HOW TINY HONG KONG STOOD UP TO THE CHINESE GIANT
Hong Kong has had a complicated history with China. Prior to the 19th century, the region of Hong Kong had little significance other than being home to minor fishing villages. The British Empire conquered Hong Kong Island and Kowloon during the two Opium Wars, while obtaining a 99 year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Under British rule, Hong Kong rapidly developed into a major colonial port and entrepôt. Massive economic growth as part of the four Asian Tiger economies transformed Hong Kong into a global financial centre by the 1990s.
Hong Kong faced an uncertainty during the 1990s. The 99 year lease on the New Territories was due to expire, creating a legal obligation for the United Kingdom to cede the northern part of Hong Kong back to China. Further, Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping had expressed interest for the entirety of Hong Kong to be ceded back to China back in the 1970s. British Prime Minister Magaret Thatcher attempted to seek Chinese approval for continued British sovereignty over Hong Kong past 1997, but China refused to recognise the “unequal treaties” which had been forced on the Qing Dynasty in the 19th Century.
A compromise was reached. In the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the governments of the PRC and the United Kingdom jointly stated in 1984 that Hong Kong would be ‘restored’ to the PRC from the 1st of July 1997. In return, the Chinese government would establish a Special Administrative Region (SAR), where Hong Kong’s capitalist system and society would remain unchanged for 50 years. This principle was called ‘One Country, Two Systems’.
Flash forward to now, it is increasingly apparent the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle has not been adhered to by Beijing. Prior to this year, the PRC made increased attempts to fully incorporate Hong Kong into China. In 2014, the government of Hong Kong proposed reforms to the electoral process which included candidate pre-screening, a move largely viewed as a move by the mainland government to lower the autonomy of Hong Kong. Over 100,000 protesters (mostly students) in the form of the Umbrella movement took to the streets but failed to achieve any political concessions from the government.
However, the protests that rocked Hong Kong in the past months have been nothing like Hong Kong has seen before. Over a million protesters ranging across all demographics took to the streets to protest Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s proposed extradition bill. This extradition bill, a clear breach of Hong Kong autonomy, is a legislation that would allow Beijing to extradite Hong Kongers to the mainland for trial without warning. Or rather, it was a piece of legislation, with a humiliated Lam announcing on July 9th that the bill is dead, although stopping short of completely withdrawing the bill.
The immense power and solidarity of the protests have shocked Beijing to the core. They immediately backpedalled and are regretting choosing Carrie Lam as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive. The Hong Kong police force are under immense pressure, who are only growing in size and resolve. Further, the protests are threatening to turn increasingly violent, with small groups raiding and vandalising the Legislative Council on July 1st. More and more protesters are waving the Union Jack and the colonial Hong Kong flag, indicative of their growing desire to return to British rule. The mainland government is facing a time-bomb, either respect the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle or risk open civil war.
In the past year, I have written two pieces about how China was not as powerful as it seemed (China the Paper Tiger, and Can China invade Taiwan?). The recent protests within Hong Kong against increased encroachment from the mainland government is another sign of China’s inherent weakness and lack of power. Clearly, China is once again, just a Paper Tiger.
