8-Hour March Belies Hong Kong Apathy

While the numbers of pro-democracy demonstrators dwindled in Beijing, for the second week in a row Hong Kong was the scene of a vast march that all but erased its long-held reputation as a city of political apathy.

Between 500,000 and 1 million marchers on Sunday snaked their way from the city’s financial district through Wan Chi, known as the site of “The World of Suzie Wong,” to the crowded residential district of North Point, in a demonstration that lasted eight hours.

The enthusiasm was only the latest display of how China’s ferment has electrified Hong Kong. At a marathon rock concert over the weekend, residents donated more than $2 million to support the students in Beijing, breaking a stereotype not only of detachment but also of extreme frugality nurtured here over a long commercial history.

Before the turmoil in China, pro-democracy advocates had been able to marshal 7,000 demonstrators, at most, for any given protest. Observers expressed surprise that the citizens were willing to so openly align themselves with China’s pro-democracy movement in the face of the evident triumph of hard-line factions in the Chinese power struggle.

“Usually, Hong Kong reserves its gambling instincts for the stock market and the mah jong table,” a Western diplomat remarked. “They are really sticking their necks out for a very iffy cause.”

The new mood of activism reflects growing unease over what Hong Kong can expect when it reverts to rule by China in 1997, under a deal struck between Beijing and London in 1984.

Despite promises from Chinese officials that Hong Kong will maintain its character as a free-wheeling capitalist enclave, Hong Kong residents are viewing the pro-democracy movement in China as perhaps the only way to guarantee that the pledge is fulfilled.

“People are becoming aware that what is happening now in China could happen here in the future. They’re not political in the overt sense, but they understand that the suppression of the students . . . is not right,” said John Shum, who organized the rock concert.

“Hong Kong people should be proud,” added local politician Lau Chinshek. “Now that they have spoken up for the democratic movement in China, we hope they will fight for greater democracy in the territory.”

All Factions Join March

Students, teachers, homemakers, business people and bureaucrats participated in the Sunday march, wearing yellow headbands and ribbons--the color that has become the emblem of Hong Kong’s foray into street protests. The marchers sang Cantonese rock tunes written for the occasion.

They also raised their fists and shouted defiant slogans against Li Peng, the Chinese premier who appears to have gained the upper hand in the Beijing power struggle. Some waved caricatures of Li holding strings attached to Deng Xiaoping, the aging leader who is now said to have sided with the hard-liners.

Business people, who have generally kept a low profile in the protests, are beginning to consider whether their livelihoods are at stake in the Beijing turbulence. They were stunned last week by China’s decision to cut televised broadcasts of the protests, viewing that action as one that could be extended to all kinds of communication in times of crisis.

The Hong Kong stock market, the most closely watched pulse of opinion here, fell sharply for the second week in a row. The volatile real estate market is also said to be suffering.

Hong Kong’s anxiety over its future under Chinese rule is also being expressed by growing general pessimism, according to a poll taken by the South China Morning Post newspaper. In a survey completed last week, about 36% of the respondents said they definitely plan to emigrate. A similar survey a year ago found 24% preparing to leave. Only 7.5% said they would definitely stay on after 1997. The rest were unsure.

Williams, The Times’ Jerusalem Bureau chief, is on assignment in the Far East.