Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-10-22/Op-ed
{{Wikipedia:Signpost/Template:Signpost-article-start|{{{1|Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution—a wiki-protest}}}|By Deryck Chan| 22 October 2014}}
File:29.9.14 Hong Kong protest near Tamar.jpg
Three weeks ago, the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have made headlines around the world, including on Wikipedia's own front page in ITN. A lot of attention has been given to the sheer significance of the showdown, likening it to David and Goliath{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29340676|title=Hong Kong's David and Goliath democracy battle|author=Carrie Gracie|publisher=BBC|date=24 September 2014}} and worrying that neither side had an exit strategy.{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/news/china/21621846-days-student-led-unrest-hong-kong-are-crisis-chinas-communist-party-no-exit|title=Hong Kong protests: no exit|work=The Economist|date=4 October 2014}} However, amidst this binary portrayal of the protests as democrats versus the government, only the most sharp-eyed reports spotted that this "Umbrella Revolution" is actually a highly inhomogeneous movement with a social hierarchy that is similar to none other than our dear Wikipedia.
==Nobody is in control==
Benny Tai, leader of the Occupy Central movement, admitted to media that he had lost control of the protests.{{cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1603506/how-occupy-central-leaders-lost-grip-protest?page=all|work=South China Morning Post|date=29 September 2014|title=How Occupy Central leaders lost grip on protest|author=Joyce Ng|author2=Jeffie Lam|author3=Gary Cheung}} This is an accurate description, except that Benny Tai himself had never wanted to take full control of the movement anyway. As the idea of Occupy Central brewed beneath the surface over the past year, Benny Tai stressed repeatedly that he advocated deliberative democracy within the movement,{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/occupy-central-hong-kong-democracy-campaign|title=Occupy Central gives downtown Hong Kong a taste of disobedience|date=6 March 2014|work=The Guardian|location=UK|author=Tania Branigan}} and that he's merely serving as a figurehead for the movement.{{cite news|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2014/10/01/hong-kong-harmony-hits-beijings-worst-fears/|title=Hong Kong harmony hits Beijing’s worst fears|date=1 October 2014|agency=Reuters|author=John Foley}} Much like Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia, the protest leaders are influential figureheads in the movement, but to say they have control is both an overestimation of their power and a misrepresentation of the movement's nature.
This is examplified on the fearful night of 28 September when police first deployed tear gas canisters against the peaceful demonstrators and threatened the use of gunfire if the crowds didn't disperse. The protest leaders pleaded all demonstrators to leave in order to avoid bloodshed. Most left, but about 10,000 recongregated shortly after and endured 87 rounds of tear gas.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hong-kong-protests-a-peaceful-night-of-singing-in-umbrella-revolution-1.2780879|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|title=Hong Kong protests: a peaceful night of singing in 'umbrella revolution'|date=29 September 2014}} The next morning, a stronger movement emerged which isn't even afraid of tear gas anymore.
==Bottom-up collaboration==
File:Umbrella Revolution - Harcourt Road recycling station.jpg
On Wikipedia, editors debate on decentralized talk pages associated with each article and organize themselves into WikiProjects to collaborate on particular topics. People volunteer as they see fit and there is no need for a central authority.
Same for Hong Kong. As the protests unfolded, they became an organic movement that organized itself. Communication was entirely decentralized, with messaging applications and social media widely used to spread the latest news and plan actions. Both physical and online noticeboards were used to advise supporters on what to bring to the protest site. With the threat of the police interrupting mobile communications, the crowds turned to FireChat to secure their information flow.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-29411159|publisher=BBC|date=29 September 2014|title=#BBCtrending: Hong Kong's 'off-grid' protesters}} Teams of volunteers emerged spontaneously from the crowds, some to defend the barricades, some to transport food and equipment, some to update the rest of the world by social media, and even some to do the recycling.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29423147?SThisFB|title=Things that could only happen in a Hong Kong protest|publisher=BBC|date=30 September 2014|author=Samanthi Dissanayake}} They went on ad-hoc shifts so that some would keep the protest running smoothly while others can go back to their day jobs or go home and rest.
==Common principles==
File:Joshua Wong Chi-fung.jpg, convenor of student activist group Scholarism: "The hero of the movement is every single Hong Kong citizen."{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/joshua-wong-teenager-public-face-hong-kong-protests|title=Joshua Wong: the teenager who is the public face of the Hong Kong protests|work=The Guardian|location=UK|author=Tania Branigan|date=1 October 2014}}]]
Wikipedia editors come from all walks of life. We disagree and fight over many things, but we are all united by one vision: to make knowledge freely available to all. We work together under a few common principles and regulate ourselves, occasionally exercising the tough love of banning those who don't follow the rules.
The demonstrators are also, surprisingly, a disparately inhomogeneous bunch. They come from the economic right and left. There are patriotic democrats who want to use Hong Kong to democratize China, and regionalists who simply want to seal off Hong Kong from Beijing. There are even some who joined the protests simply because they were enraged by the police's disproportionate use of force against the demonstrators.{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/28/hong-kong-occupy-central-teargas-police-electoral-limits|title=Tens of thousands join pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong|work=The Guardian|location=UK|author=Tania Branigan|author2=Jonathan Kaiman|date=28 September 2014}} But they are united by a common goal and a few common principles. They have all taken to the streets to demand genuine democracy in Hong Kong, and they all adhere staunchly to the principle of non-violence. When the police charged at them with shields, sticks, and pepper spray, they stood still and turned the other cheek, restraining each other from striking back.{{cite news|url=http://hongwrong.com/police-beat-protesters/|title=VIDEO – Smoking Gun: Police Blindly Beat Peaceful Protesters With Batons |author=Tom Grundy|date=21 October 2014|publisher=Hong Wrong}}
And this is why the Umbrella Revolution is so powerful: Because nobody is in control, the arrests of leaders such as Joshua Wong didn't curtail their efforts, instead provoking more people to take to the streets and join their cause. Because their collaboration was bottom-up and spontaneous, there wasn't a weakest link which could be exploited to bring the movement down. Because of their belief in non-violence in the face of a violent crackdown, the movement had caught the world's sympathy.
Nobody knows how long the protests will last and demonstrators are settling in for the long fight.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29672083|title=Hong Kong protest: Mong Kok camp retaken from police|publisher=BBC News|date=18 October 2014}} But what is certain is that the Umbrella Revolution has already revolutionized political activism in the same way Wikipedia revolutionized knowledge dissemination a decade ago.
:{{u|Deryck Chan}} has been a Wikipedian since 2004. He is originally from Hong Kong and is currently working in London as an engineer.
:The views expressed in this op-ed are those of the author only; responses and critical commentary are invited in the comments section. The Signpost welcomes proposals for op-eds at our opinion desk or through email.
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