By Juliana Liu Hong Kong correspondent, BBC News
2 August 2015
Wherever Joshua Wong goes in Hong Kong, the teenage political activist is instantly recognised.
In the space of just half an hour in the Admiralty district, two young professionals and a group of middle-aged women greet him warmly, asking to pose for photos with him on their mobile phones.
But when I ask for permission to snap them jointly for a news story, some well-wishers decline, saying they do not wish to be publicly identified with the democracy campaigner, fearing it might affect their jobs.
Mr Wong, 18, just smiles and poses. He is not surprised.
The expression of private but not public support may help explain why last year’s Umbrella protest movement, while unprecedented in scope and length, did not ultimately succeed in gaining greater voting rights for Hong Kong citizens.
Student pro-democracy group Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong (C) makes a gesture at the Flag Raising Ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square on 1 October 2014 in Hong Kong.
Mr Wong leads the high-profile Scholarism student activist group
“First, we did not have any clear goal or roadmap or route for democracy. We did not deliver the message to the general Hong Kong public,” says the university student, over lunch.
“Secondly, not enough people were willing to pay the price by protesting. We did not have enough bargaining power with the Chinese authorities.
“Say, for example, during the Umbrella Movement, if two million Hong Kong people had occupied the streets, along with labour strikes, and if this had continued for more than two months, we would have had enough bargaining power.”
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Tens of thousands of people took part in the 79-day movement, which ended in mid-December when the authorities dismantled the main occupation sites in the Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok districts.
Mr Wong, already well-known in Hong Kong for successfully campaigning against the introduction of patriotic education in local schools, emerged as a global democracy icon.
In fact, the movement was unexpectedly sparked when he and other young activists scaled a high fence surrounding the forecourt of the central government office on 26 September.
Footage of the police arresting protesters, including Mr Wong, drew public anger and prompted pro-democracy supporters to rally.
