United for Democracy: Global Solidarity with Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s democracy is at its most critical moment.
The people of Hong Kong have been fighting for the full democracy since before the handover. Their demand for genuine universal suffrage and open elections for their city’s leader and legislature has been persistent, loud and clear. Yet, seventeen years after the handover from British to Chinese rule, there is still no open and free election for the city’s Chief Executive, nor a fully direct-elected Legislative Council in Hong Kong. In late June of this year, more than half a million Hong Kong citizens took part in a Civil Referendum to endorse civil nomination and demand the Legislative Council to veto any electoral reform proposals that fails to meet the international standard. One week later, half a million of Hong Kongers took to the street to further demonstrate their demand for genuine democratic reform in the annual July 1 march.
Unfortunately, Hongkongers’ clear and fair demand for having a proper say in the affairs of their own city is ignored by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Hong Kong SAR governments. On 31 August, PRC’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed a resolution that rejects any reformation in the electoral method of Legislative Council in 2016 and insists that they would only permit Hong Kongers “voting” for their chief executive among 2-3 stringently pre-screened candidates. Despite the undemocratic nature of the PRC’s decision and an election process that only served to cement Beijing political rein on the city Hong Kong SAR government still urges its citizens to accept such plan. With the prospect of further democratic process quickly fading, Hong Kong’s democracy movement has reached a critical point.
In this critical moment, we have no choice. We must unite and fight for democracy. In Hong Kong, the movement Occupy Central is launching a civil disobedience occupation while Hong Kong Federation of Students, Scholarism and various student associations have called on a city-wide student strike. During the weeklong student strike, the students have tried through various methods expressed their demand for universal suffrage and have tried to open dialogue with the Chief Executive CY Leung but Leung refused to have dialogue with them. Furthermore, when the students tried to reclaim the Civil Square for the public and to exercise their rights of peaceful assembly, they were brutally cracked down by the police.
We, overseas Hongkongers and international communities, are showing our solidarity support with Hongkongers fighting for democracy. At the same time, we are outrage by the police brutality on display . We are against the diminishing of freedom of expression and assembly. To express our solidarity with Hong Kong, we will call a Global Solidarity Action day on Saturday 27th September, the immediate weekend of the student strike. In cities all over the world, including London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, MI, Austin, TX, in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Scotland, we will have solidarity action. Further actions in Copenhagen, Boston, Taipei, and Vancouver will follow in the coming week.
We demand Civil Nomination now!
Open and free election, now!
香港的民主現正處於最危急的關頭。
從爭取八八直選開始，香港人爭取民主、希望可以由自己當家作主已經差不多三十年；然而，直到現在，政權移交十七年後的今天，香港的行政長官仍然由小圈子「選舉」產生、立法會仍未全面普選，功能組別依然控制立法會超過半數的議席。今年六月，超過七十萬香港市民參與民間公投，要求有公民提名的選舉辦法，和要求立法會否決任何不符合國際標準的選舉辦法。七月一日，再有超過五十萬名市民上街爭取民主。這些都顯示出香港人對爭取民主的決心。
然而，中共政權及香港特區政府卻無視香港人期望當家作主的清晰訴求。八月三十一日，中共全國人大常委會通過決議，2016年立法會產生辦法不作修改，同時限制行政長官的提名權只可以由小圈子提名委員會提名兩至三個經篩選的候選人，拒絕公民提名。面對如此違反民主原則，只為特權階級服務的「選舉」方法，香港特區政府依然希望市民接受此等方案，無疑是侮辱香港人。此刻，無疑是香港民主最危急的關頭。
在這危急的關頭，我們別無選擇。香港人必須團結起來，爭取真真正正的民主，落實真正提名權與選擇權均等的一人一票選舉。「讓愛與和平佔領中環」已經宣告展開公民抗命的佔領行動、學生組織亦啟動罷課響應。經過一星期的罷課，學生已經嘗試透過不同渠道表達對普選訴求，亦嘗試與梁振英對話，可惜梁振英沒有回應。接著，學生試圖重奪原屬公共空間、被圍欄重重包圍的公民廣場，讓人民能在此行使和平集會的自由，卻招來警察方粗暴對待。
我們海外港人和國際民間社會將表現我們支持香港人爭取民主的決心，會在9月27日星期六（罷課行動開始的首個周末）舉行全球聲援香港爭取民主的行動。參與如城市包括紐約、倫敦、溫哥華、多倫多、三藩市、洛杉磯、安娜堡、奧斯汀、莫斯塔爾。接著一周台北、哥本哈根、波士頓、溫哥華也會有同類聲援香港活動。
公民提名，絕不退讓！
全面普選立法會和行政長官！
http://www.mediafire.com/view/2pdvodxapwe42xd/GlobalSolidarity-leaflet-A4.pdf
