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To cite this article: (2019) Hong Kong’s protests, Strategic Comments, 25:6, xi-xiii, DOI:
10.1080/13567888.2019.1662983
Hong Kong is now in the 11th week of and unrestricted internet access. Beijing has of the Sino-British Joint Declaration’. A
demonstrations that, though initially generally respected these arrangements, similar incident occurred in January 2017,
peaceful, have become increasingly violent adhering to Deng Xiaoping’s concept when Chinese security agents abducted
and disruptive. Beijing, which at the start of ‘one country, two systems’. In recent the wealthy Chinese-Canadian financier
of the protests imposed a news blackout years, however, there have been worrying Xiao Jianhua from his Hong Kong hotel
in the mainland Chinese media, has since indications that China is encroaching on apartment, where he had been living for the
published a series of ever more critical Hong Kong’s autonomy, fuelling locals’ preceding three years. Xiao was the financier
editorials in the party state’s flagship fears that it will eventually become ‘just used by many in the Chinese leadership to
publication, the People’s Daily, writing another Chinese city’. move their money overseas and therefore
of Hong Kong facing the abyss, blaming The earliest indication of this possessed valuable information about their
foreign ‘black hands’ for fomenting the erosion occurred in 2002 when the SAR activities. By abducting Xiao, Xi was able to
protests and characterising the protesters’ government, at Beijing’s behest, sought to signal to potential adversaries in the run-up
behaviour as terrorism. The attitudes introduce legislation – Basic Law Article 23 to the 19th National Congress of the CCP
of both the protesters and the Chinese – relating to treason, subversion, sedition that he had the information he needed to
government have hardened to the point and secession. In the face of public protests, pursue them for corruption if they stepped
where compromise seems impossible. The the legislation was withdrawn and has not out of line.
fear is growing that if the Hong Kong subsequently been revisited. An additional cause for concern was an
authorities cannot restore order, China may More recently, during the 2014 Occupy agreement in 2018 that enabled hundreds
intervene militarily to resolve the situation. Central movement, large numbers of of Chinese police officers to be based at
While Beijing hopes to avoid direct mainly young Hong Kong residents staged Hong Kong’s new cross-border high-speed
intervention if possible, it will prioritise weeks of protests in the main commercial rail terminus, where they would enforce
the need to quash perceived challenges and government district against Beijing’s Chinese national law. While this decision
to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) insistence that candidates for the post of alarmed many Hong Kong residents, it
legitimacy over all other considerations. chief executive had first to be vetted by did not result in protests. This lack of
China. This largely peaceful demonstration response may have encouraged Hong
Increasing encroachments – also known as the ‘Umbrella Movement’ Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to pursue
The proximate cause of this situation is due to the umbrellas used by protesters the extradition bill, on the basis that she
the administration of the Hong Kong to protect themselves against the police’s enjoyed a reliably large pro-establishment
Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) pepper spray – eventually dissipated and (i.e., pro-Beijing) majority in Hong Kong’s
introduction – in February 2019 – of its leaders were subsequently sentenced Legislative Council. In fact, by persisting
legislation enabling criminal suspects to be to brief imprisonment for public-order with a second reading of the bill even after
transferred to jurisdictions with which the offences. Yet the fact that a picture posted large-scale peaceful demonstrations had
Hong Kong SAR does not have extradition on Chinese social media of President revealed the level of public concern, Lam
agreements – including mainland China. Xi Jinping holding an umbrella was simply confirmed what many Hong Kong
The justification for the legislation was immediately censored illustrated Beijing’s residents had come to believe: that the
a case involving a Hong Kong resident sensitivity about the movement. Hong Kong government was insensitive
accused of murdering his girlfriend in More concerning yet was the abduction and unresponsive to their concerns.
Taiwan then fleeing to Hong Kong, where in 2015 of the owner and four employees
no action could be taken against him. of the Hong Kong publisher Causeway The protests
The draft legislation elicited widespread Bay Books. For some years, Causeway Bay The June protests mobilised a large
concern that it could lead to critics of the Books had been publishing books about proportion of Hong Kong’s residents:
Chinese regime and others deemed guilty mainland Chinese leadership politics, on 16 June, an estimated two million
by China of political crimes being sent for including sensitive and often racy details of people marched peacefully, out of a total
trial on the mainland, where courts are the leaders’ private lives, almost certainly population of around seven million. The
controlled by the CCP. leaked by their political rivals. Mainland protesters are overwhelmingly young and
Under the terms of the Sino-British Joint visitors to Hong Kong purchased such well educated. Their motivations appear
Declaration of 1984, the international treaty publications in large numbers. At the time to consist of a mixture of frustration with
that set out the basis on which China of his abduction from Thailand, the owner living conditions and a lack of economic
recovered sovereignty over Hong Kong in of Causeway Bay Books, Gui Minhai – opportunity; a fear that Hong Kong’s
1997, the Hong Kong SAR enjoys a high born in Hong Kong but by then a Swedish autonomy is being squeezed by China; and
degree of autonomy, with an administration national – was supposedly working on a frustration that their concerns are unheeded
led by an elected chief executive. Under the book about Xi Jinping entitled Xi and His Six by an administration that they consider
treaty, Hong Kong retains its own legal Women. This seems to have prompted the uncaring, out of touch and in thrall to the
system based on common law and its CCP’s decision to terminate this lucrative interests of a small group of oligarchs.
citizens enjoy a range of freedoms denied trade. Phillip Hammond, then the United The protest movement has attracted wider
to mainland Chinese citizens, including the Kingdom’s foreign secretary, referred to the support, including from lawyers, civil
rights to free expression, peaceful assembly booksellers’ abduction as a ‘serious breach servants and private-sector employees.
Volume 25 Comment 24 August 2019 © The International Institute for Strategic Studies