It has been a year since Hong Kong is engulfed in protests due to political unrest. It all started in June 2019 after the proposal of an extradition bill and then later due to Hong Kong’s political system that is posing as a threat to the liberty, security and democracy of the citizens.
Even
though it has been months since the protests started, they haven’t slowed down.
In fact, Hong Kong and the world are only witnessing these protests become more
extreme and violent, with an increase in arrests, more violence and increased
police brutality.
Where Did It All Begin?
The Hong Kong protests began in June 2019 when the citizens of Hong Kong demanded the withdrawal of the highly controversial extradition bill. This bill would have allowed the extradition of escapees or fugitives to mainland China. This caused fear and unrest among the people.
Concerns
were fueled with the possibility of China using this bill as an opportunity to
prosecute citizens due to political reasons. As China is known to have a very
secretive and unclear legal system, citizens feared that the little freedom that
they have would be taken away from them.
The Hong Kong protests were peaceful, with people demanding the government to withdraw the bill. However, the rage among the citizens increased after the police started misusing their power by arresting protestors, using violence and the authorities labelling these protests as “riots.”
Soon the Hong Kong protests became more violent and the citizens of Hong Kong began to demand five things in total namely 1. Withdrawal of the bill, 2. To probe the police brutality 3. The withdraw of peaceful protests to be called “riots” and 4. Implementation of universal suffrage.
The
Hong Kong protests which first started to demand the withdrawal of the bill
later turned into a long-awaited fight for freedom from the unjust laws. As
Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam agreed to hold the bill and later to
withdraw the bill, the agreement to fulfil the other demands were out of sight.
What Part Does China Play?
These protests were long due because Hong Kong does not have much freedom at all. As this city is different from other cities in China. Hong Kong’s relationship with China dates back to the nineties, as Hong Kong was previously a British territory before they handed it over to China in 1997.
What makes Hong Kong special is that in the handover agreement the brits have stated that HK gets protected freedom of speech, press and assembly for a span of at least 50 years. These rights are very different from the ones in China.
In China, people have practically zero freedom with regards to any other freedoms mentioned above. They have one of the tightest and the strictest censorship. All the decisions are taken by president Xi Jinping who processes the highest degree of power in mainland China.
Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous country. as it is a part of China but it has a separate currency, law, language, culture etc. This system is widely known as the “one country, two systems” governance model, which means that Hong Kong has more liberty compared to China.
That
being said in 2047 Hong Kong willfully will become a part of China and that is
way citizens want to protect their country from China’s intruding. This is why
the citizens of Hong Kong want to keep and protect their freedom, as they know
all about the harsh consequences of being under Xi Jinping’s rule.
The State of Hong Kong Today
As a result of the government's lack of response and acknowledgement to the remaining four demands made by the public, the Hong Kong protests are still happening in Hong Kong. This year again many arrests of activist and citizens have taken place so far.
The police watchdog has received a lot for criticism from critics, right groups and the citizens themselves, as according to them the police have not done anything wrong in the 2019 protests, stated by them in a report. This caused outrage among Hong Kongers.
In May, China also tried to propose a new national security law in Hong Kong. China had tried to propose a similar law to Hong Kong in 2003, that was later scarped due to the protests of 2003. The Chinese government is trying to get this law through this time, due to its failure in 2003.
According to the government of Hong Kong, this law is very good and very necessary for the legislature of Hong Kong. Also, according to them, it will protect the national security of Hong Kong. In reality, it is very threatening to the already threatened freedom of the citizens.
However, they successfully passed it this year on 30th June after it was pushed by the Chinese government much to the dislike of the citizens. This law prohibits acts like secession, sedition, subversion and treason against the Chinese government and will be considered as criminal offences.
The latest cause of rage has been caused due to a delay in the 2020 elections in Hong Kong. Many protestors showed up on the streets of Hong Kong to protest against a year-long delay of the legislative council elections. In these elections, the pro-democratic camp was considered to do well.
This caused many protests to happen in the country and it led to the arrest of almost 300 people. The police were firing pepper balls on the protestors as well as raided the protesters who had come together to express their opposition against the decision.
The people were arrested on the basis of unlawful assembly and using slogans that promoted pro-independence. According to the bill passed on 30th June, these assemblies and gatherings are deemed unlawful by the act and is a criminal offence.
The
Hong Kong government said that they cancelled the elections due to the spread
of coronavirus and to contain it. Hence, she said that she was delaying the
elections for a year. The citizens and her critics say that these are just
excuses to win more seats over her oppositions.
Conclusion
With
all the protests and injustice happening in Hong Kong, for now, the end of it
all isn’t visible. As each day passes, things in Hong Kong are getting tougher
and tougher each day for the citizens. With so many odds in their way, the
citizens of Hong Kong can only wish for better days, for now.
Written
by - Lirica Machado
Edited
by – Adrija Saha
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