Lost in deliberative deficit: the dilemma and learning curve of defending the university campus in the Hong Kong 2019 protest

ABSTRACT The 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill movement (Anti-ELAB) in Hong Kong peaked the tactical radicalization of the city’s recent protest history. At the same time, it signified unprecedented tactical reconciliation between moderate and radical protestors that maintained strong movement momentum and a high degree of solidarity for a long period. An ethics of solidarity was successfully formulated to illuminate deliberative practices among participants. However, the change of protest spatiality and repertoire from wildcat protesting to temporary occupation at a university campus altered the dynamics of protestors and weakened deliberative communication. This paper illustrates the struggles and learning curves of students who suffered deliberative deficit in the interaction with other protestors. This paper argues that the occupation, despite its contested nature, offered informal experiential learning of civic engagement for the students to their political literacy and civic mentality towards social movement under the intense setting of real politics.