's why Beijing came up with this idea
of one country, two systems. There's one China,
but in Hong Kong because you're so used to your way of living,
we'll keep your way of life.
Meaning that Hong Kong will continue with our capitalist system,
and keeping all our freedoms, and everything we were then enjoying
under British rule. For 50 years, no change.
So, for a while, it was surprising how little things changed.
But below the surface, you can see Beijing asserting more and more control
in subtle ways over Hong Kong.
[murmuring]
[Tsang] The Chinese government wanted to introduce
National Education in Hong Kong,
because they were seeing the younger generations in Hong Kong
thinking and behaving in ways that are unpatriotic.
That new curriculum focused on promoting nationalism.
First and foremost, you must support the country,
and the country is the Communist Party.
The younger people in Hong Kong,
seeing that new curriculum being put forward,
reacted to it.
[Joshua] I founded Scholarism when I was 14 years old.
What we hope to do is just demand
for freedom of mind and freedom of speech.
To show our disagreement to brainwashing education.
This wasn't a question about what a bunch of 14- to 18-year-olds
would get in the classroom,
this was a trial run for what it would be like for Hong Kong
to have its identity leeched away
in the direction of being absorbed into China.
[Joshua] When I founded Scholarism, I knew it was important to recruit members.
[speaking in Cantonese]
I met Derek because actually we knew each other
from the Christian fellowship in our high school.
He just invite me, "Oh, we'd like to join Scholarism
and join the fight against the National Education?"
China is a rising darkness
that destroys the things in Hong Kong.
But if you want to defeat Darth Vader, then you have to train some Jedi.
[Tsang] This new generation of young people in Hong Kong
are different from their parents' and their grandparents' generation.
They came of age with Hong Kong as part of China
and they're understanding that they are very different from their compatriots
coming from the north of the border.
They develop a clear, strong sense of identity
as Hong Kongers.
We are totally not Chinese people.
We are unique.
Hong Kong people is Hong Kong people.
Bruce Lee is Hong Kong people.
[Joshua] Hong Kong is the place that I'm born, I live,
and the place that I love.
And the future of Hong Kong should be decided by Hong Kongers
instead of the Chinese government.
[reporter] Taking the oath of office, Hong Kong's new leader,
Leung Chun-Ying, receiving the highest endorsement possible
from President Hu Jintao.
[crowd applauding]
[Lee] The Chief Executive is supposed to be elected
by Hong Kong people.
But we don't have that yet.
Beijing has actually chosen
each of the three chief executives...
we have.
[crowd cheering]
He owes allegiance to Beijing,
not the people of Hong Kong.
And he knows that if he wants a second term,
then he must continue...
to be in Beijing's good books.
The first time for me to meet CY Leung
is in March of 2012 because he organized a Facebook event,
and if your post under that Facebook event can get the highest number of likes,
you can get a chance to meet with CY Leung.
I just shared to my Facebook and shared to Scholarism's Facebook page.
And finally, I get around a few thousand likes
and I can meet CY Leung and ask him,
"Why do you still need to implement the National Education?"
Hello.
Hi.
[Joshua, in Cantonese] Hello, CY Leung.
I'm Joshua Wong and a sophomore.
Maybe you find it odd that students show up at an event like this.
And we have exams, too.
Actually, I have one tomorrow.
[chuckles]
We are from Scholarism, the alliance against National Education.
What's the name?
[Joshua] Scholarism.
-"Scholarism"? -[Joshua] Scholarism.
[in English] CY Leung just responded, "Oh, what is Scholarism?
I haven't heard this name before."
And he pretend that Scholarism is not a matter for him.
What do you have in mind?
[Joshua, in Cantonese] We demand the government withdraw National Education
and the brainwashing curriculum.
What are your reasons?
[Joshua] It says you'll get good grades if your answers match the government's view.
If you cry when the Chinese flag is raised,
you'll get a better grade.
Does it really say that?
[Joshua] Yes.
[in English] CY Leung was not interested to what I say about National Education.
He just thinks I'm a troublemaker.
[speaking in Cantonese]
[in Cantonese] Why is it sagging?
[laughs]
Testing. One. Two.
Hello, citizens of Hong Kong.
We are Scholarism, the group against National Education.
When Scholarism first came on the scene, I think there was a little bit of:
"Where did these people come from?
And how could you imagine that this kind of group could succeed?"
Seems like a real David and Goliath kind of struggle.
[Derek] We have to spend a lot of time campaigning in different neighborhoods.
Every day we have to hand out flyers.
