The lawmakers, after a record-breaking four-day debate, had eventually given the green light to the budget of the construction of the controversial Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong railway express link last month. I watched the live coverage of the Legco building besieged by ten thousand protesters immediately after the lawmakers casted their votes. Some tried to storm into the Legco chamber, and thousands of police used barricades and pepper spray with an attempt to disperse the crowds.

It was an absolutely historic moment. I have never seen any protesters in Hong Kong without support from political parties, but the so called post-eighties generation were able to make their messages heard loud across the whole territory. The imperative to stand up and be counted, to scream down the government buildings was impossible to ignore for these otherwise normal, discreet and law abiding citizens.

Why?

Everybody was curious to find out who these protesters were and what they wanted. Thanks to the media's dawn-to-midnight spotlight on the activists, we now hear the term "post-80s generation" from the news rooms to the chat-shows and from serious academic debate to water cooler talk. It is this generation of people, i.e., the young adults born in the 1980s, taking the protagonist role in this series of strident protests. And they’ve captured the attention (and imagination) of the city. The establishment sees them as a byword for "villains" and strongly condemned their "violent" behavior. The government sees them as a social problem and believes that if there are enough jobs the youngsters will shut up and get busy making money instead.

But are the post-80s protesters really the villains the establishment believes them to be? I saw no protestors bearing weapons. Well, indeed there were angry people moving aside barricades and there were also people trying to storm into the Legco building, but hell, this was a political protest, not a bible reading. What I saw in the scene were minor scuffles which are not uncommon in any kind of demonstrations abroad (though they are kind of fresh to HK). The young protesters had no intention of harming anybody. They took action because they were willing to demonstrate against government policies that they saw as defective. As Christina Chan, one of the core student activists of the protests said, "If we are rational, do we just not react?"

In fact, the post-80s label is not new in China. It refers to the spoiled little emperors born under the one child policy who are jaded by selfishness and show little concern to the society. This label, however, is interpreted differently upon its arrival to Hong Kong. Unlike its counterpart in China, the post-80s in Hong Kong is more willing to exercise their rights to uphold their political beliefs. From the hunger strike, the ritual walk, as well as the rally and the demonstrations, all these show that the post-80s adults care about Hong Kong society far more than their apathetic predecessors. They were not doing this for money or their 15-minutes of fame. When they saw the villagers railroaded into giving up their land for the railway line, they took action because they strongly felt that they could no longer turn a blind eye to the injustices the Hong Kong government routinely commits when big corporate dollars are changing hands on the sidelines. While the younger generation has always been blamed for being insensitive when it comes to political issues, I truly admire the post-80s activists for the spirit they showed, and I regard this as a milestone in Hong Kong's (or, perhaps, China's) social movement.

Why all of sudden, are young people taking an interest in politics? This is perhaps what the government trying to figure out. Life in the HK political fast lane at been relatively easy up until now – you did what you wanted; the people grumbled but never said much. They hadn’t anticipated an organized protest movement and it has come as a bit of a shock. They’d wishfully thought that they understood the youth only had expectations for employment and owning their own home. But wait. Most of the pro-80s activists I met are highly educated and already have a job. Could it be that gross neglect for human rights and cultural preservation by a government owned by developers and controlled by Beijing is taking its toll on a generation not as subdued by shopping and television as the power-mongers had hoped? A decent life in Hong Kong is no longer just a matter of having your own property (as the government would have you believe). It is to have a say in any issue that has a strong impact on society.

In China people can only say "mei ban fa" or no way out, when the government perpetuates oppression (well, fair enough, the consequence of opposing a government can be severe once you cross the border...). But in Hong Kong, fortunately, we still have the privilege to make noise, to march, and to say "No" when the ruling elite ignore the true needs of the people.

The government has condemned the post-80s as troublemakers but to me and many of my friends in the territory they are an inspiration. The conscience of our society finally has a name and a voice. And I can’t help but imagine the term “post 80s-generation” is a recurrent theme in the nightmares of the lawmakers because now, as in New York, Paris or London, they may be made accountable for their actions.

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