Young activists in Hong Kong last week showed the world how easily a relatively small group of protesters can disrupt the government of a major financial centre. Their strategy had clearly evolved from the static, long-term “occupation” approach inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests. Hong Kong’s own occupation, the Umbrella Movement of 2014, ended in failure. So this time, the protesters – mostly college students, and numbering no more than a few thousand – instead adopted a highly mobile, agile strategy, taking inspiration from hometown hero, kung fu star Bruce Lee’s famous maxim: “Be like water”.
Their protest last Friday, 21 June, began with an early victory: the authorities declared the main government headquarters closed as protesters gathered downstairs. However, instead of settling in for an entrenched occupation, the protesters quickly moved on. One group surrounded the police headquarters, while smaller groups splintered off, moving rapidly from one target to the next, and succeeding in shutting down a further three key government buildings. In each case, they would arrive in groups of only a few hundred, flooding the entrances, escalators and lifts, until the government declared the office closed and dismissed staff for the day. Their objective achieved, the protesters would immediately disperse and move on to their next target. With no entrenched positions and an unpredictable and mobile presence, the protesters had effectively made themselves immune to “clearance” and arrest.
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