When the British lease of Hong Kong expired July 1, 1997, there were concerns about how Communist Beijing would handle the turnover. Hong Kong residents, living under British rule for 100 years, were a different breed, proudly independent but, more importantly, showing their love of freedom. Chinese Premier Jiang Zemen reassured Hong Kong residents that Beijing would take a hands off approach, respecting differences between the mainland and Hong Kong’s unique place as Asia’s global banking capital. Triggering the largest street protests since the handover in 1997, Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing Executive Carrie Lam faced mass protests for pushing an extradition law, allowing Beijing to prosecute Hong Kong residents or businesses suspected by the Communist government of foul play. Hong Kong’s Executive Council urged Lam to reconsider passing the extradition law.
Hong Kong residents recall all-too-well pro-Democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square April 15, 1989 to June 4, 1989 where the Communist government rolled tanks over protesters, killing hundreds-if-not thousands of pro-Democracy protesters. Hong Kong is especially sensitive to what Beijing could do if the Communist government cracked down. “It can be said the government should consider other options,” said Bernard Chan, urging Lam to postpone passage of the proposed extradition law. An estimated million protesters took to the streets Wednesday, June 12 to protest Lam’s extradition law, though other estimates were 240,000. Whatever the numbers, there’s a groundswell of sentiment opposing Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong’s way of life, 22 years after British rule. Beijing-loyal police doused protesters with water cannons and other crowd control tactics.
More than 30,000 protesters signed a petition calling on Lam to stop using violent police crowd-control tactics. More than a 1,000 demonstrators participated in a peaceful “mother protest” in Hong Kong’s downtown garden. Chinese authorities lambasted U.S. lawmakers for taking sides with protesters against Beijing. China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng called the U.S. embassy Deputy Chief Robert Forden for urgent consultations, expressing regret for Washington’s criticism. Last Sunday, June 9, hundreds of thousands of protesters called for Lam to resign her two-year-old government. Hong Kong residents want less Beijing interference, wanting to preserve their freedoms under British rule. Willy Lam, an expert in Chinese politics at Hong Kong University, thinks that today’s protests could send a loud message to Xi Jinping to back off trying to assert power in Hong Kong.
Willy Lam thinks that more street demonstrations could influence Beijing to get rid of Hong Kong’s chief executive. “If the momentum continues to grow, then there is a high possibility that Xi Jinping might strike a compromise and postpone the bill indefinitely,” said Willy Lam. Hong Kong’s Police Chief Stephen Lo Wai-chung claims 22 of his officers were injured battling street protesters. Pictures of “Tank Man,” symbolizing the 1989 bloody Tiananmen Square massacre were plastered on a pedestrian bridge near Hong Kong’s government center. “What the people are attempting to tell is that we are very worried about the consequences of passing the extradition bill, because no one will feel safe, even in their own beds, after passage of this bill,” said Anson Chan, former secretary for Hong Kong. Chan served under British Gov. Chris Patton before the July 1, 1997 turnover to Beijing.
Protesters in Hong Kong Streets are quietly anxious that Xi will crack down on city residents, if push-comes-to-shove. Demonstrators took to the streets to send a loud message to Carrie Lam, but more importantly Beijing, to keep your hands off Hong Kong, like you promised in 1997. “It places everybody’s individual freedom and safety at risk,” Chan said. Xi has warned Hong Kong residents to follow Beijing’s rules or face the consequences, including possible marital law. Beijing considers the protests as driven by foreign entities, including the U.S. CIA, stirring the pot to challenge Beijing’s authority in Hong Kong. Carrie Lam, Beijing’s puppet, called the peaceful street demonstrations “rioting,” prompting a stronger response from Beijing. Chinese citizens living in the mainland don’t enjoy the same freedoms as Hong Kong residents, something Hong Kong residents wish to continue.
Beijing has already cracked down in 2015 on Hong Kong booksellers, claiming they were disseminating seditious literature. Many of the booksellers vanished, reappearing in Mainland China’s police custody. Hong Kong residents have taken to the streets in mass to protests of Beijing’s growing interference in freedoms once enjoyed under British rule. Pro-Democracy protests in 2014 known as the “Umbrella Revolution” ended in convictions and incarcerations. Beijing’s willing to tolerate life in Hong Kong as long as it doesn’t embarrass Xi’s totalitarian rule. While there’s much pretense in China about a growing middle class, it doesn’t translate into pro-Democracy protests. Beijing’s willing to leave Hong Kong alone as long as it doesn’t embarrass the Chinese government, prompting Xi to crack down. Street protests show how Hong Kong residents still value their freedoms.
