October 23, 2019 | Written by - Eleanor Pompa '23
Earlier this year, protests broke out in Hong Kong due to the proposal of a bill that would allow some criminals to be extradited to the mainland. This news fired up the people of Hong Kong because the government works in a “one country, two systems” way. Hong Kong was given back to China after Britain left Hong Kong in 1997. Britain agreed with China that Hong Kong would still have their own system of government for 50 years. This agreement is set to end in 2047, when China will fully reabsorb Hong Kong, but this proposed bill gave the sense that China was trying to reabsorb Hong Kong prematurely. Protesters are still protesting every week and have recently turned violent. Two protesters were shot, one of them critically injured. Both of them were teenagers. Demonstrators protested further as they viewed this as an act of police brutality. In addition to this, police have also been firing tear gas, firecrackers, and various other things at crowds in an effort to get them to disperse. On the other hand, demonstrators have been leaving graffiti and smashing store windows as protests continue.
The proposed bill has since been formally withdrawn and people are also upset at this. Many say that Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, doesn’t keep her promises when it comes to government affairs. People are also still protesting against police brutality and are demonstrating for democracy and universal suffrage. A mask ban was set in place, which used powers that have not been used in over 50 years. Despite Lam’s efforts to stop protests, this ban angered people further and protesters renewed their efforts. The weekend of October 1st, which celebrated 70 years since the formation of the People’s Republic of China, exhibited some of the most violent protests since June. People used fireworks as signs of protest and continued to wear masks and black clothing, despite the ban. The people were also angry at the government and the police for calling the protests a riot, because they think that protesting is the only way to get the government to listen to them. Even though demonstrations started in March against the proposed bill, the people say that withdrawing the bill is not enough. Many say that police brutality is very much a reality, but the government and the police force are not listening. It is for this reason that protesters will continue to try and make a difference in Hong Kong’s government system and will hopefully keep their current system without China meddling or reabsorbing Hong Kong.
Sources:
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Mike Ives And Edward Wong. "Hong Kong Rallies Turn Violent After Thousands Defy Face Mask Ban." Nytimes.com. 6 Oct. 2019. Web. 7 Oct. 2019. <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/06/world/asia/hong-kong-protest-mask.html>
Cheng, Kris. "Video: Hong Kong's Carrie Lam declares extradition bill 'dead', but stops short of full withdrawal | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP." Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 9 Jul. 2019. Web. 7 Oct. 2019. <https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/09/hong-kongs-carrie-lam-declares-extradition-bill-dead-stops-short-full-withdrawal/>
Kuo, Lily. "Hong Kong's leader withdraws extradition bill that ignited mass protests." the Guardian. 4 Sept. 2019. Web. 7 Oct. 2019. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/04/hong-kong-lam-to-withdraw-extradition-bill-say-reports>
Reuters Editorial. "Timeline: Key dates in Hong Kong's protests." U.S.. n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2019. <https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-china-anniversary-timeline-idUSKBN1WG3XK>
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