I didn't realize it would be so hard.
Please take a look at our leaflet.
[in English] It's really unusual for students
to distribute leaflets on the street.
We're just trying to push forward to gain more people's support.
But the problem is we still haven't grabbed the general public's awareness.
[speaking in Cantonese]
Change doesn't happen overnight, so, I mean, it's naive or unrealistic
to expect China all of a sudden will, you know,
throw its hand up and say, you know, "Fine, go ahead,
push back National Education."
It doesn't work like that.
[woman speaking in Cantonese]
I remember that I visited a poor family when I'm 13 years old.
While I visited them, we would preach the gospel
and also pray for them because I'm a Christian.
And one year later, I went back to that family and visited them again.
During that moment, I just realized that
just trying to pray for them would not bring the change.
It's necessary for us to change by action.
[man chanting in Cantonese]
Only independent thinking is the truth!
[all chanting]
[in Cantonese] It's been a long day for everyone.
We'd like to thank everyone for participating in Scholarism's rally.
[woman] What are you demanding from the government?
We demand the government withdraw National Education.
We can't have Communist China dictating what is taught in Hong Kong schools.
[man] Will you act more radically in the future to stop them?
That depends on the government's response.
If the government insists on implementing National Education,
Scholarism will have to consider our next steps.
[inaudible dialogue]
[Nathan] Lots of people were talking about that video.
And I'm very impressed, because I think he was 14
when that video took place.
And he was, like, calm and relaxed...
like he's doing this for, like, 20 years.
It's something that people admired.
Yeah, the video really makes us very popular.
And over a hundred students applied and say, "Oh, we want to join you
and we want to join the fight against the National Education."
[speaking in Cantonese]
[all laughing]
Sit down. Let's start the meeting.
Forget about pouring water.
Everyone has to be more serious.
President, why would we be serious?
If you are serious about your position, then lead the meeting.
[Joshua] How is everyone?
My name is Joshua Wong, and I'm the founder of this group.
I'm the one most newspapers have written about.
[cheering]
I'm Derek Lam.
I'm studying at United Christian College.
I'm repeating my senior year.
What's your job in Scholarism?
Making jokes.
He's responsible for announcing through the loudspeaker.
According to the procedure, everyone should introduce themselves.
I'm Agnes Chow.
[boys speaking indistinctly]
[Agnes] The first time I met Joshua was in a meeting in Scholarism,
and that was the start of my life of being an activist.
[speaking in Cantonese]
When I first met Joshua, I just think:
"Well, why is he the leader of Scholarism? I don't really understand that."
He was still really young, like 15 years old,
and he was still a boy,
but now I understand why he's the leader of Scholarism.
He encourages lots of normal,
ordinary Hong Kong people to care about Hong Kong.
[man] Tonight, our guest is Joshua Wong.
He's everywhere these days.
If you don't know him, you will after this show.
Scholarism must take all of your time.
It's true. I feel like I'm working on Scholarism full-time lately.
I always forget that you're still a student.
How do you balance your time?
When I'm not on Facebook dealing with Scholarism, I'm studying.
My grades are not too bad.
It's impossible that your grades aren't bad!
Are you in a relationship?
No, because I focus on my work.
My mom keeps telling me not to date until college.
I should focus on studying now.
Everyone values youth, but there's a difference
between how China and Hong Kong value youth.
Youth in China do everything their country tells them to do.
They are one with the country.
But you're different.
You encourage people to go on the street, to protest, to be radical,
to object to National Education.
Our situation makes it necessary.
If the government didn't push for National Education,
I wouldn't ask people to join us
and there wouldn't be these interviews.
[inaudible dialogue]
[in Cantonese] Allowing the Communist Party
to create our curriculum is a huge problem.
[Joshua, in English] The attitude of the police forces
is quite negative towards the activists.
The policemen will come and ask a lot of questions.
Which organization are you from?
[in Cantonese] We are an organization called Scholarism.
You aren't going to have a rally here?
No, we definitely won't.
[Agnes] Of course our regime and government try to scare us
from not joining social movement.
But I think, as an activist,
one of the things which is very important for us
is not to be scared.
You don't have to surround us with so many officers.
We're here every day.
We'll leave if nothing's happening.
It's cool. Continue.
[in English] It's really ridiculous
for the policemen to come and tell the activists that,
"We want to protect you. That's why we keep our eyes on you."
Because what they want to do is just protect the ruling class
instead of the grassroots in Hong Kong.
The Chinese government has been very good at suppressing a protest.
