|Photo Credit: Reuters|Last decade has been a topsy turvy ride for governments across the globe. We have witnessed a rising trend of authoritarian governments taking up the centre stage and strong political leaders coming into power with huge electoral margins. These majority favoured leaders have fostered a staunch sense of nationalism in its people with no leeway for contrarian views. Presiding Authorities all over the world have formulated laws to keep its constituents in check and gradually curbing freedom of expression in the process. This growing disrobement of democratic rights has capsized social equilibrium and is begetting disenchantment and furore. One such example is the city of Hong Kong, which is looking at the worst socio-political crises of its history. So, why a region, known for its financial prowess and a High Human Development score is in tatters with people marching onto the streets exponentially? The Wholistic View delves deep to examine the cause and effect. (8 Min. Read).
The name Hong Kong is actually a phonetic translation of the city’s Cantonese name-"Heung Gong which literally means “Fragrant Harbour”.Over the years it has been apprised of various monikers, "Asia's World City" is one such example. It has also been called the "Vertical City" because of its density of skyscrapers. Hong Kong is a part of Mainland China but it is not governed by China. Thus, unlike Chinese Pseudo Communism and censorship laws, Hong Kong is the epitome of capitalism, a place for a free market where businesses thrive with limited state interference. Hong Kong is viewed as a financial window to China as most of the western companies who are looking to cater to the Chinese market reroute their wares from Hong Kong because of its favourable trade laws.
|Photo: Depiction of First Opium War|In 1842, Chinese ceded control over Hong Kong and handed it over to the British in perpetuity through the Treaty of Nanjing. Over the next 50 years, British Forces took control over the Kowloon Peninsula and new territories, a swath of land which comprises the bulk of Hong Kong today. In 1898, the British Empire entered into the final treaty known as Convention of the Extension of Hong Kong and leased the region for 99 years. Under these terms, China would regain control of the leased land on July 1, 1997, and with this started Hong Kong's colonial transformation.
|Photo Credit: The NY Times|The British trajectory was entirely opposite than that of Mainland Chinese trajectory which became a Communist country in 1949. Almost 100,000 Chinese took refuge in Hong Kong after the communist party took power. Capitalist Hong Kong soon experienced an economic boom, becoming home to a multicultural, international community. As the treaty’s expiration loomed, separating the New Territories from the rest of Hong Kong became increasingly unthinkable. Starting in the late 1970s, the U.K. and China began to discuss Hong Kong’s future. In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and China’s premier Zhao Ziyang signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing that China would give Hong Kong some political and social autonomy through a “one country, two systems” policy for a 50-year-period.
After the handover, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China with its own “mini-constitution,” legal system, and some democratic rights like free speech and the freedom of assembly under its Basic Law. However, Hong Kong residents cannot elect their own leaders; rather, a chief executive is elected by a 1,200-member election committee.This all seemed a perfect transition for Hong Kong to become a part of Mainland China. However, Beijing has been not so patient with the transition and people of Hong Kong have been at loggerheads with the Chinese ever since.
|Photo: Hong Kong Govt. Swearing before Xi Jinping|
This tussle has led to the inception of several protest and movements against the Chinese Government. Electoral freedom has always been the main demand. This had been a perennial concern in Hong Kong, and it had again come to a head after China announced in 2014, that Beijing would vet candidates to run in the 2017 elections, thus regulating the race for election of Hong Kong chief executive. Protesters saw the new rules as a sign that China may be seeking to erode the “one country, two systems” rubric in place in Hong Kong. To Oppose this, Thousand of protestors flocked the streets of Hong Kong in what later became known as "The Umbrella Movement" because of protestors using an umbrella to protect themselves against the use of Pepper Spray. Other demonstrators have improvised masks using goggles and plastic wrap to defend against teargas.
This time was unlike any previous protest HongKongese had resorted to, People used civil disobedience and set-up barricades. In the past, they emphasised that demonstrations would not affect everyday life. This time they really didn’t care.
|Photo: Alex Haffod/EPA|The Authorities didn't bow down and resorted to devious tactics to settle the affairs. Before, during, and after the occupation, activists of the movement were intimidated with threats, hacking, put under surveillance and subjected to invasions of privacy and other forms of harassment that the Christian Science Monitor quotes analysts said were "alarmingly similar to the way mainland Chinese activists and their families have long been targeted".These raised broad concerns worldwide and in a show of solidarity with the activists, rallies in support of the protests occurred in over 64 cities worldwide by October 2014, principally in front of Hong Kong trade missions or Chinese consulates. The Umbrella Revolution lasted 79 days or a little over two and a half months. The Movement died a natural death when the electoral reforms committee's proposals were voted against.
However, In 2019, the pro-democracy uprising again rocked Hong Kong as activists began a protest against proposed amendments to Hong Kong’s extradition law that would have allowed people accused of crimes to be sent to places with which Hong Kong had no extradition treaty — including mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the Communist Party. Critics said the bill would allow Beijing to target dissidents in Hong Kong with phoney charges, exposing activists to China’s opaque legal system.
|Photo: Hong Kong 2019 Protests|Hundreds of thousands of people, including elderly residents and families with children, joined a peaceful march to oppose the bill on June 9. But on June 12, the discussion and demands changed when the police used pepper spray, batons and more than 150 canisters of tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters, a small number of whom had thrown projectiles at the police. Irate at the police response, protesters demanded an independent investigation of the police force — a demand, its leader refused. Anger toward the police grew precipitously since then, as has violence on both sides.
On July 1, protesters wearing yellow construction hats and gauze masks stormed the city’s Legislative Council building on the 22nd anniversary of the handover from the British. They smashed through glass doors with hammers, poles and road barriers, spray-painting the walls as the chaos churned – “HONG KONG IS NOT CHINA.”Fueled by anger toward the police, as well as the slow erosion of civil liberties, the largely leaderless protests morphed into a broader, more complicated movement about protecting freedoms, democracy and Hong Kong’s autonomy. The list of protesters’ demands has grown to include amnesty for arrested participants and direct elections for all lawmakers and the chief executive.
|Photo: NY Times|On several occasions, protesters have doled out vigilante justice, beating people who were perceived to be against their movement. And there has been considerable property damage to the train system, which protesters have accused of supporting the police, and businesses seen as pro-China. Still, nonviolent protests have continued. The demonstrators have staged strikes, surrounded police stations, shut down the airport and formed huge marches, while the city’s creative class has turned the protest into art and song.
It has been more than 26 weeks since Hong Kong has been tossed up by pro-democracy, anti-government protests with escalating violence and anger on all sides. What began as peaceful mass marches has exploded into the city's biggest political crisis in modern times. It's also become a geopolitical mess with worldwide implications. Companies, brands, politicians and many celebrities have been caught in the crossfire because of their stance and Nobody is quite sure where the protests are headed, but there's no clear end in sight.
Disclaimer: The views solely belongs to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which he is associated with or will be associated with in future. The author, in any way whatsoever, cannot be responsible for your use of the information contained in or linked from this Blog.
Comments
Post a Comment