Periscope

Some local stars, notably singers Denise Ho and Anthony Wong took a high profile stance in support of the Umbrella Movement. Varsity looks at the price celebrities may have to pay by supporting political causes, not just in Hong Kong but in the increasingly lucrative mainland market.

With stable jobs and incomes, professionals tend to keep quiet when it comes to politics. But in recent years, more professionals have been willing to speak out to safeguard the city’s core values. Some pan-democratic professionals have set up new platforms to gather like-minded peers to advocate for democracy within their sectors.

We live in a world full of information and we have never had so many channels through which to receive that information. In this...

Does free information flow change political opinions of Mainlanders in Hong Kong? by Yan Li & Brian Wong Hui Kei, a 29-year-old freelance writer from Zhejiang...

Opinion polls consistently show that support for the Umbrella Movement is highest among young people who are more likely to get their news and information from social media. But what about older people? Varsity talks to some parents and working people about their views on the movement and how they get informed about it.

Activists complain rumours distract and damage movement By Kanis Leung &  Jeffrey Loa Hong Kong is a city with one of the highest smartphone penetration rates...

Protesters have occupied sections of streets in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay to demand free and open elections in the 2017 vote for Chief Executive. Varsity asks protesters, scholars and figures like Occupy Central co-founder Chan Kin-man and LegCo president Tsang Yok-shing about political reform after Occupy. Apart from Hong Kong, we also look at Macau and Taiwan, Chinese societies whose democratic development are affected to varying degrees by their relationship with mainland China.

More than a month after police teargas at protesters and tens of thousands of people took part in the occupation of areas in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, the number of occupiers has fallen but many are still holding out to express their demand for what they see as true universal suffrage. Hong Kong's democratic journey did not begin with the Occupy Movement and it is unlikely to end once the occupiers have left the streets. Varsity asks how that journey will proceed after Occupy.

Long famed as a gambling and entertainment paradise, Macau is not exactly known as a place for political activism. Yet, in the past year, thousands of Macanese have taken to the streets to protest against an unpopular government policy, for labour rights and even in support of Hong Kong's Occupy Movement. Does this herald an awakening of Macau's civil society?

When students in Taiwan occupied the Legislative Yuan - in what became known as the Sunflower Movement - earlier this year to protest against a proposed trade pact with the Mainland, "Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan" was a common refrain. Varsity looks at the lessons and insights that activists in the two places gain from looking at developments in Hong Kong and Taiwan.