[reporter] At this hour, there are hundreds of thousands of people
here in Tiananmen Square.
Perhaps as many as a half a million, even more.
In the history of Communist China,
there has never been anything like this.
Tiananmen, of course, was something that took place
on the mainland of China
and was centered in Beijing.
And it was a protest demanding reforms.
There was a crackdown, and tanks rolled into Beijing.
[reporter] Soldiers fired automatic weapons into crowds of civilians,
and the casualties were staggering.
The Chinese Red Cross says at least 2600 people were killed.
The students claimed thousands of others were wounded.
[Tsang] There's a very strong sense in Hong Kong
that what happened in Beijing in June, 1989...
could happen in Hong Kong.
And people in Hong Kong do not want that being repeated at any stage.
Defend freedom of thought!
Withdraw National Education!
[chanting in Cantonese]
[speaking in Cantonese]
[Joshua] Today we've successfully occupied government headquarters.
We have over 100 Scholarism members, citizens and volunteers gathered here.
What we're fighting for is plain and simple.
We hope that the next generation will have freedom.
[reporter] Do you worry about the police using force?
The police do not need to use force.
Scholarism insists on being peaceful, rational and nonviolent.
So, we hope the police can also be peaceful, rational and nonviolent.
[in English] We are occupying a public area
outside of the government headquarters.
And we named that place Civic Square.
I feel really excited, but I also feel a bit nervous
because of the people's expectations of me and Scholarism.
[in English] Around 6:30 in the morning, someone woke me up
and told me that CY Leung come to the square.
It's the second time for me to have the discussion with the chief executive.
[in Cantonese] These students are not camping out for fun.
Why are you neglecting the public's opinion?
This is a three-year initiation period.
Scholarism objects to National Education's "initiation period."
If we agree on the initiation period,
it means that we agree with setting up National Education.
I'd like to ask if it's possible to launch the initiation period
but not launch the actual National Education?
These questions can be discussed in the committee.
Visiting the students should not be done
just a few days before starting the initiation period.
We are really disappointed by that.
[in English] Unfortunately, it seems that he just hoped to do a PR show
instead of really having a conversation with us.
But the government cannot ignore us forever.
During the first days, I was quite depressed.
Only a few people come to support us.
It was quite uncomfortable,
because we can't have shower,
we can't wash our clothes.
It was not a game.
It's real.
Water seeps into the tents, but the students won't give up.
We don't want the next generation in Hong Kong
to have to study National Education.
[reporter] Joshua, school starts in a few days.
What is your plan?
If CY Leung doesn't withdraw National Education before September 3rd,
even though we have to go back to school,
we will carry on and continue to fight.
[Tsang] Joshua Wong did not do it
as a particular political campaign against anything.
He was doing it because it was the right thing to do.
There was a sense of innocence that actually made people identify with it.
That innocence also made the parents' generation somewhat ashamed
that they had to leave these young kids to be fighting out there for this.
[Joshua, in English] When I wake up,
there is only ten or 20 people inside the square.
There seems to be no hope.
But a miracle happened.
[man] Joshua Wong!
[crowd] Keep it up!
[man] Scholarism!
[crowd] Keep it up!
[crowd chanting]
[Joshua] More and more people come to the square.
[crowd cheering]
[in Cantonese] In the past few days, there were not many protesters.
But today we've successfully filled government headquarters.
[crowd cheering]
We have over 4000 people here.
They're even blocking the roads.
The movement is for all people!
With no fear!
Occupy the government headquarters!
Escalate the movement!
All people occupying government headquarters!
Immediately withdraw the curriculum!
I hope people can shout this last slogan as loudly as possible.
CY Leung!
Withdraw the curriculum!
CY Leung!
Withdraw the curriculum!
[man] Thank you, Joshua Wong!
We are willing to speak with our friends
who oppose National Education.
But the premise of our conversation can't be just withdraw or not withdraw.
[in English] At that moment, I'm really disappointed with them.
We felt very angry because
we felt that the government officials were not responding to our demands.
[in Cantonese] Tonight is our "black clothes" rally.
Come to the government headquarters and join our protest.
We can put pressure on the government through the power of numbers.
We have faith that we'll have more people tonight than we've ever had before.
[crowd cheering]
We've occupied government headquarters for nine days.
Tonight we've completely filled the plaza!
We've completely filled a four-lane road!
We've filled the pedestrian bridges! We've filled the park!
I believe a miracle is about to happen.
The turning point is here!
We are making history!
