Alex Chow

For the US politician whose Chinese name is Zhou Yongkang, see Charles Djou. For a former leader of Chinese Communist Party, see Zhou Yongkang.
Alex Chow
Chinese 周永康

Alex Chow Yong-Kang (born 1990, Chinese: 周永康) is a social activist in Hong Kong, and a student of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Hong Kong and secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.[1][2] He was the Vice-President (External) of the Hong Kong University Students' Union.[3]

Occupy Central with Love and Peace

He is one of the main organizers of the Occupy Central campaign.[4][5] On 1 July 2014, following an annual pro-democracy rally, he organised a sit-in on Chater Road in central Hong Kong which was forcibly dispersed by police.[6][7] 511 people were arrested. He was quoted as saying at the time that "It’s not enough to repeat the march and the assembly every year. We have to upgrade it to a civil disobedience movement." He later wrote that "In the past 30 years, the democracy movement has been too slow and too painstaking. The power of civil disobedience lies … in the blood and tears of everyone who is behind the struggle."[4] Alex gained access to the App Lab early February in 2015.

Umbrella movement

In the early stages of the Umbrella Movement, he was an influential organiser and speaker. He was reported as announcing to protesters, "This is not a student movement; this is a Hong Kongers' movement"; he warned the New York Times that "residents may occupy various government departments".[1][4] On 5 October, when the Federation of Students agreed to enter into dialogue with the government, Chow announced that the talks would be called off if attempts were made to forcefully remove protesters. In a speech at the main protest camp, he explained, "A dialogue is not a compromise. We will start arranging talks with the government, because we understand that there are people in both the government and here who want to solve society’s problems. We will not back down."[8]

Having attempted and failed to organise meetings with officials through local channels,[9][10] Chow and two other students were prevented from travelling to China to petition mainland government officials when they attempted to leave on 15 November.[11] The group, consisting of Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung, learned from airline officials that mainland authorities had revoked their Home Return Permits, effectively banning them from boarding the flight for Beijing.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kaiman, Jonathan (30 September 2014). "Who guides Hong Kong’s ‘Umbrella Revolution’ pro-democracy movement?". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Liao, Mei Hong (24 October 2014). 特稿：让习近平烦心的两个周永康 (in Chinese). BBC. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Delegation to Hong Kong Federation of Students". The Hong Kong University Students' Union. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Makinen, Julie; Law, Violet (5 October 2014). "2 Hong Kong college students emerge as leaders in mass protest". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Wen, Philip (1 October 2014). "Hong Kong protests: Key players from Joshua Wong to Leung Chun-ying". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  6. ↑ 周永康：佔領遮打道為日後「佔中」姿態. Sing Pao (in Chinese). 2 July 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Joyce, Ng; Jesse, Lau (30 July 2014). "Democracy protesters arrested at Chater Road sit-in will refuse to renew their bail". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Keith Bradshaw and Chris Buckley (5 October 2014). "Protesters in Hong Kong Ease Sit-In Near Government Headquarters". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Students urge NPC deputies to intercede". Kenneth Lau, (10 November 2014)
  10. ↑ "Ex-Hong Kong Chief Exec Tung Chee Hwa says China won't change mind on democracy: Paper".
  11. ↑ "Hong Kong protest leaders denied Beijing flight". BBC. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Beijing bans student leaders from taking trip to mainland to press for democracy". South China Morning Post.