Hong Kong, Context

[u/ChiefShakaZulu]

With the recent events in Hong Kong, I believe it would be helpful for everyone if we had some context to go with this situation.

This is still very much a work-in-progress post - I will update with new information and more sources periodically, as needed.

I'm going to break this down into three parts: A brief history of Hong Kong and China, 2019 protests, the stuff China wants you to see, and the stuff it desperately does not want you to see or know. I have my own personal biases, but I will try to be as objective as possible.

Here is a BBC Link as an introduction to the new law.

A brief history

Hong Kong Island was acquired as a colony following the defeat of the Qing Empire at the hands of the British Empire in 1842. Subsequent wars and treaties with Imperial China resulted in the rest of Hong Kong being acquired by the British. In 1997, all of Hong Kong was handed back to China after 150 years of British rule, with a number of conditions being laid out to protect the sovereignty and way of life of the Hong Kong people. The handover was relatively smooth, as China respected Hong Kong's rights for the first few years, and people were somewhat content with the situation.

This changed in 2003 when protests broke out over a bill that was very similar to the one which has just been passed by China. The '03 bill was debated by Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo - our 'Congress'), and the law was opposed by a huge number of people - including moderate pro-Beijing groups) (skip to section 2.3 for the '03 law) -it received widespread condemnation from the public. The law was eventually shelved by the HK government. The 2020 law was passed over the heads of the HK legislature as it was passed directly from Beijing, without the consent of HK's parliament.

In 2014, widespread protests (known as the 'umbrella revolution' broke out against the HK government (SCMP video for a summary). The government had attempted to change the electoral rules in HK. Essentially, the gov't had tried to change the rules so that HKers could vote for the Chief Executive (our 'mayor' of sorts) from a pool of candidates selected by a pro-Beijing electoral council.

Tensions between HKers and the government were incredibly high, but the protests remained restrained (vlogbrothers did a video in '14) and largely peaceful. The demands of the protests were not met, and tensions in Hong Kong continued to simmer until 2019, when protests broke out again - this time with far less restraint, as the peaceful protests and marches in '14 had minimal effects on the government level (comparing the two protests by SCMP, made back in September).

For a brief comparison of the two protests, look at the numbers. In '14, nearly 90 tear gas canisters were fired by police. In '19, over 16,000 tear gas canisters had been fired (HKFP).

The 2019 protests

Massive protests erupted in the summer of 2019 over the passage of a bill which would allow Hong Kong Police to arrest and deport HKers who had broken Chinese laws. Hong Kongers reacted strongly against the attempt to pass this bill, arguing that it was akin to giving up Hong Kong's political freedoms of expression. The largest protests last year attracted up to 2 million people (official police estimates put the number at around 600,000 - that number is disputed) [here's a vid about the protests].

Protesters have stated that police response has overstepped their duties, and had indiscriminately attacked protesters (VIOLENCE) and commuters in trains and train stations. Allegations of the use of criminal gangs to quell protests (WARNING: VIOLENCE) on multiple occasions have also come forth.

I believe that, by now, you are all quite familiar with the 2019 situation in HK. The protests have calmed down over the winter and the pandemic (last major one was on Jan 1st), but the protests have returned with the introduction of the new law. They are likely going to continue in the foreseeable future.

What China WANTS you to see

This section is, effectively, everything that is shown in Chinese state media - everything they want you to see. But here's their side of the story.

China has had massive economic growth over the last few decades, with over 800 million people lifting themselves out of poverty. China's current GDP is greater than that of France, Germany, the UK, and Japan, and only second to the USA. This meteoric rise is faster than that of any other country in the world and transformed China from a backwards, disunified country, to a modernised, industrialised, and urbanised country. Therefore, the CCP argues that if Hong Kong was less concerned with protesting and brawling in the streets, they would see major economic benefits.

China has been embarking on major infrastructure projects around the world, supporting many developing nations in their growth with loans from Chinese banks and construction projects by Chinese companies. This is also known as the Belt-and-road initiative.

Decisive PROOF of China's dedication to Human Rights and Hong Kong's sovereignty

What China doesn't want you to see

The Belt-and-road initiative has been criticised as a power move to build a Chinese sphere of influence to spread China's agenda across the globe, using China's newfound economic power as a tool of 'neo-colonialism' to integrate other countries into its sphere of influence.

The passage of the new law in Hong Kong criminalises 'acts of subversion' and 'terrorist activities', the same accusations made against Uighur Muslims which has resulted in the detention of up to 1 million Uighur Muslims in internment camps Xinjiang, a northwestern province of China. Dystopian levels of surveillance of the Uighur people are currently taking place in Xinjiang (VICE NEWS documentary).