[all chanting] Withdraw National Education!
[man] Our preliminary numbers show
we have 120,000 people here!
One hundred twenty thousand!
[Agnes] We were really surprised of the number of people joining the protest.
[Derek] It just explode our mind!
And I just think, "Wow, this is amazing!"
This caught the government completely by surprise.
They did not know something like that could happen
and they did not know how to respond.
[reporter] Mr. Leung, would you mind just giving a brief English statement
on this policy shift?
Thank you.
Well, essentially...
the amendment of this policy
means that we're giving the authority to the schools.
[crowd cheering]
[Joshua] We did it.
A group of high school students stand in the front line
and forced the Communist regime to step backward.
We are part of the Hong Kong history.
[mother] If you had asked me a year ago, I wouldn't have believed it.
We are a low-profile family.
We don't want to be famous.
Joshua is not trying to be famous.
We all said, "This is a miracle."
So amazing!
How could this really happen?
They say it's the first social movement to achieve its goal
since the Handover in 1997.
And it was the only one
initiated by high school students.
The lesson that we learned in the anti-National Education movement is
students can also make change in the society.
The message that got into Hong Kong wasn't:
"Oh, phew, we got our educational standards back."
The message was by turning out they could actually cause Beijing to back down.
And that lesson is the precursor to people imagining something
like the fight for democracy might work.
[Agnes] Finally, we showed the power of social movement
and showed the power of people to our regime.
I feel a bit happy,
but still a bit afraid,
because we just won one battle, but not the whole war.
[man] Okay, let's talk about China President Xi Jinping.
Is that gonna get me kidnapped?
[laughs]
[reporter] Xi Jinping.
It's a name you're going to hear a lot of.
Now officially the second most powerful leader in the world.
[Wasserstrom] Xi Jinping is the head of the Chinese Communist Party,
and he's also the president of the People's Republic of China.
We should just call him Chairman of Everything.
[Ng] China has been increasingly aggressive towards Hong Kong
and the aggression has accelerated since Xi Jinping came to power.
[Shirky] What's happening under Xi Jinping is a sort of one country, two systems,
one country, 1.9 systems, one country, 1.8 systems.
So, it's this slow squeezing of Hong Kong into Chinese norms.
That sort of sets the stage for the really big fight,
which is around universal suffrage,
and the ability of Hong Kong citizens to vote on the leader of Hong Kong,
which they were promised after the Handover.
The Hong Kong people will have the vote and we'll decide who is going to lead us,
and take an active part in standing up
for all the people of Hong Kong.
Otherwise, Hong Kong will go down the drain very quickly indeed.
And Hong Kong will soon become just another Chinese city.
President Xi should let Hong Kong achieve universal suffrage.
We have waited for this promise for more than 18 years already.
[in Cantonese] What is our hope?
Our hope is that from today onwards,
Hong Kong is entering a new era.
[Davis] Benny Tai is in the faculty of law at the University of Hong Kong.
He got this idea that:
"Well, if China's not going to, you know, deliver real democracy,
then we should protest this."
[in English] We need to assemble
much stronger force in Hong Kong
in order to strive for democracy,
in order to put pressure on the Chinese authorities.
What Benny Tai proposed is to get a large group of Hong Kongers
who cared about this issue
to turn out and to shut down Central District.
Central is so tied to commerce, to banking.
It's a highly visible space.
If you occupy that, you are really making a public statement.
[Agnes] I was very surprised.
It's very rare for a university professor to advocate civil disobedience,
or, like, radical, um, social movement like Occupy.
You have the whole city nervous. You know that, right?
You know, business owners and CEOs.
All businesses will be affected by this--
Actually, a very simple answer to that
is you need not be nervous about that.
If you do not want to have Occupy Central to happen,
just give us true universal suffrage.
The movement had already attracted a lot of public support,
and we have generated sufficient tension in the society.
We printed out leaflets, posters, Internet promotions,
and it was like a real election.
I kind of speculate that there might be 300,000 people voting,
and that might be the best figure we could get.
But things came out totally unexpected.
We got 800,000 people voting.
We knew the public was behind us.
[Tai] Now would be a good time
for us to have negotiations with China.
This may be the best chance for Hong Kong people to get democracy.
I think the organizers of the Occupy movement
had intended it as a bluff
and authorities in China called their bluff.
[reporter 1] On Sunday, China's parliament voted
to change the way Hong Kong selects its leader,
known as the Chief Executive.
[reporter 2] Chinese officials announced Sunday
that the central government in Beijing
will screen candidates running for what was meant
to be a democratically elected position.
