Causes of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests explained
The founding cause of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests was the proposed legislation of the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. However, other causes have been pointed out, such as demands for democratic reform, the Causeway Bay Books disappearances, or a general fear of losing a "high degree of autonomy".[1] The Hong Kong protests are unique in this respect from democracy protests in general, which are often provoked by economic grievances.[2] Subsequent actions by the police, such as mass arrests and police violence, as well as what was perceived to be an illegitimate legislative process of the bill, sparked additional protests throughout the city.
Causes
Democratic reform
One underlying cause of the protests could be what people consider to be slow pace of democratic reforms.
At the time of the protests, half of the lawmakers of the Legislative Council (LegCo) were directly elected as geographical constituencies, while the rest were returned by functional constituencies, where only selected parts of the electorate had a vote. This ran counter to a section of the Hong Kong population's ongoing demand for universal suffrage since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Indeed, the ultimate aim of achieving universal suffrage is stated in the Article 45 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's de facto constitution:
That said, the 2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform was voted down.[3] That froze the number of members of the Election Committee, the organ that selects the Chief Executive, or the leader of the city, to 1,200, out of a population of over 7.5 million. Nevertheless the proposed reform only turned the aforementioned Election Committee to a nominating committee for the "universal suffrage" election of the Chief Executive.
In the 6th Legislative Council, a few opposition lawmakers were disqualified after they were elected, namely Yau Wai-ching, Sixtus Leung, Lau Siu-lai, Yiu Chung-yim, Nathan Law and Leung Kwok-hung. These figures did not include people who were disqualified to be a candidate, such as Agnes Chow[4] and Ventus Lau. The court later overturned the disqualification of Agnes Chow and Ventus Lau, years after the by-elections.
The Economist stated Hong Kong people are disillusioned with the promise that "the [Chinese Communist Party] eventually fulfil its pledge to give them more democracy", as after the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the 2014–2015 electoral reform, "[the] promise would only mean only the chance to vote for someone the party considered royal".[5] While the Financial Times, on 12 June 2019 (date of an anti-bill protest), stated, "Most people in Hong Kong, however, find it hard to believe that Ms. Lam brought this crisis [editor note: extradition bill] upon herself with no help whatsoever from Beijing".[6]
Economic factors
Economic factors were also an underlying cause of anger among Hongkongers.[7] [8] [9] With powerful business cartels colluding with the government, Hong Kong suffers from income disparity and high housing prices.[10] Youth, who have been pre-eminent in the protests, are frustrated by low social mobility and the lack of job opportunities.[10] [11] Many protesters in Hong Kong were under the age of 30, and had received tertiary education.[12] State media in mainland China tend to focus on this reason as the main cause of the protests.
Fear of losing rights and freedoms
An example of Hong Kong losing its freedoms is its steady fall on the Democracy Index. Despite universal suffrage being part of Hong Kong's basic law in the 2019 report Hong Kong scored 6.02/10 classing it as a flawed democracy, being only 0.02 points of a hybrid regime. Hong Kong also only scored 3.59/10 for Electoral process and pluralism, this was the lowest score in the category for a flawed democracy and scoring lower than some authoritarian countries. Hong Kong came 75 out of 167 and China 153 out of 167.[13] [14]
With the approach of 2047, when the Basic Law is set to expire, along with the constitutional guarantees enshrined within it, sentiments of an uncertain future drove youth to join the protests against the extradition bill.[15]
Causeway Bay Books and Xiao Jianhua disappearances
See main article: Causeway Bay Books disappearances and Xiao Jianhua. Even before the proposed 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill, Hong Kong citizens suspected that mainland Chinese personnel engaged in extra-judicial renditions in the Special Administrative Region (SAR), despite such actions being a breach of Basic Law.
