Hong Kong’s Autonomy

The British gave Hong Kong back to China more than two decades ago, but the city of 7.5 million people is still very different from the rest of the country. An international financial center, it has a vibrant free press, for example, and an independent judicial system. But its freedoms may prove fleeting. In 2019 a proposal to allow extraditions to the mainland provoked waves of unrest as residents reacted to what they viewed as the latest threat to the city’s semi-autonomous status. The protests echoed those of 2014, which were also about growing Chinese government control. Such strains are ever-present in Hong Kong, while the democracy that protesters demand remains elusive.

Peaceful protests that began early in 2019 grew by June into marches of historic proportions, drawing hundreds of thousands of people. They were quickly overshadowed, however, by outbreaks of violence and a broader challenge to Beijing’s tightening grip on Hong Kong. The spark was the extradition bill, which opponents feared would open the door for anyone who runs afoul of the Chinese government to be arrested and sent to the mainland. Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, eventually withdrew the bill, but protesters expanded their demands to include direct elections for the city’s top job — something Hong Kong has never had. Masked protesters flinging Molotov cocktails clashed repeatedly with riot police firing tear gas, rubber bullets or — at times — real ones. The main legislative building was ransacked along with subway stations, Chinese bank branches and other property. As demonstrators complained of police brutality, the government banned face coverings and some subway stations were sporadically closed in an effort to damp the violence. Speculation grew that China may resort to sending in troops — a notion given extra resonance by the passing of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, when hundreds, maybe thousands, of demonstrators were slain in Beijing. Against the backdrop of a trade war between China and the U.S., events in Hong Kong stoked a broader culture clash in other arenas; America’s National Basketball Association lost most of its Chinese sponsors after a team manager tweeted support for the protesters, while U.S. lawmakers infuriated Chinese authorities by inviting activists to Washington and taking up legislation backing the pro-democracy movement.