Joshua, the Hong Kong teen taking on the might of China
LOS ANGELES: A scrawny millennial with gaunt features and a studious frown, Joshua Wong looks like he’d struggle to take on a large steak, let alone the might of Communist China.
Yet the bespectacled activist is the unlikely hero to a generation in Hong Kong, where he led a movement inspiring hundreds of thousands to join his cause for elections free from Beijing’s interference.
At the age of just 17, he spearheaded mass blockades that brought parts of the Asian financial centre to a standstill in 2014, sparked by restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong’s next leader will be chosen.
Hailed as one of the world’s most influential figures by Time, Fortune and Foreign Policy magazines, he is now the focus of an award-winning Netflix documentary due for release later this year.
“We hope people around the world recognise that social movements can make things happen. They can make things change,” Wong, now 20, told AFP by telephone from Hong Kong.
“People may be depressed or downhearted with the political situation in their own country, but it’s still optimistic to see hope and seek change by street activism.”
“Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower” tells the story of how Wong became one of China’s most notorious dissidents after the mainland Communist Party backtracked on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong.
Critics say the 79-minute documentary could not have picked a better moment, with political engagement piqued in the West as protesters take to the streets to decry the policies of new US leader Donald Trump.
“You have a lone teenager taking on China and it’s one of the things that attracted me to the story. The odds don’t get much bigger. Talk about David and Goliath,” Los Angeles- based director Joe Piscatella said in an interview.
At the age of just 14, Wong campaigned successfully for Hong Kong to drop a pro- China “National Education” programme, rallying a crowd of 120,000 to his cause.
He was one of the 78 people arrested in September 2014 during another giant pro- democracy protest after China reneged on a pledge made during the handover to give Hong Kongers the right to choose their next leader.
Umbrellas were used to shield activists from waves of police pepper spray, giving the nascent “Umbrella Movement” its banal yet iconic symbol of resistance. — AFP