For my final hyperessay, I would like to talk about a recent Hong Kong protest, namely the "Umbrella Revolution" or "Umbrella Movement", that began in September this year and the social media activism. You might have heard of the movement in the news. But what really happened and why did it occur? What impacts and influences did it cause? I would like to discuss it thoroughly. I would first define activism, and then talk about the whole event and some of its influences, such as the blocking of Instagram, which I personally don't find surprising at all. I'll also create a photo gallery showing what has happened and is currently happening in Hong Kong. Besides this, I might also relate it to some another similar protest - "Tian'anmen Square Protests". The memorials for Tian'anmen Square protests occur in Hong Kong on June 4th each year. People would mourn the loss of the people who died during the protest and hold many memorials all over the city.
I bet you've heard of the word "activism" many many times in your life, but what exactly does it mean? People say that the Umbrella Revolution is an activism, but is it really? According to Merriam-Webster, "activism" is an doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of opposition to one side of a controversial issue. To me, however, it has a similar but slightly different definition: I define "activism" as an action, for example a campaign, that tries to bring about a political or social change. Back to my last blog post and final project topic, the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong is definitely a type of activism, for both the protests and the social media use that try to raise the public awareness.
A social movement called "the Umbrella Revolution" took place in Hong Kong early in September this year. You might have heard of the movement in the news. But what really happened and why did it occur? What impacts and influences did it cause?
In September 2014, China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced its new decision for Hong Kong that it disallows vote by the general public. Therefore, members of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong protested on the streets, outside the government and occupied a few major city thoroughfares such as Central, asking for an end of the oppression and control by the Chinese government. Phrase like "Occupy Central" was thus created and was immediately censored in mainland China. Later on, just the weekend following the protests, Instagram was blocked by China's Great Firewall. |
Elaine Zhang
December 2014
|