In late 2015, Chinese government agents kidnapped the owner and several staff members of Hong Kong-based Causeway Bay Books, a bookstore that sold politically sensitive publications, to the Mainland as suspects in breaking Mainland law. Lam Wing-kee, who was held in solitary confinement for five months and unable to make any phone calls, claims that he had no choice but to co-operate in reading a scripted forced confession of guilt. He was denied legal representation, forced to implicate others in bookselling crimes, and requested to turn over information about anonymous authors and customers. "They wanted to lock you up until you go mad," he said. Upon his release to Hong Kong he went public with the media to tell his story.[16] Because he had no family in mainland China who could be punished, Lam said that it was easier for him to come forward. He said that he had to be courageous: "I thought about it for two nights before I decided [to] tell you all what happened, as originally and completely as I could ... I also want to tell the whole world. This isn't about me, this isn't about a bookstore, this is about everyone."[17]
In 2017, Xiao Jianhua, a billionaire from Mainland China who had resided in Hong Kong, had also been abducted and disappeared.[18]
These incidents are considered as one of the contributing causes of the protests.[19] [20] [21] Critics have stated that the Central Government is "chipping away the independence of [Hong Kong]'s courts and news media." There is also fear that "the authorities will use [the bill] to send dissidents, activists and others in Hong Kong, including foreign visitors, to face trial in mainland courts, which are controlled by the party."[22]
Legislative process of 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill
See main article: 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. The government's attitude on legislating the Hong Kong extradition bill was seen as sparking the protests. The government was viewed as unwilling to budge, despite opposition from various sectors of the community.
For instance, businessmen usually in support of the government opposed the bill.[23] One example was Michael Tien, a legislative councillor. He openly urged Chief Executive Carrie Lam to withdraw the bill in May 2019. He also proposed an alternative route to handle the murder case of Poon Hiu-wing,.[24] He claimed that his proposal received support from the business sector.[25] However, the government proceeded to move the bill forward.
Other sectors also reacted. A record-breaking number of lawyers participated in a silent march against the bill on 6 June.[26]
On 9 June, reportedly over a million citizens demonstrated when the Legislative Council was about to resume the process of the second reading. The demonstration took place since pro-government (and pro-Beijing) lawmakers held a majority in the Legislative Council and would mean the ultimate passage of the bill.[27] The proposed resumption of the second reading sparked the 12 June protest that became a civil conflict.[28] On 15 June, Carrie Lam declared the indefinite suspension of the legislative process.[29] [30] However, from 15 June until 4 September, Lam refused to withdraw the bill. Her reluctance stood against the protesters' demands.
On 23 October the bill was withdrawn but the protests have widened for universal suffrage for Legislative Council and Chief Executive election and the resignation of Carrie Lam.[31] [32]
Accusation of police violence on 12 June protest and subsequent events that related to the police
A range of sectors find the police response to protests to have sustained the movements. These include participants of subsequent protests (those after 9 June),[33] as well as many pan-democrats lawmakers,[34] academicians[35] [36] and critics,[37] [38] [39] although they differ in attributing the size of the responsibility to the force.[36] [39]
Moreover, even Pierre Chan, a legislator that declared his neutrality between the police and protesters in July,[40] participated in an assembly of physicians and nurses that condemned excessive use of police force in August 2019.[41]
Protesters and others highlighted instances where the use of police force was considered excessive.
For example, on 12 June, even though protesters gathered around CITIC Tower, an area where protests were theoretically legal with the issuance from the police of a permit that known officially as the Letter of No Objection,[42] the police still used tear gas pellets.[43] Councillors of the Independent Police Complaints Council later stated that if the use of tear gas was indeed proved, it was unsatisfactory . The actions of the police, at least in part, contributed to the large turnout of the subsequent protest. The organiser claimed that 2 million citizens participated in the march on 16 June, although other sources estimated smaller turnouts. Nevertheless, most sources concluded that it was an all-time high record.[44] [45]
Meanwhile, the negligence of the police and the accused collusion with the criminals during Yuen Long attack on 21 July, had spread the protest into Yuen Long, a satellite town in the New Territories. Under Public Order Ordinance, protests are required to obtain the Letter of No Objection to stage a rally or protest. However, the police instead issued a Letter of Objection days before, declaring any such protests illegal . Nevertheless, many citizens still gathered there. They expressed their criticisms of the police by visiting Yuen Long with excuses such as shopping.[46] Some of the protesters engaged in violent actions during 27 July protest. However, when the protesters were leaving and retreating upon police request, the police also used force to try to arrest protesters. Once again, pan-democrats lawmakers had signed a petition to condemn the violence of the police and accuse the force used by the police during the clearance of the location of nearly engaging in a revenge .[47] They also stated that issuing Letters of Objection would create a vicious circle that only would instigate more citizens to protest.