"You can vote, but we'll choose who you vote for."
That appears to be the message from China's leaders
who've insisted they have the right
to choose candidates for Hong Kong's leadership.
What Beijing decided was:
"You can choose your leader among the list of people that we select.
It removes the ability of the citizens of Hong Kong to have a voice.
So, China has spoken.
It now hopes that Hong Kong will listen.
[cheering, whistles blowing]
[in Cantonese] The decision of the Chinese government today...
is so undemocratic and unjust!
Unjust!
We will fight to change this unjust system.
We're even willing
to sacrifice ourselves for it.
It has become clear that the time to compromise is gone.
It is time for total war!
[cheering]
Our parents say that joining this student strike will ruin our future.
But what sort of future will we have under the current political system?
Students need to show the adults
that they don't make all the rules.
[chanting in Cantonese]
[reporter] Thousands of students from more than 20 universities and colleges
have abandoned classes this week.
Many seem prepared to sacrifice their studies
in the battle to secure the right to choose their own leader.
[Nathan] During that four days, we have assemblies every night...
to make Occupy Central more powerful.
To, like, heat it up.
[speaking in Cantonese]
Momentum is building up until the 26th of September.
[cheering]
[Agnes] There was really a lot of people that day.
[Nathan] We felt like it was not possible
to just end the assembly,
because we could feel the passion of the crowd.
[all chanting]
[Agnes] We were thinking about:
"Well, there are lots of people now.
Should we do something?"
[Nathan] Before the end of the night assembly,
we had a secret meeting talking about what's the possible plans.
We think, "Shall we occupy the Civic Square again?"
[Nathan] The retake of Civic Square was the most symbolic thing that we could do.
[cheering]
[Joshua] Greetings, my fellow citizens.
I am Joshua Wong, founder of Scholarism.
A crowd of 1500 is more than I expected here today.
[man] At 9:30, Joshua make his speech,
and we are getting ready for Joshua to lead us to reoccupy Civic Square.
No matter what the price,
we can't dump this on the next generation.
This generation must complete our mission!
[cheering]
Now let's go take Civic Square together!
[Nathan] There's a moment where you thought,
"Wow, we are going to make some massive change.
And we are going to make history."
Joshua just ran off and jumped over the fence.
And suddenly there's a group of cops.
And then they just surround Joshua.
[yelling in Cantonese]
[Nathan] When I was arrested, I met Joshua in the police station.
I remember that he didn't have his glasses
and he even didn't have his shoes.
And there's some scratches on his face,
and he's tired and he's scared.
[Joshua] I feel really powerless because nothing I can do.
I'm still in the police station.
And I just hope every member of Scholarism are safe.
[Nathan] The scariest thing is that you don't know what's happening outside.
You don't have information.
[chanting in Cantonese] Free Joshua Wong!
I'm going to make a very important announcement.
It's a long-awaited one.
I announce that
Occupy Central is officially launched!
[crowd cheering]
Occupy Central is officially launched!
[Tai] The situation evolved very fast,
and I decided that we have to start the Occupy action earlier than planned.
[Tsang] Joshua Wong and his generation took over Occupy Central
and changed it into something different.
And if you want to use the word "hijack," I think it's not unreasonable.
We are not trying to hijack the Occupy action.
We are just trying to mobilize people to join civil disobedience.
The problem is Benny Tai planned the Occupy action
to be a formal, organized activity.
Just like holding a concert or a ceremony.
But the participants of social movement is quite organic.
You can't force them to directly follow your rules and regulations.
Social movement is social movement.
Overnight, people started occupying the highway.
[Ng] And then police in tactical gear start showing up.
[crowd yelling]
People thought, "Whoa, game has changed." This is completely different.
[screaming]
Boom, boom.
The people scream.
It's just like the image of hell.
Everyone was choking.
We tried to hide, but nowhere to go.
[Agnes] I just want to cry at that time
because I feel really desperate,
that I don't know what to do.
[reporter 1] They call their movement Occupy Central with Love and Peace.
[reporter 2] On Sunday a largely peaceful protest took a turn.
[reporter 3] Downtown Hong Kong has largely become a war zone.
The policemen always claim that they hope to protect the activists.
But if they want to protect us, why they would hurt us?
It's not Hong Kong anymore.
[Nathan] You've heard rumors like they would cut off Internet.
And rumors saying that the army is coming.
And as organizers, you have a huge responsibility
to the safety of the people.
Are we really ready to sacrifice?
