PHOTO GALLERY: A year has passed since the beginning of anti-government protests in Hong Kong that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Protesters march on the streets against an extradition bill in Hong Kong on Sunday, June 16, 2019. A year has passed since the beginning of anti-government protests in Hong Kong that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. While the demonstrations have all-but died out, none of the underlying issues have been resolved, and a deep unease lies over the city as China moves to tighten its grip.
Beijing cracked down hard on the demonstrations and has moved in recent weeks to make it illegal to disrespect the Chinese national anthem in Hong Kong and and pass a national security law for the city that could severely restrict freedom of speech and opposition political activity.China says it is justified in making the moves to preserve sovereignty and counter vaguely-defined crimes such as sedition.
Although the legislation was eventually shelved, the protests continued with expanded demands, including for expanded democracy and an investigation into alleged police brutality. They appeared to culminate just before opposition candidates won an overwhelming victory in elections for district council delegates last November, but have continued to pop up on a much smaller scale as a push-back against Beijing’s moves to consolidate control in the territory.
China plans to pass the law at the national level, circumventing Hong Kong’s Legislative Council where it faces fierce opposition. A previous attempt to pass the law in Hong Kong in 2003 was withdrawn after public demonstrations against it, but critics fear China now plans to use it to disqualify opposition candidates from taking part in the September elections.That is deepening concerns that began floating to the surface during last year’s protest.
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