The roots of the Hong Kong protests stems from Hong Kong’s unique historical background, which includes a hand off between two very different governments. In the 1840's, during the Opium Wars in China, Britain acquired Hong Kong and ruled over it for the next century and a half. However, during 1898, shortly after acquiring Hong Kong, Britain signed what was essentially a 99-year lease that would expire in 1997. As 1997 approached, the British began negotiations with the Chinese about what the expiration of the lease would signify for Hong Kong. The negotiations eventually ended with Britain agreeing to return Hong Kong back to China on July 1, 1997, under one condition: China would rule Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” rule for the next 50 years, giving Hong Kong a great deal of autonomy and allowing Hong Kong to retain the same freedoms they had enjoyed under British rule.
However, with the 50 years coming up soon in the year 2047, China has slowly begun gaining more control over Hong Kong, including indirectly electing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive (who is currently Carrie Lam). Pro-democracy activists and protests have always been present in Hong Kong, such as the Umbrella Movement in 2014 which eventually faded out, but the recent Hong Kong protests has reached a far greater scale than any other pro-democracy movement ever recorded in Hong Kong’s history.
This time, unlike the Umbrella Movement, the protests began over a proposed amendment to Hong Kong’s already controversial extradition law in February 2019. The amendment, known as the, “Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (amendment) Bill 2019,” was created because of a case in 2018, when a Hong Kong man who murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan fled back to Hong Kong, and, under Hong Kong’s current extradition law, could not be held to face trial in Taiwan where he committed his crime. Government officials claimed that the proposed amendment to the extradition law would ensure that criminals could be tried in other jurisdictions that Hong Kong does not have a formal extradition agreement with.
However, the new amendment sparked massive controversy, fear, and outrage in Hong Kong citizens, who believed that it would provide China with a legal loophole to freely detain and arrest Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and others who have actively spoken out against the Chinese government on unrelated charges and sentence them to heavy fines, jail time, or even capital punishment.
After several protests against the amendment, including a fight on the floor of Hong Kong’s legislative building, the Hong Kong government agreed to add several concessions that would protect human rights and ensure all people a fair hearing to the proposed amendment. However these concessions were not enough to satisfy the people of Hong Kong, who, on June 9, peacefully protested in the streets against the amendments. Despite the protest, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, pressed on with the amendment to the extradition bill. On June 12, in retaliation, the protesters violently swarmed Hong Kong’s legislative building, delaying a debate that would have effectively passed the amendment.
June 12 is a memorable date in the history of the Hong Kong protests because it was the first time (but not the last) that the police labeled the protesters as rioters, used police force against them, and arrested several protesters. The events of June 12 created a ridge between the Hong Kong police and the protesters and was a massive turning point of the protests.
Following the events of June 12, Chief Executive Carrie Lam released a statement that said that the controversial extradition bill that had started the protests in the first place was dead, a statement that, ironically, only fueled the protesters. The protesters claimed that Lam was trying to silence the people and create a false sense of security, as the bill had only been suspended and not withdrawn.
Since June, protests have been occurring daily throughout Hong Kong for about two months. The protests usually follow a similar pattern: they begin peacefully, and then divulge into complete and utter violence between the protesters and the police. The police have used tear gas and water cannons, among other deterrents, against the protesters, and, in return, the protesters have fired Molotov cocktails and bricks. At one of the protests, a young woman, who was acting as a volunteer medic, was hit in the eye by a beanbag fired by the police and suffered a severe eye injury. Many protesters have adopted her as a symbol of police brutality by wearing gauzy-red inked stained eye patches and adopting the chant: “An eye for an eye!”
The protesters have stormed many buildings, their main target being Hong Kong government buildings, and have inhibited everyday normal life for Hong Kong citizens.
Most notably, on August 12 and 13, the protesters gained international attention after they took over one of the busiest airports in Hong Kong (and in the world) and caused it to cancel all of its departing flights and completely shut down for two days. The protesters managed to do this by occupying terminals and blocking people from reaching their flights, all while explaining and trying to gain support for their cause from travelers and airport personnel.
Protests are occurring on a daily basis in many different parts of the city, and the scale in both size and violence is slowly, but surely, increasing.
Since then, the cause behind the movement in Hong Kong has shifted from simply blocking a proposed extradition law to a call for the Hong Kong government to fulfill five specific demands that the protesters hold.
The first demand is that the extradition bill be legitimately destroyed and not simply 'put on hold.'
The second demand is that the government not call the protesters ‘rioters’ because rioting is an offense that could warrant their arrests.
The third demand is that the police release all of the protesters who have been arrested and drop the charges held against them.
The fourth demand is that the government develop a serious inquiry into the Hong Kong police department and investigate their tactics.
The fifth demand is universal suffrage for Hong Kong, which would allow Hong Kong citizens to democratically choose the leaders they want, instead of having China interfere in their election process.
Support over the protesters and their cause is divided within Hong Kong. Some citizens believe that the protests are disruptive and harmful to the economy and may hurt Hong Kong’s financial status and stocks. Others sympathize with the cause but believe that the protesters are far too violent in their demonstrations and will ultimately accomplish nothing. However, there also many Hong Kong citizens who actively participate in protests and demonstrations.
Sources:
9 questions about the Hong Kong protests you were too embarrassed to ask
Jen Kirby | Vox | August 26, 2019
What's happening in Hong Kong? Some key questions, answered.
Siobhán O'Grady | Claire Parker | The Washington Post | August 13, 2019
Hong Kong protest timeline: The evolution of a movement
Julia Hollingsworth | CNN | August 17, 2019
Hong Kong protests: How did we get here?
Ramy Inocencio | CBS News | August 15, 2019
Book: "City of Protest: A Recent History of Dissent in Hong Kong," by Antony Dapiran
