Since March there have been violent protests in the city of Hong Kong, China. Many people are confused as to what is going on, so I'm going to try to explain it as simply as I can.
Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony. This means that Hong Kong has its own judiciary and a separate legal system from mainland China. The citizens of Hong Kong, therefore, have more rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.
However, protests started in June 2019, against plans to allow extradition to mainland China - an 'extradition' is when 'one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to their law enforcement.'
The extradition bill, which was introduced in April, would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China (under certain circumstances). However, it was argued that this risked exposing the people from Hong Kong to unfair trials and violent treatment. It's also possible that China would assert greater influence over Hong Kong, and use this power to target activists and journalists.
The people living in Hong Kong don't want this to happen, and, despite the bill being withdrawn in September, protests have continued, demanding a full inquiry into police actions.
Protests
Demonstrations continued; after weeks of protests, leader Carrie Lam eventually said the bill would be suspended indefinitely. But protesters feared that the bill could be revived, so are now protesting for it to be withdrawn completely.
The seriousness of the riots has shocked people all around the globe - on 1 October, while China was celebrating 70 years of Communist party rule, Hong Kong experienced one of its most 'violent and chaotic days'. An 18-year-old was shot in the chest as protesters fought officers with poles, petrol bombs and other projectiles.
In November, a stand-off between police and students barricaded on the campus of Hong Kong's Polytechnic University became another important moment of the demonstrations.
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| Carrie Lam, current Chief Executive of Hong Kong |
What do Protesters want?
Some protesters have adopted the motto, 'Five demands, not one less.' These demands are:
- For the protests not to be characterised as 'riots'
- Amnesty for arrested protesters
- An enquiry into alleged police brutality
- Implementation of complete universal suffrage
The fifth demand, the withdrawal of the bill, has already been achieved.
Similar rallies have taken place all over the world, including in the UK and Australia.
The Future of Hong Kong...
Hong Kong's freedoms - the Basic Law - expire in 2047. There is uncertainty as to what will happen until, and when the protests will cease.
Xi Jinping, the president of China, said that any attempt to divide China would end in 'bodies smashed and bones ground to powder.'
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Sources: BBC News website, Wikipedia
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Thank you for reading this blog, feel free to share it so that more people are aware of the pressures that the citizens of Hong Kong are facing.
Here is a link to a petition, campaigning to condemn police for excessive force against protesters: https://www.change.org/p/condemn-hong-kong-police-for-excessive-force-against-citizens-call-for-independent-inquiry?source_location=topic_page
Happy Thanksgiving!
- R
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