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Hong Kong: China’s Hub of Political Unrest
Hong Kong has been experiencing a repeated wave of clashes with the administration lately, more so since June 2019. Though the controversial law, which stirred a massive protest against the Chinese government was withdrawn by September, the protests spread wider, as the demands covered aspects such as enquiries into police brutality and democratic reforms.
How Did This All Begin?
Let’s go back to its history. Hong Kong was originally a British colony for around 150 years. Hong Kong Island was given up to Britain after the war of 1842. Later, China gave the lease to the British of the rest of the Hong Kong region, the New Territories for a time period of 99 years.
In the early 1980s, with the deadline of the 99-year period coming to a close, Britain and China started to discuss the future development of Hong Kong, with the Chinese government reiterating that all of Hong Kong should come under Chinese rule. Hence, in 1984 a treaty was signed between the two, which stated that Hong Kong would come under China from 1997. Hong Kong would follow the principle of “one country, two systems”.
So, for the next 50 years, Hong Kong would be able to exercise its own legal systems, right to free speech and press freedom. The region would enjoy autonomy except for matters related to foreign affairs and defence.
However, it is now seen that the Chinese communist government is clearly leaving no stone unturned to tone down Hong Kong’s autonomy. There are too many pieces of evidence to bear testimony to this fact, such as unruly police actions, alleged disqualifications of pre-democracy legislators or the disappearance of several activists and journalists who suddenly re-emerged in China’s custody.
Citizens do not like being called Chinese:
A majority of the citizens of Hong Kong do not identify themselves as Chinese. Though most people of the population are ethnic Chinese, an underwhelming number of about only 11% identify themselves as Chinese, while 71% went on to say that they are not proud of being called Chinese citizens.
One of the reasons for such differences is the gap with respect to social, cultural and legal differences, as Hong Kong was separate for 150 years from mainland China. Other reasons include growing anti-China sentiments in recent years.
How Did the Latest Clashes Happen?
In June 2019, the citizens protested against the proposals which allowed extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China. The protesters took to the streets which resulted in violent clashes with the police. Though the law was withdrawn in September, the protests continued as the demands covered aspects such as enquiries into police brutality and democratic reforms. Though the protests came to a halt owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has begun again with ease in the lockdowns, with incidents being reported of protesting singers in malls.
A similar incident occurred in 2003. The protesters, about 500,000 in number, protested against a controversial security bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. The local government also came under fire for backing the “patriotic education system” which was widely criticised. The Chinese government then has slowly started to tighten the noose around the administrative and civilian affairs of Hong Kong, as it does not wish any challenges to its authority. It is now said that China aims to bring a similar withdrawn law of 2003.
Conclusion:
In this article, we saw an overview of the protests reported from Hong Kong every now and then. In June 2019, the controversial law which allowed extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China stirred a massive protest against the Chinese government and was withdrawn by September. However, the protests spread wider, as the demands covered aspects such as enquiries into police brutality and democratic reforms.
The Chinese communist government is clearly leaving no stone unturned to tone down Hong Kong’s autonomy. Unruly police actions, alleged disqualifications of pre-democracy legislators or the disappearance of several activists and journalists who suddenly re-emerged in China’s custody bear testimony to this fact. Moreover, a majority of the citizens of Hong Kong do not identify themselves as Chinese. One of the reasons for such differences is the gap with respect to social, cultural and legal differences, as Hong Kong was separate for 150 years from mainland China. Other reasons include growing anti-China sentiments in recent years.
