ABSTRACT
Hong Kong is a metropolitan city that enjoys prosperity, freedom, and the rule of law. As a "semi-democracy", Hong Kong is constitutionally committed to universal suffrage, and there is a deeply felt passion and aspiration among residents in the city for liberal constitutional democracy. This chapter focuses on how does one account for the unprecedented scale and support for the Occupying Central Movement (OCM), including the subsequent political repercussions and implications. Hong Kong shares many characteristics with other high-income societies: it is open and cosmopolitan, has a solid economic foundation, and also fosters a vibrant civil society. The OCM has shown the outside world, and especially China, that there is a political Hong Kong in addition to the commercial and cultural Hong Kong. The OCM also confirms the democratic determination of the people and the centrality of democracy as a practice in Hong Kong politics.
