Along with the former Porteguese colony of Macau, Hong Kong had been a separate entity kept apart from Mainland China for several years. After Britain relinquished control of its Asian crown colony 22 years ago, the island city which sprawled over the Kowloon Peninsula and draped the slopes of the New Territories had become a special administration area when China took over.
Concurring to Britain’s deal with China, the city on the eastern side of the Pearl River in southern China was allowed to remain unique and semi-autonomous until 2047. Britain had forged a one country, two systems deal with China in 1984, before the Union Jack was lowered on June 30, 1997. However, Hong Kong’s democratic status now appears to be in doubt in 2019 and this is worrying. Carrie Lam, the city’s fourth and current Chief Executive, introduced an amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in April. The new law would have allowed officials in the city to extradite fugitives back to China under Beijing’s guidance. Protests against Lam’s extradition bill began with urgency in June 2019. Lam’s opponents reacted, knowing the new law could expose the people of Hong Kong to unfair trials in Mainland China. Protestors also maintained the bill would’ve permitted China to have a greater authority over Hong Kong, as well as targeting activists and journalists based in the former colony.
The protestors against Lam’s governance were right to be concerned, as China began exercising its political muscle over Hong Kong’s fragile democracy earlier this spring. China still relies on Hong Kong as conduit for foreign trade, even as mainland cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou have gained in economic and industrial strength. But Hong Kong’s golden egg status might disappear forever, as political uncertainty in the city endures.
International investors are stressed about Hong Kong’s future and rightly so. Karen Yeung for the South China Morning Post quoted Carl Tannenbaum, the chief economist at Northern Trust in August. “The uncertainty surrounding the sovereignty and stability of Hong Kong could limit inbound investment and give pause to foreign firms and workers in the principality,” Tannenbaum said. Tannenbaum likely framed his thoughts in conjunction with the protests stirring at the Hong Kong international airport in August, leading to the cancellations of multiple flights.
Lam’s controversial bill was withdrawn in September after the protests continued. But for many in Hong Kong, the Cambridge-educated ruler still appeared to be little more than a Beijing puppet as far many were concerned. Although Lam agreed to suspend the extradition bill, the demonstrators wanted full democracy for Hong Kong, along with an inquiry into the police actions taken against their protesters.
Earlier this month, as China celebrated 70 years of Communist rule, an 18-year-old demonstrator in Hong Kong was shot in the chest with a live round on October 1. Protesters fought back against the police with poles, Molotov cocktails and projectiles.
Lam had to leave Hong Kong’s legislative chamber in mid-October as opposition members loudly dissented over the recent assault on Jimmy Sham, who is one of the leaders of Hong Kong’s protest movement.
For Lam, protestors like Jimmy Sham are violent rioters who are intentionally annihilating Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe, dependable city to conduct business in. She appears to have little interest in preserving Hong Kong’s democratic values, even if she recalled the extradition bill in September under duress. According to a Reuters report from September 30, China had enlarged its military presence in Hong Kong from 10,000-12,000 troops. Before the protests in the spring, there were 3000-5000 People’s Liberation Army personnel stationed in Hong Kong. Yet, although democracy in Hong Kong appears to be diminishing in 2019, the city’s residents are refusing to tolerate the erosion of the region’s equal and unrestricted values without exercising a brave and well-publicized struggle.