[Joshua] I feel there's a lot of pressure after they used tear gas.
Because I'm the convener of Scholarism,
I should be responsible.
But this responsibility is too hard for me to bear.
The Hong Kong government is resolute
in opposing the unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central.
The police shall continue to handle the situation in accordance with the law.
Beijing doesn't tell CY Leung:
"You can use tear gas but not rubber bullets," or vice versa.
Beijing will only ask, "Can you handle this?"
Right. "Can you put a lid on it?"
But it really didn't work like that.
24 hours ago, we saw tear gas and pepper spray being used
on the citizens of Hong Kong, mainly students.
And it looks very much like that strategy by the Hong Kong police has backfired.
[Ng] The idea is to scare the crowd with the tear gas,
but more and more people started to come out.
It was beautiful.
It was such a watershed moment in our history.
There was a sense of community. I mean, I call it the village.
[inaudible dialogue]
It was a place where everybody shared things.
You didn't have to spend any money in the village
because there's free food everywhere.
I thought it was the most beautiful part of Hong Kong.
[inaudible dialogue]
It's a picture that no one could fully express with words.
[Shirky] So, it started in Central and it spreads all over the city,
and other sympathetic occupations happen.
[Joshua] Camps sprang up all over Hong Kong.
Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok.
[Shirky] Beijing can't pretend
that this is just a small movement of malcontents.
The political message is in the occupation itself.
The media began calling it Umbrella Movement or Umbrella Revolution
because lots of protesters, they used umbrellas
to resist the pepper spray from the police officers.
Ingeniously, they've made the umbrella the symbol of the movement,
so anyone can go to a 7-Eleven and say, "Give me two umbrellas."
You don't know if it's political or not until you get to Central and open them up.
[Wasserstrom] Students began to emerge, Joshua Wong most spectacularly,
as the face and the voice of the movement,
much more so than the original Occupy figures.
[Nathan] I think...
he was not the only person.
I was not the only person of Occupy Central.
But I understand the logic. Having a person as an icon is easier
than having a group of people.
His reputation can help broadcast our message.
[speaking in Cantonese]
[Joshua, in English] Being famous is just part of my job.
If you need to increase your influence,
if you need to let people to support your idea,
the first thing you need to do is to let others recognize you.
[speaking in Cantonese]
It's a way for the international media and people living outside Hong Kong
to know more about the situation in Hong Kong.
[reporter] Hong Kong's leader said on Tuesday that China won't back down
from its decision to limit voting reforms in the Asian financial hub,
dashing hopes that the standoff between demonstrators and authorities
could be resolved quickly through negotiations.
I think the government is quite naive
if they believe that...
I will not continue to fight.
If we need to fight to achieve universal suffrage and democracy,
it's necessary to join into a long-term battle
towards the Communist Party of China.
[reporter] They're preparing for the long haul,
distributing supplies that will help sustain an open-ended protest
in defiance of Beijing.
So, the great strength of Occupy
has actually not been to turn out but to stay.
This was a really profound dedication.
These are people willing to sleep on concrete night after night.
[Joshua] It's hard to sleep on the road.
Every day it's hot and rainy.
I miss my bed and I miss the shower,
and I miss my mom's cooking.
But we were ready for however long it takes.
[Davis] The Hong Kong police learned a bit of a lesson:
That if you act aggressively you're just going to increase the protest,
so, there was this change over time
where they sort of left the protesters alone.
The idea being that if you stay away...
eventually people will get tired of sleeping in the streets.
[in Cantonese] We believe in civil disobedience.
We believe in the principle of nonviolence.
We will stand firm until the last moment.
[cheering]
[Nathan, in English] As an organizer, I was not prepared to be responsible
for such a huge movement.
There's no relevant experience in Hong Kong's history
that we could take reference from.
And we were just so tired.
But Joshua, he's a robot, because he could devote himself, like, 24/7.
[Agnes] For me, he's a very good person to learn from.
But sometimes I do not know how to...
How to become a friend of him.
He shows no emotions sometimes.
[Ng] I often use the word "digital" to describe him.
He's either on or off.
And I think that's a price he has to pay
to be a leader at such a young age,
because he gave up his childhood, basically.
Some days I have cried and I think that I can't continue
or it's really tiring and I want to stop, but it's not the time to cry.
Because I have a commitment in this movement.
[reporter] Hong Kong shopkeepers are warning
the democracy protests there are costing them dear.
The local retail management association says sales at chain stores
fell by up to 45 percent last week in the affected districts.
