Even if your country's government is not like that at all, try to imagine that you had all of these things, that you got to experience living under a non-predatory government, that you finally had a taste of what it was like living under a rule, where you were not prosecuted for your thoughts and beliefs and where you were free to express yourself, be it religion, political beliefs, sexuality or something completely different. Try then to imagine that these new-found freedoms had an expiry date; that at one point in the not-so-far-future, the government would revert back to its old ways of crippling corruption, arbitrary use of force and persecution of those with sexuality or opinions different from the status quo.
While this thought experiment can seem far-fetched for those of us living our sheltered lives in stable Western democracies, this is exactly the situation that Hong Kong is in right now.
A Brief History Lesson
Hong Kong is the name of a city and special administrative division located in the southern part of the People's Republic of China(PRC), but it was not always like that. From the end of the First Opium War in 1841 to 1997, Hong Kong (and from 1860, the rest of the Kowloon peninsula) was a British colony with a political and economic system that were the almost complete opposite of the communist system of The People's Republic of China and as a result helped create a distinct Hong Kong culture and helped to establish Hong Kong as one of East Asia's first and biggest economic powerhouses and financial centers. When Great Britain relinquished sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, it came with the assurances that Hong Kong's capitalist economic system and way of life would remain unchanged for an additional fifty years (the so-called 'One Country, Two Systems' doctrine), meaning that Hong Kong nominally can continue as it did under British rule until June 31st 2047. However, what will happen after that date has never been publicly stated.
Colonial Flag of British Hong Kong - picture from Wikipedia
The Extradition Bill
In February 2019, the Hong Kong government proposed the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill regarding extradition of criminals from Hong Kong to any place outside Hong Kong, including mainland China, breaking with previous principle that that any person, whether an inhabitant of Hong Kong or of mainland China, who has committed an offence should be prosecuted and tried at the place of offence.
Nearly two million Hong Kongers took to the streets dressed in black on June 16th to protest the extradition bill and demand chief executive Carrie Lam to step down - picture by Tyrone Siu/Reuters
The bill (known as the Extradition Bill for short) was subject to massive criticism from both business groups, journalist organizations and legal experts as it made it possible to apprehend people in Hong Kong and hand them over to the politically controlled courts in the PRC and was seen as a way for the pro-PRC government to undermine the Hong Kong legal system that is still nominally distinct from that of the PRC. The criticism culminated in massive protests, sometimes numbering in the millions, that began on June 9th, and while the bill was declared 'dead' (but not formally withdrawn) by chief executive Carrie Lam on July 9th, the protests, that have now morphed from anti-extradition bill into more general pro-democracy and anti-establishment protests, have continued ever since.
The Protests
The protests have been marked by an increasing brutality from the authorities and a continuous condemnation and refusal of dialogue and reconciliation from the pro-Beijing government. Tear gas has been employed liberally against peaceful protesters, as has the arbitrary use of force employed by the police, such as baton use and even the firing of rubber bullets against fleeing and unarmed protesters.
Protesters clashing with police - photo by Bloomberg
Perhaps even more disturbingly, local, and it is suspected government-backed, pro-Beijing gangsters clad in white have on several occasions assaulted civilians on subway stations with clubs to an extent where many had to be admitted to the hospital for their injuries. Beijing has even threatened with mobilizing the People's Liberation Army if the Hong Kong government is unable to maintain order.
Medics treat a woman who received a facial injury during a standoff between protesters and police - picture by Anthony Wallace / AFP / Getty Images
The Hong Kong protests have a beautiful human side to them too. Amidst the brutality, the gas and the blood, the last couple of months have been a showcase in the incredible spirit of resilience and unity shown by the Hong Kong protesters: How the youth of Hong Kong has gone from being normal university students with normal university student problems to hardened freedom fighters, who unfailingly organize and attend protests with the risk of being tear gassed or worse, purchase water in bulk for their fellow protesters and even leave money lying on the ticket machines in the subways so that everybody can get home.
The Unraveling of Freedom
What we are seeing in Hong Kong right now is a battle between the predominantly young and well-educated protesters fighting for their future knowing full well that their lease on freedom is limited and a, if not Beijing-controlled then at least heavily Beijing-influenced, Hong Kong government and its executive branch doing everything in its power to justify their fears.
Nobody knows what the future will bring for the young protesters in Hong Kong, and certainly given the actions taken by both the incumbent government and Beijing, the outlook is pretty bleak, but there is always hope as long as you are willing to fight, and the youth of Hong Kong has certainly proved that beyond and shred of doubt. We abroad can also help by asking the international community to put pressure on Hong Kong and China to cease the escalation of violence and guarantee the continued freedoms that Hong Kong enjoys or if nothing else on a personal level with some encouraging words to our Hong Kong friends. At the very least, what is happening in Hong Kong should serve as a warning to us living in so-called stable, Western democracies. The events unfolding as you read this is the mask of a well-functioning Western-style democracy slipping and revealing the monstrous face of oppressive, authoritarian government and should remind us that no matter what we may think such a reality might befall us at some point; a warning that while our rights and our democracy do not have a hard expiry date like Hong Kong's do, we should be ever vigilant of any and all attempts of our respective governments on the erosion of our rights and freedoms, even if it means taking to the streets and claiming our rights, because Hong Kong has shown us that rights are worth nothing if you are not willing to fight for them.
Picture from The Star
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