Chan Ya-ming: In Memorial of the Once-Innocent Joshua Wong

In Memorial of the Once-Innocent Joshua Wong

Translated by Samuel L., edited by Chen-t'ang 鎮棠, written by Chan Ya-ming
Original: http://www.passiontimes.hk/article/03-28-2015/22040/ 

As Eileen Chang (a renowned Chinese writer) once said,”it’s better to be famous early.” Eighteen-year-old Joshua Wong has already been ‘The World’s Top 10 Leader’ and ‘The Hundred Leading Global Thinker’ today. I yet miss the fifteen-year-old Joshua. His opposition to nationalist education at the age of fifteen has shocked everyone. While we were ashamed by his innocent appearance, he was our hope, he was, once, my hope as well...

Coming across his photo on Comment on the Apple Daily lately, I was shocked to recognise that such youngster is also getting ‘older’. He once made Yu Yi-wa, a pro-Beijing teacher, in total outrage at the City Forum, an RTHK live programme in Victoria Park. He once showed his political wit in bowing to instead of shaking hands with CY Leung. He once had an innocent and broad smile.

One may not like how he is right now, but one must like the fifteen-year-old Joshua. Instead of growing a lot in the past three years, he has actually become older. Social movements exhausted his time in studying and thinking. Depth of his thinking has almost been stagnant since fifteen years old. But as a leader in an organisation, the more people he met, the more evasive he handles, and the more cautious he speaks. After all, he actually becomes more sophisticated. Once becoming sophisticated, he gets older.

I clearly remember the day when I recognised that the innocent Joshua shall no longer return. It was the last siege of the government headquarter, the most tragic one. While friends and dissidents were beaten up to broken heads and blood, Joshua announced a hunger strike. Such a tragedy full of political calculation simply disgusted me, and it is a total insult to all protesters who shed their blood for democracy of Hong Kong.

I latterly heard him saying that he ‘still loves China’ during a televised interview. It is to me that he is getting more and more sophisticated, more and more close to a politician. I don’t reckon Joshua embracing a ‘cultural China’ as Tang Jun-yi does. I don’t reckon him being so lovesick to China as Ching Cheong is, let alone leading revolution in China as Yang Kuang did. His verbal love to China disturbed me. It is either he lacks critical thinking, or he is speaking to the Chinese communist.

These few months after the Umbrella Revolution, I have been imagining how democratic movement in Hong Kong will be under the leadership of Joshua Wong. I observed all actions of the Scholarism. It ends up only to be developing new medium, endearing Agnes Chow and styling Joshua Wong. ‘Scholarism’ turns to be a business. Focusing on marketing, it is only one step from listing. Do we really have nothing else to do in the past months here in Hong Kong? Where is Joshua when we still live in this world invaded by Individual Visit Scheme?

The answer is: sitting back at home and sharing violent videos of protesters in rehabilitation activities.

Joshua Wong is a saint is what I finally realise. A moral halo is fabricated by global media on him. Rehabilitations are simply too filthy for him, no matter they succeeded or not. He desires eternal social movements. Social movement is to become his prospect, politician is to become his forever occupation. Yesterday, such shameless Joshua Wong even said,’ lastly, I remember that the Fortune magazine was titled as  ‘The Death of Hong Kong’ in summer 1995, envisaging a huge regression of Hong Kong after the 1997 handover. But today, I can firmly tell the editors of the Fortune magazine that your judgements on Hong Kong were totally wrong. Hong Kong will never die, as Hongkongers will be the eventual victors.’

I dare ask Joshua, "In what ways shall we be the victor? Through hunger strike?"

It has already been half a year. Hongkongers are in utter failure. Instead of seeing any hope, I eliminate all hope constructed upon the projection of myself on the leaders’ pretences. A real rebel never deceives himself with hope. Hope is to be, or not to be. Such applies to roads on ground; For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when men pass one way, a road is made.