The Political Roots of the Hong Kong Protests

Grace Feldman

February 21, 2020

For more than half a year, violent and chaotic protests have occurred in Hong Kong. More than just resistance against a new proposed law, the crisis has evolved to reflect the city’s resentment against the Chinese government. As these tensions have played out over the past several months, many people have been caught in the middle.

The protests started over six months ago. On June 9, 2019, more than a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest against the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Bill. Proposed by the Hong Kong government in February 2019, the bill made it possible to extradite criminals from Hong Kong to Mainland China and other areas where they don’t have an extradition agreement.Although the bill has since been withdrawn, the protests continue and have brought to light long-standing tensions between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Since the introduction of the bill, Hong Kong has experienced one of its largest and most violent protests in its history. During the first one hundred days of protest, Hong Kong police used pepper spray at protesters and protesters vandalized government buildings. On June 16, more than two million protesters according to the organizers’ estimates) showed up on the streets.

The protests were fueled by the tense relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China. It also comes from the resentment protesters feel towards a city which they believe is increasingly being controlled by the Communist Party of China.

Historically, Hong Kong was a British colony separate from China until 1997, when the British gave back the region to Mainland China. Despite this acquisition, Mainland China promised to allow Hong Kong significant autonomy under a “one country, two systems” principle, where Hong Kong would be allowed to have its own legislative, judicial, and executive system. Hong Kong also retained its “Basic Law,” a “mini constitution” which outlined democratic rights on free speech, unrestricted internet, and free assembly, rights that may not exist for residents in Mainland China.

Despite this agreement, protesters argue that Mainland China is increasingly encroaching on their legislative and democratic freedoms.  The “one country, two systems” principle was set to last until 2047, but protesters believe the Chinese government is unethically breaking this agreement. An anonymous Hong Kong student studying in Canada told The Observer that most of the people supporting the protests are driven by this belief, and while they themselves are not active protesters, they do agree with the sentiment.

“Hong Kong was supposed to have autonomy until 2047, but now the Chinese government is trying to encroach on our freedoms,” says the anonymous student. “People who speak against the government, who have the right to because of Hong Kong’s freedom of speech, can’t anymore because now the Communist government is trying to censor them.”

Another anonymous Hong Kong student studying in Canada, agrees that supporters are resentful of how their freedoms are restricted. The student says that she has also “heard a story” of how “businesses who sell literature criticizing the Chinese government would just disappear.” In 2015, five people associated with Mighty Current Media –a company that sold banned books, did disappear.

Protesters also believe the autonomy of their legislative systems is breaking apart. Currently, Hong Kong’s legislative council has a majority of pro-Beijing officials supporting policies from Mainland China. The Chief Executive Official, Carrie Lam, is also appointed by a pro-Beijing committee.

On the other side of the crisis, Chinese media and government criticize the movement as violent and irrational. In reaction to the vandalism of the office of the Xinhua news agency by protesters during the beginning of November, the Chinese newspaper China Daily writes it was prompted by “adolescent hormones pumped up and primed by those willing to exploit them”. Back in August 2019, CNBC wrote an article on how Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told the Chinese CCTV outlet that “radical Hong Kong protesters have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers.”

On October 4, Carrie Lam announced she would implement an emergency bill prohibiting the use of masks in protests as thousands of masked protesters block roads, touch stations, and vandalize businesses supporting Mainland China. The continuing violence despite the formal withdrawal suggests that the crisis has evolved to motivations fueled by the protesters resentments towards Mainland China.

Throughout the months of protest, discussion has also developed to include concerns over violence from both Hong Kong police and protesters. On October 1, police shot an 18 year old in the chest with a live bullet and justified the action by claiming that an officer’s life was at stake. On November 10, protesters set barricades on fire at Tsuen Wan, a town in Hong Kong. Protesters are now actively seeking an independent investigation into perceived police brutality.

Despite this police investigation, an anonymous Hong Kong resident residing in Canada for higher education believes that while they ideologically agree with the protesters, they do not support the violence they use, believing it to be “out of control” and “doing massive damage to people, buildings, and social order.”

They also believe that “The protests have become very dangerous and made Hong Kong a very chaotic place to live in, but I don’t think we should only blame the police or the protesters ...both sides are at fault...both have done [very] violent things in the protests”. When asked to further elaborate, they explained how it “scared [them] to hear about how the protesters would destroy buildings” but “[they] have also heard stories about how the police officers would trap protesters into a corner and physically or sexually harass them.”

Since November, the protests have begun to affect the lives of international university students

While confirming that they are safe, Queen’s University recommended their 15 exchange students in Hong Kong to return to Canada. Some of the exchange universities in Hong Kong have also cancelled courses because of the violence.

The protests have escalated enough to prompt international recognition. On November 27, U.S President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 which, among other things, states that the U.S president will impose sanctions on groups guilty of violating Hong Kong human rights.

The Hong Kong protests should be seen as representing the increasingly fragmented relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China. As the protests carry on, they reminds world leaders of the harsh but real tension between democracy and other political systems in Asia.

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