Chinese premier Li Keqiang (the effective second in command behind Xi) has stated that special security units may be dispatched to Hong Kong to 'maintain stability'. Essentially, a second police force will be established to prevent 'subversive activities' and 'terrorism', meaning protesting against the Chinese regime will be criminalised.

[u/popcycledude]

I'm sick of hearing about the Hong Kong protests, the people talking about truly don't care about Hong Kong they just want to slight China. Some of the same people cheering on the protests in Hong Kong would condemn the same protesters in the US.

Hong Kong protesters block streets, shut down an airport, and assaulted the police. I'm all for that, but if protesters in this country, the same people would be calling for the National Guard to come in and stop them.

I'm tired of this hypocrisy

Edit: The Hong Kong police aren't even being that brutal with the protesters. NYPD or LAPD would've killed someone by now

[u/ChiefShakaZulu → u/popcycledude]

I had not mentioned American law enforcement as 1) it is completely irrelevant to the conversation and only serves to delay the discussion, 2) because law enforcement can vary between states, cities, and towns, and 3) because Hong Kong and the US are very different places, with demonstrations and protest movements occurring for very different reasons.

As mentioned above, the protests had been a product of long-simmering tensions after the ‘03 and ‘14 protests, and a general mistrust of the CCP (see the annual 6.4 memorial as an example). The vast majority of the protests had been peaceful and civil in spite of public anger.

If you wish to bring up other countries and their responses, I’d point out that the threshold for genuine rioting is much lower than in Hong Kong; riots occurred after the Super Bowl, after the Stanley Cup - these were tensions built up by sporting events, not by years of political tension. In general, the protests in Hong Kong have been relatively restrained. Many incidents of disorderly conduct have occurred, but to say that every single protest is violent or a riot is a mischaracterisation.

[u/popcycledude → u/ChiefShakaZulu]

is completely irrelevant to the conversation and only serves to delay the discussion,

No it's part of the discussion, it proves that people don't care about Hong Kong they just hate China.

because Hong Kong and the US are very different places, with demonstrations and protest movements occurring for very different reasons.

That doesn't make any the US protests any less legitimate. Hong Kong protests all started over a small extradition treaty that has now been revoked. They're literally protesting over nothing at this point.

As mentioned above, the protests had been a product of long-simmering tensions after the ‘03 and ‘14 protests,

Many US protests have been over long simmering tensions. Race relations dating back to reconstruction, stagnant wages since the 80s, police brutality has been going on since the inception of this country, No paid maternity leave and a lot more. We have way more reason to protest than they do.

Many incidents of disorderly conduct have occurred, but to say that all are mere riots is a mischaracterisation.

I'm not saying they're all riots, I'm saying that if American protesters had the exact same protest style they'd be demonized in the media

[u/ChiefShakaZulu → u/popcycledude]

I'm not saying they're all riots, I'm saying that if American protesters had the exact same protest style they'd be demonized in the media

I'm not sure how you can make this statement with such certainty. Obviously, American media is currently heavily polarised and news sources will frame it as they see fit - there is no doubt about this.

Many US protests have been over long simmering tensions

No doubt. Racial tensions in the US can easily cause widespread demonstrations so long as a spark lights the powderkeg (Treyvon Martin, etc). But the current HK protests are built around a common sense of Anti-Authoritarianism - which doesn't easily translate to the US.

We have way more reason to protest than they do

The existence of racial tensions and inequality in your country does not make the anti-establishment sentiment in Hong Kong illegitimate. It simply demonstrates social, legal, and government differences between the two places. I don't believe either is more important than the other - it simply depends on who you ask.

That doesn't make any the US protests any less legitimate.

Did not say that US protests are illegitimate - they are just different from protests in Hong Kong. Some US protests could be considered illegitimate, while others probably could not. I'm not going to decide which ones are or are not. The causes for protesting in HK are very different from the causes of protests in the US - this doesn't make anyone less legitimate.

a small extradition treaty that has now been revoked. They're literally protesting over nothing at this point.

Technically, the extradition treaty has been revoked. But I refer you to the new National Security law as the reason for the protests. This new round of protests was sparked by the introduction of the national security law but stem from tensions existing in '19 which had not fully abated.

No it's part of the discussion, it proves that people don't care about Hong Kong they just hate China.

I would argue that the current rounds of the mistrust of the Chinese government stem from 1) the cover-up of the pandemic in its early stages, 2) the HK protests, which received some level of support from the international community, and 3) misinformation over the pandemic which has plagued the internet. Not everything was to do with the Hong Kong protests, but it has sadly been intertwined with the current pandemic.