After two months, a part of the citizens started to feel very impatient,
and they wanted the whole thing to stop.
That kind of impatience motivated our government.
[woman speaking in Cantonese]
Please abide by the court order and leave immediately.
We have asked the police to help the bailiffs execute their duties.
[Nathan] I felt really upset and angry about it,
because after months of occupation,
their response was not to repair the relationship
between Hong Kong people and the government.
Instead, they destroyed it once again.
[reporter] Student leader Joshua Wong was at the scene.
A shouting match ensued after he tried to block the bailiffs
from removing the barricades.
The police saw me and pulled me out from the crowd.
[yelling]
[Tai] The risk is getting higher and higher
to be a part of the democratic movement.
We just want everyone to go home safely.
For the sake of the occupiers' safety,
for the sake of our original intention of love and peace,
as we prepare to surrender,
we three urge the students to retreat.
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
They want us to stop the occupation.
But students do not agree on that.
So, we will continue.
No one can stop us.
In one of the signs that this is an increasingly desperate protest movement,
we've now heard that several of the student leaders,
including 18-year-old Joshua Wong, have vowed to go on a hunger strike.
[in Cantonese] The street clearance is coming,
and the goal of this movement seems to be blurred.
I hope to wake up all Hong Kong people and people around the world.
I want to reignite awareness of the Umbrella Movement.
The support is slipping away.
So, we have to call the people back again.
So, Joshua did a hunger strike.
[Nathan] And I was really nervous about him
because he's a very skinny boy,
and he stopped eating for a few days.
[reporter] Are you aware of how painful
and destructive for your health this could be?
Do your parents know what you're doing?
My parents know, and I know it's really harmful to my body.
However, it is the only way to give pressure to the government.
[Joshua] It's really tiring.
You will feel your body doesn't have any energy.
But we have to continue to show that the students will persist
to fight until the last minute.
[Nathan] While he was in wheelchair and he was very weak,
I was worrying about his condition.
And the doctor kept saying that he shouldn't continue the hunger strike.
I can't do anything to help him but, like, it's very--
Yeah, it's really very painful for me.
Rebellion is not the way to achieve universal suffrage.
As I've said before, any kind of rebellious action is futile.
Eventually he stopped it.
[Nathan] He lasted to the very last moment that he could afford.
I think the lowest point is...
I see how people lost their hope in this movement.
If we cannot see any hope in the movement, the movement can't continue.
[Ng] When the camp were cleared,
after that is when the remorse came in.
The resentment, the frustration, the sense of failure,
Mom and Dad asking:
"Well, you camped out for 79 days.
What do you have to show for it?"
And because of that, because of that embarrassment,
people now feel sort of:
"Well, we really did fail,"
or, "Maybe we shouldn't have done it in the first place."
A lot of people are very disappointed because, like, no concrete outcomes.
And sometimes we'll wonder that:
"Is that your responsibility that you let them down,
that you have made some mistakes?"
It's hard for me to accept the fact that the Occupy has ended.
Instead of solving the problem,
Xi Jinping just ignored the people who have raised the problem.
He just think that they need to use the style
of the authoritarian regime to rule Hong Kong.
[Ng] He's playing very high stakes political games.
He's purging his opponents.
He's actively building an empire.
And Hong Kong is sort of one of the first victims
of his epic power struggle.
[all chanting in Cantonese]
[in Cantonese] I would like to thank you all
for coming to support us in the early morning,
even when you may have to work.
We will update you guys on Scholarism's Facebook page.
In 2015, we will keep on fighting for political reform and true democracy.
I'm going in now.
Thank you so much.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting in Cantonese]
[Joshua, in English] After the Occupy movement ended,
I'm still having a lot of meetings with different people
and try to think about the next step to continue the movement.
But I still know that I could not turn back to a normal life.
I've been charged with inciting unauthorized assembly,
participating in unauthorized assembly,
obstructing a police officer, and contempt of court.
The maximum penalty is to be put into jail.
Mentally, I already expected to face the penalty,
maybe be put into prison,
but I'm not really ready for it actually.
Somebody needs to pay the price for the movement,
and I've already expected...
to pay this price.
A deepening mystery in Hong Kong
sounds like the plot of a political thriller, but it's all too real.
Five people have vanished since October.
All of them are connected to a publishing company
and a bookstore that sells books critical of Communist China's leaders.
Concern is growing that basic rights are being, well, taken away.
[Nathan] The booksellers,
they were kidnapped in Hong Kong and brought into China,
and they just disappeared.
