Hong Kong: the long struggle for independence and democracy
- Pierre
- Jul 26, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 27, 2021
Hong Kong, the remnants of a long lost empire, a once global financial center, is on its final legs. For a couple of years now, Hong Kong has become the battleground for democracy in the East with never ending protests. The battle now seems, unfairly, in the authoritarian camp. As the Pearl of Orient slowly gets swallowed by its larger neighbor, China, we have to ask ourselves, how did it get here? And what lies for Hong Kong’s future? Democracy or Authoritarianism?
Source: Kevin Cheung
We must, as we have done multiple times, go towards the heart of the issue. Hong Kong was once the possession of the British Empire, acquired along with other cities during the First Opium War, thanks to the treaty of Nanjing, one of “three unequal treaties” China signed. This treaty completely ceded the island of Hong Kong to the British. Succeeding these agreements, Hong Kong fully embraced English culture and government, recognizing the Queen, establishing a Parliamentary system of government, and even embracing the practice of driving on the left side of the road.
Source: Living In Hong Kong
The Second Opium wars occur thereafter, ending with the Convention of Peking, ceding now Kowloon and the Stonecutter islands to the English. They also obtained a 99 year lease on the “New Territories” as part of the agreement, nearly as good as forever. Between the agreements of the Convention of Peking and the end of WW2, the country suffered multiple bombings and occupation by the Japanese, until 1946, shortly after the end of the war, when it returned to the English. Fast forward to the 1970s, China started becoming an industrial power under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, a liberal reformer who promoted more openness towards the world and free markets. In 1984, the UK returned its former colony to the now People’s Republic of China, in exchange, China promised to safeguard Hong Kong’s autonomy under a “one state, two systems” framework.
Source: Wikimedia
It has been under this new framework that Hong Kong now currently exists, at least, until July 1st 2047, as a “special administrative region” of the People’s Republic. A semi-independent, semi autonomous region with an expiry date. However, this did not suffice for China. As China grew stronger economically, it saw Hong Kong's existence as useless, and even as a threat to the communist nation, due to its embrace of western liberal ideas such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, etc… Compared to its bordering neighbor Shenzhen, which has a GDP of 429B$, it has a noticeably better economy than that of Hong Kong, which sits at 346.59B$, or a 19.2% decrease from Shenzhen’s GDP
Source: South China Morning Post
Furthermore, Hong Kong exercises a great deal of freedoms, including freedom of speech, which includes criticism of certain Chinese taboos. Notably, Tiananmen square, where every year on June 4th, hundreds upon thousands Hong Kongers converge onto Victoria Park to commemorate those who suffered during the tragic event. The rapid growth of China compared to the stunted growth of Hong Kong’s economy and the increasing threat of a western enclave with differing values and human rights, are at the heart of China’s desire to fasten its annexation to the Peninsula.
Source: Mary Scully Reports
These include, but are not limited to, the wide institution of Mandarin in the region(surpassing English as a second language), the construction of the Hong Kong-ZhuHai bridge, connecting Hong Kong to Macau and China, and new legislation which could give less power to the Hong Kong Parliament. These in turn, not only impact Hong Kong’s political independence, which has been outlined in the agreement made between the UK and China, but also destroys their cultural independence, tying Hong Kong more and more to mainland China, a form of modern “sinicization”.
Source: The Telegraph
Every passing day, China extends its control over the region ever so slightly. Just recently, Hong Kong police were seen using the goose-step, a marching style mainly used by the Chinese PLA, during a ceremony commemorating the Hong Kong handover.While at first glance it doesn’t seem like much, especially that the goose-step was of Prussian origin, the fact that it’s mainly used by Chinese Armed Forces and as of recent, by the Hong Kong police, is a symbolic move.
Source: South China Morning Post
Showing to Hong Kong, and the world, to what extent China’s control over the city has grown, especially its Police. With a compromised Police and a puppet government, all that is left is the people. Unfortunately for the CCP, the people of Hong Kong have been suspicious and rather critical of the Middle Kingdom ever since the Handover. The numerous protests are proof of this, such as the Umbrella movement in 2014 or more recently the protests against the Anti Extradition law in 2019-2020.
Source: NME
Needless to say, the Hong Kong people are not willing to bow down so easily. However, their confidence in their success against the Chinese government, rather slim, a sentiment also shared by western nations. Last year, there has been an enormous increase in renewals of BNO passports, a document created during the colonial era enabling Hong Kongers to visit the UK for 6 months maximum, however the UK government has eased restrictions on BNO passport holders, allowing for full relocation within the territory. There has also been a peak interest from many Hong Kongers to relocate to Great Britain, with an 80% surge in interest for real estate in the UK from Hong Kong citizens in 2020.
Source: The Atlantic
This willingness to move away from their homeland has justified reasons and is not directed by any irrational decision, but rather a common and well thought out consensus among Hong Kongers and Western governments(the UK in this case) that any popular independence or pro democratic uprisings will most likely lead to, at best, a failed state, or at worst, endless violence.
In conclusion, Hong Kong exists in a perpetual state of freedom and authoritarianism, although slowly inching towards authoritarianism, due to urespected agreements which were supposed to grant it the freedom which it was so accustomed to. With a government and police force compromised, the people are the only ones left. But even within the population there's doubt, with some willing to leave their homeland for freedom. Not to mention states, who despite their messages of support, cannot escape the reality of the situation, and have thus shaped their legislation in order to protect the very few who'll remain from this battle. With all these factors at play, it is more than likely that Hong Kong will fall, but the flames of liberty don't fan themselves out that easily.
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