University of Iowa professor witnesses epicenter of Hong Kong protests

IOWA CITY - The student-led, pro-democracy protests now in their fifth week in Chinese-controlled Hong Kong have been mostly peaceful. But University of Iowa professor Art Durnev said he's wary.

The associate professor and research fellow in the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business witnessed the demonstrations firsthand during his recent two-week teaching stint in the heart of Hong Kong - steps from where tens of thousands of protesters have been blocking roads in hopes of achieving universal suffrage.

And Durnev said he's seen it before.

'Remember in December in Ukraine? Those protests looked peaceful, and now we have a full-scale war,” said Durnev, a Russian native who has been following that conflict closely. 'That's how they all start. Any peaceful protest can blow up into full-scale violence in minutes.”

Durnev, who returned days ago from a two-week teaching stint for the UI's MBA program in Hong Kong, said he instructed students from all over the world in classrooms near the government headquarters - one of three main protest hubs.

None of his students joined the demonstrators, Durnev said, but they - like many - were sympathetic to the cause.

'I myself became quite sympathetic,” he said.

And although Durnev didn't pick up a sign and join in, he did mingle among the protesters and set up a 'study corner” to help some of those in the fray with their finance homework.

'They were very disciplined Hong Kong students,” Durnev said. 'They wanted their voice heard … but they still had to finish their homework.”

While Durnev was there, he said, the demonstrations were 'extremely peaceful” and had the feel of a tourist attraction, with passers-by snapping photos and protesters coming and going between work and school.

He didn't see many clashes or use of tear gas. But, Durnev said, he's concerned that could change with one act of violence.

'There is this danger that someone will do something really bad, and then the government will step in and clean everything up for the sake of public safety,” Durnev said. 'It will just take one person to fire some explosive in the crowd, and then it can become quite uncontrollable.”

At the same time, Durnev said, some police presence can be helpful - and he didn't notice much of one while he was there.

'That also can be dangerous,” he said, 'because there are people protesting against the protesters.”

Some in Hong Kong don't like the effects the protests have had on the community and the economy. The city shut down for several days, nearby shop owners have complained, and banks and corporations also have expressed concern. Not everyone shares the protesters' demands, Durnev said.

'And if you have one crowd fighting against another crowd, you want police who know how to separate crowds effectively,” he said.

But, Durnev said, he never felt scared or in danger. And, he said, it appears there could be some progress and cooperation. Protesters engaged in talks with government officials earlier this week, although those discussions did not break the deadlock.

And news came Friday that Hong Kong protesters plan to hold a straw poll on the government proposals they rejected. The poll, planned for Sunday, will ask demonstrators whether the government's offer to submit a report on the protests to the central government's Hong Kong and Macau affairs office would have any purpose, according to Reuters news agency.

Friday marked the start of the fifth week since protesters began gathering to oppose a plan by the Chinese central government to let Hong Kong vote for its leader in 2017 for the first time but limit candidates to those vetted by a panel of 'Beijing loyalists,” according to Reuters.

Durnev said Chinese authorities have not intervened and don't want to be involved.

'But they are keeping a close eye,” he said. 'China is only a 20-minute subway ride away.”