[Davis] This causes a great public concern in Hong Kong.
Because how can one country, two systems survive
if people using their free speech rights in Hong Kong
are going to be snatched off the street?
The central government is practically running the Hong Kong government.
And we will see this harsh treatment of Hong Kong people continue
and increase for the worse.
I believe that in the Central Government there's a file that thick about me,
because we were the leaders of the movement.
[Agnes] It's becoming more dangerous being an activist,
because the price that we have to pay,
it is heavier than before.
[Joshua] We're afraid, and we're scared about this kind of issue happening again.
It's not really safe if you're an activist in Hong Kong.
My parents pretended they are not scared...
but I think...
they are worried about me, of course.
I can't ensure I will not be disappeared in the future.
But what I can do is to fight and to reduce the chance
for myself and my peers to be disappeared.
[Joshua, in Cantonese] This one.
You can sit here.
Testing. One. Two.
Hi, everyone, we'll begin the press conference now.
Today's press conference is about the end of Scholarism.
Hi, everyone, I'm Derek, from Scholarism.
This is the last time for me to introduce myself in this way.
I hope when Scholarism's name is heard in the future,
people will recall some beautiful moments.
We were a bunch of kids fighting hard in the streets.
[Agnes] I understand that this news is hard to believe.
To be honest,
we've been discussing the end of Scholarism for a long time.
This is a difficult decision.
But for us, we cannot let sentimentality
decide the future of Scholarism.
Instead, we need to think rationally
about what political action is needed
for the future of Hong Kong.
Last summer we began discussing the future of Scholarism.
We discussed how a political party
and a student group could develop.
[in English] We are planning to launch a new political party
and planning to run in the election to get a seat in the Legislative Council
and to let the voice of the new generation to enter the institution.
[speaking in Cantonese]
We started a new political party because we could see
that the framework of one country, two systems is not working.
A lot of Hong Kong people's way of life is being destroyed
by the intervention of the Chinese government.
The Umbrella Movement proved that if you only work on the street,
it's not enough,
because when you occupy the road,
the government will not give a shit about you.
If we really want to do the real protest, we have to stop the government.
And the way we can stop the government is to get into the Legislative Council.
We have a very clear political aim of fighting for Hong Kong
because we believe that Hong Kong people should have the right
to decide our own future.
I believe we can win a seat in the election.
[speaking in Cantonese]
[music playing over speakers]
Cheers to our wasted youth!
[all cheering]
Each of us should say some sincere words to Joshua.
[all hollering]
Why don't we play another game?
Shut up!
What should I say to Joshua?
You're a really shitty video-game player.
[all laughing]
How can you be so bad at it?
You rarely beat me.
I met Joshua when I joined.
At the time I thought, why is this guy so arrogant?
Then I found that Joshua is a good guy to work with.
He's a trustworthy guy. He won't betray you.
I know this in my heart.
I'm really glad that I was a member of Scholarism before,
because if I did not enter Scholarism four years ago,
I would not be the person that I am now.
In Scholarism, I have a lot of good memories
and I have a lot of good experiences.
I guess it's time to start something new.
And we can't keep saying that "I'm a student and I am so pure."
Now we have to face the real politics.
It is a little bit sad, but it's just like growing to be an adult.
[man shouting over megaphone in Cantonese]
[Nathan] I believe that the government are really scared of the new generation,
because we are the ones who can really pressure the Chinese government.
The Chinese government is scared of us because we never give up,
and we have unlimited energy to fight against them.
We have the responsibility to protect Hong Kong, our hometown.
[Derek] It's Hong Kong.
And, yeah, we have to try to save it.
[Joshua, in English] They can't stop all of us.
[Ng] Joshua is very passionate, and then that, to me,
is the most important thing, is that he truly cares about Hong Kong
and is willing to give everything he has for it.
I'm very grateful that Hong Kong has someone like him.
[Lee] I would call Joshua a phenomenon.
I remember in the beginning of the Umbrella Movement
when there were confrontations with the police, Joshua had the mic,
and he said, "I'm fighting for democracy
for my generation and my next generation."
And this guy was only 17.
[Shirky] The sense of scale could not be larger
between a lone individual and China.
And he's shown people
that clarity of message and consistency of purpose
and really just an indefatigable sense of "I am not gonna give up"
can actually change how history is unfolding.
I believe in freedom for Hong Kong.
I believe in freedom for everyone.
I will never stop until Hong Kong is Hong Kong again.
[speaking in Cantonese]
[crowd cheering]