In agitating against closer ties with China, Hong Kongers made use of freedoms that are denied in the mainland. What is the origin of these freedoms?
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of demonstrators repeatedly took to the streets of Hong Kong in June to protest against a proposed law that would allow the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. Their demonstrations, some of the largest in Hong Kong’s history, were instrumental in persuading the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, to suspend the bill. In agitating against closer ties, Hong Kongers made use of freedoms that are denied in mainland China.
The Taiwanese did not take the bait, but China used the “one country, two systems” idea when it took back Hong Kong from Britain and Macau from Portugal. Britain had secured the heart of Hong Kong in perpetuity as spoils of the 19th-century Opium Wars but the final part, the New Territories, was acquired on a 99-year lease in 1898. The Portuguese had ruled Macau since the 1500s, but eventually started withdrawing troops in 1975.
These arrangements are to last for 50 years. It is unclear what happens after 2047. In the meantime, democracy activists have been growing despondent as pro-establishment forces, some funded by Beijing, secured majorities in local councils and the territory’s legislature, and new loyalty tests were imposed on candidates for office. Frustration led to the so-called Umbrella Movement of 2014, a series of protests and sit-ins aimed at securing a promise of genuine democracy.
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