What has led Hong Kong to its biggest ever protest? Beijing believes that it was due to outside forces. Protestors believe that Hong Kong’s future is at stake. The Hong Kong government finally backed down, but the impact is profound.
In February 2019, the Hong Kong government proposed the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill. The proposed amendment, which the public refers to as the extradition law, requires the Hong Kong government to hand over criminal suspects to China on Beijing’s demand.
The Hong Kong government assured its people that the law is safe-guarded against abuse: Only serious criminals will be extradited. Political crime is excluded. Extradition must be approved by judges in Hong Kong. Human rights will be protected by open trial, legal representation, right to cross-examine witnesses, right to appeal, etc. in China.
Many in Hong Kong worried that this amendment would undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy. The major concern is that China and Hong Kong use different judicial systems: Chinese law is based on civil law while Hong Kong uses the common law established by the British. Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China, but not in Hong Kong. Many businessmen argue that bribery is the norm in China; bribery carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years plus fines in China, but less so in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the proposed law allows retrospective prosecution, so it could affect most businessmen.
One fundamental difference between Hong Kong and China is their attitude towards law. While Hong Kong values the separation of power, President Xi, the Chinese leader, has always maintained that China must never allow judicial independence. He stated in more than one occasion that the legislature, executive and judiciary powers should never be separated; they should all collaborate to support the Communist Party.
On Sunday 9th June 2019, a large number of people in Hong Kong took to the street against the proposed amendment. The organisers claimed that over 1 million people participated in the demonstration. While this figure cannot be verified, few would disagree that this was the biggest demonstration in Hong Kong, which has a population of 7.4 million.
Despite the mass demonstration, Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, insisted that the proposal bill will be presented to the Legislation Council on Wednesday 12th June, as planned.
On the morning of Wednesday 12th June, demonstrators surrounded the Legislation Council, with an attempt to interrupt the debate. To control the situation, the police deployed rubber bullets, pepper spray and smoke gas bombs. 72 people were injured, including two in serious condition. More injury occurred in subsequent clashes. Given that the police arrested injured protesters from public hospitals, the actual number of injuries was certainly much higher than the reported figures.
The Chief Executive insisted that the demonstrators started the violence. Bricks and other objects were thrown to the police. One injured policeman required several hours of treatments. The police had no choice but to protect itself and keep order. The police has seized a number of weapons.
The demonstrators believed that the police applied excessive and unnecessary force. Caught on camera were several occasions where lone, unarmed and peaceful people were attacked. One foreigner who sat on roadside, apparently unwell, was attacked by several policemen unprovoked. The policemen sprayed tear gas to the man’s face within 12 inches. One lone demonstrator who was separated from the police by crowd control barriers (hence pose no threat to the police) was attacked by police from at least three different angles. Photos and videos showed that many police attacks aimed at peoples’ heads. A video suggested that the police used tear gas to create chaos and cause accidents as opposed to crowd dispersal.
On 19th, John Lee, Secretary for Security met the media to defend the police actions during the protests. He refused to comment on individual cases, but promised to handle every complaint thoroughly and independently.
Prior to the handover to China on 1st July 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. In 1984, China and Britain signed a Joint Declaration, which promised to keep everything in Hong Kong as it was for 50 years. Under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, Beijing would allow Hong Kong to maintain its autonomy.
In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday 12th June 2019, Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, said the “One Country, Two Systems” policy has been implemented successfully. He clarified that Beijing “gave no instruction or order about making the amendment … this amendment was initiated by the Hong Kong government.”
Mr Liu reminded viewers that the British-China Joint Declaration is a “historical document”, which “gives the British government no legitimacy to interfere with the internal affairs of Hong Kong”. He emphasised that it was “always the forces outside Hong Kong” that “try to take advantage of things to stir up trouble”.
Mr Liu did not elaborate what outside forces were involved in the Hong Kong protest, but it is a fact that many foreign governments have voiced their opposition to the proposed amendment. On 24th May 2019, 11 European Union representatives met the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and issued a diplomatic “demarche” protest note against the amendment. On the same day, eight commissioners from the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China wrote to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong to urge her to withdraw the proposed bill.
Under the US-Hong Kong policy Act 1992, Hong Kong is currently treated as a separate entity from China. Under this Act, Hong Kong is not subject to US export restrictions on sensitive technology. Hong Kong exports to US are not subject to the same tax rate applied to Chinese goods. Hong Kong visitors (including students) to US are subject to less stringent requirements than mainland Chinese visitors. These are all important issues given the current US-China trade war.
For this Act to remain, the US demands that agreements in the 1984 British-China declaration was adhered to and Hong Kong maintains its autonomy. By passing the proposed extradition law, the Hong Kong government will test the US bottom line in keeping this Act.
On 12th June, US Senators Ted Cruz and Ed Markey tabled a bill to amend the US-Hong Kong policy Act 1992, demanding a report on “How the People’s Republic of China exploits Hong Kong to circumvent the laws of the United States.”
On 13th June, US Commissioners reintroduced the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The proposed legislation will, among other things, "establish punitive measures against government officials in Hong Kong or mainland China who are responsible for suppressing basic freedoms in Hong Kong, especially in connection with the abduction of certain booksellers."
At 3pm on Saturday 15th June 2019, the Chief Executive announced that the legislation processes will be suspended.
However, this did not calm the public. After the apology, Mr Leung, a 35-year-old protester displayed an anti-extradition banner outside the Pacific Place Mall. Mr Leung refused to leave. Later in the evening, he accidentally fell to his death from the scarfoldings over 20 meters above the ground.
On Sunday 16th June, people took the street again. Demonstrators demanded apologies by the Chief Executive, withdrawal (as opposed to suspension) the bill, release of the arrested protesters, etc. They also call for Carrie Lam's resignation.
Many who participated believe that more people participated than the demonstration on 12th June. The organizer claimed that 2 million people participated. The march was peaceful.
During the demonstration, The Chief Executive issued an apology statement which reads: "The chief executive admits that large-scale confrontation and conflict took place in Hong Kong society due to the inadequacy of the government’s work, causing many residents to be disappointed and saddened"
As there was no apologies on the apparent excessive police force or arrestment of protesters at hospitals, nor did the Chief Executive withdraw the bill, the protesters did not accept the apology. Protest continued into early hours.
On Monday 17th June, protesters surrounded the Chief Executive's residence to demand withdrawal of the bill and release of those arrested. The demonstration was still going at the time of writing.The failed legislation of the extradition law will have significant impact to Hong Kong:
High on President Xi's agenda are the US trade war and the Taiwan issue. What happens in Hong Kong has impacts on both:
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