Dialogue with Hong Kong government over extradition bill ‘not realistic’, Joshua Wong and fellow student leader say
- Demosisto secretary general says he or other political groups cannot expect to represent all those who marched on June 16
- Leader of largest pro-establishment party had called on protesters to meet government and for bill to be withdrawn
Student leaders have dismissed calls for talks with Hong Kong officials over the extradition bill crisis, saying protesters instead wanted their demands, including bill’s withdrawal, to be met.
Joshua Wong Chi-fung, secretary general of pro-democracy party Demosisto, told a radio programme on Monday it would be regressive to start talks with the government regarding the bill, in light of recent protests.
“I do not think that I, or any political figure or group, can represent 2 million protesters,” he said.
This includes mainland China, where critics say there is no guarantee of a fair trial.
Jacky So Tsun-fung, president of Chinese University’s student union, who was on the same programme as Wong, said it was not realistic for protesters to have a dialogue with officials.
Wong agreed, asking how it was possible to even find a contact point, given a lot of the protests against the bill were spontaneous and not initiated by any group.
“The problem now is not that everyone wants to have dialogue with [the government], but rather whether you want to accept the four demands,” he said.
As it happened: How extradition bill protesters laid siege to police headquarters
The four demands are for the bill to be withdrawn; for arrested protesters to be exonerated; the retraction of all references to the protest on June 12 as a riot; and for any police officers who used excessive force that day to be punished.
Wong, a student at the Open University, hoped the government and pro-establishment camp would move with the times, as “under-the-table political transactions” were no longer suitable.
Both students said they could not estimate how many would take part in Monday’s plan to surround the government headquarters, but So said there would be tertiary students on standby to provide support.
Protesters will be charged, Hong Kong justice minister says
Speaking to reporters at a media gathering on Monday, Hang Seng University president Simon Ho Shun-man said it was right for students to express views on controversial issues.
“Of course, we encourage them to have critical thinking and make judgments,” he said.
Ho said he had sent a mass email to students on June 13, reminding them to stay safe and express their views in a rational, peaceful and considerate manner.
The student union at Hong Kong’s newest private university is part of a group of 10 student unions which joined hands to participate in protests and issue statements against the bill.
Ho also said students needed wisdom to know when to advance and retreat, with the government having already given a response with the bill’s suspension.
“For example, when I threw a tantrum at my mother when I was younger, I did not go overboard. Sometimes I knew my mother would respond to me at an appropriate time to some of my requests. Then I would decide when to ask for more,” he said.
“We need to know when to do what, not just gain everything at once.”
