Mong Kok is the best place for visitors and shoppers in Hong Kong. Today, it no longer serves as a shopping paradise, but has become a battlefield for politicians holding to differing ideologies.

In recent days, the international media had been using the term "umbrella revolution" to describe the situation in Hong Kong. From the point of view of the local people, we feel a bit strange, perhaps uncomfortable, with this description.

From day one, it was clearly a contest between the two opposing political camps battling for their respective groups of target audience. Expectations on the progress of current political reform vary among locals - as they all have different backgrounds. The so-called "umbrella revolution", however, is nothing more than a normal integration process. It is a political game similar to those taking place in democratic societies elsewhere. Hong Kong is discussing and negotiating on the future development of its political system. Therefore, all the action that has taken place recently can hardly be described as civil disobedience. It is merely a normal political exercise. As the reform might involve changes to the political system, mass demonstrations for and against the reforms, are inevitable.

Conflict and confrontation was expected during the reform period. However, if one considers and defines a political game taking place in a democratic society as a revolution, it may well distort the original definition of revolution: to demand freedom - the typically violent attempt by a majority to end the rule of one government and establish a new one. So the "umbrella revolution" is definitely not a revolution. This message was also clearly stated on the Facebook accounts of the participants, who call it a "movement". Similarly, I trust most New Yorkers did not refer to "Occupy Wall Street" as a revolution, but simply a protest movement demanding economic equality.

Simon-Hoey Lee, a young resident

(HK Edition 10/07/2014 page1)