Lost in deliberative deficit: the dilemma and learning curve of defending the university campus in the Hong Kong 2019 protest

ABSTRACT

The 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill movement (Anti-ELAB) in Hong Kong peaked the tactical radicalization of the city’s recent protest history. At the same time, it signified unprecedented tactical reconciliation between moderate and radical protestors that maintained strong movement momentum and a high degree of solidarity for a long period. An ethics of solidarity was successfully formulated to illuminate deliberative practices among participants. However, the change of protest spatiality and repertoire from wildcat protesting to temporary occupation at a university campus altered the dynamics of protestors and weakened deliberative communication. This paper illustrates the struggles and learning curves of students who suffered deliberative deficit in the interaction with other protestors. This paper argues that the occupation, despite its contested nature, offered informal experiential learning of civic engagement for the students to their political literacy and civic mentality towards social movement under the intense setting of real politics.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-ELAB movement
• deliberative citizenship
• student activism
• social movement learning

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheuk-Hang Leung

Cheuk-Hang Leung is lecturer of General Education Foundation Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests lie in the intersection between education and politics with focuses on values education, civic education, and cultural politics of education.

Kwan Wa Fang

Kwan Wa Fang graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong where she studied Politics. She is an independent researcher and a coach for a secondary school debate team.