Indeed, protests did not cease. More and more tear gas were used by the police, as well as the use of bean bag rounds and Rubber bullets. Not only on the Hong Kong Island, the use of force by the police had spread along with the protests, which police had used tear gas in most of the satellite towns of the city. On 5 August protest along, the police had used around 800 rounds of tear gas. Many organisations have criticised the actions of the police from that single day.[48] [49]
The Hong Kong branch of Amnesty International condemned the police behaviour during the events. For example, on 12 August, after more than 2 months of protests (since 9 June, or more than 2 months if counting April protests) and right after the 11 August protests, the branch had declared "Hong Kong police have once again used tear gas and rubber bullets in a way that have fallen short of international standards. Firing at retreating protesters in confined areas where they had little time to leave goes against the purported objective of dispersing a crowd".[50]
Arrested protesters have alleged sexual violence by police officers. Some assembly of the protests were dedicated to the theme of protesting police sexual violence.[51]
All international counsellor of the Independent Police Complaints Council had been withdrew from the commission in protest against the collaboration of IPCC and the police force. One former member, Clifford Stott, published his own version of report, blaming the police had a play in the escalation of violence.[52]
Allegations of foreign influence
The Chinese Central Government accused the protests of being affected by foreign influence.[53] Ip Kwok-him, a former pro-establishment lawmaker of the LegCo and a standing Executive Council member, also made a similar accusation.[54] A senior officer from the HKPF told CNN that "they have seen no evidence that foreign governments financed or inspired the protest movement." in August, during a background briefing to a group of journalists.[55]
Impact
After the June demonstrations, protesters had stated their 5 key demands. One version contained "Implementation of genuine universal suffrage",[56] [57] despite some reported version in June, substituted "universal suffrage" to "Carrie Lam resign"[58] or the reported version just had 4 key demands.[59]
The other 4 key demands were "withdraw the extradition bill"; "officially retract characterisation of the protests as a riot"; "drop charges against protesters"; as well as "launch an independent commission of inquiry into matters relating to the anti-extradition bill protests".
Further reading
Notes and References
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- Dawn Brancati. 2016. Democracy Protests: Origins, Features, and Significance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- News: Hong Kong vetoes China-backed electoral reform proposal. 18 June 2015. 14 August 2019. Reuters. Donny. Kwok. Yimou. Lee. https://web.archive.org/web/20190814111351/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-politics/hong-kong-vetoes-china-backed-electoral-reform-proposal-idUSKBN0OY06320150618. 14 August 2019. live.
- News: Tom. Phillips. Hong Kong authorities block pro-democracy candidate from byelection. The Guardian. 27 January 2018. 13 September 2020.
- Unrest in Hong Kong China's chance. The Economist. 431. 9148. 9. 22 June 2019. limited. 23 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191023233511/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/06/20/to-restore-calm-in-hong-kong-try-democracy. 23 October 2019. live.
- News: Hong Kong risks becoming pawn in trade war with extradition bill . subscription . Tom . Mitchell . Financial Times . 12 June 2019 . 14 August 2019 .
- News: The turmoil in Hong Kong stems in part from its unaffordable housing . 22 August 2019 . The Economist . 25 November 2019. 0013-0613.
- Web site: A lack of affordable housing feeds Hong Kong's discontent. Britt. Clennett. Marco. Jakubec. . 11 August 2019 . 25 November 2019.
- Web site: Hong Kong named world's most expensive city to buy a home. Taylor. Chloe . 12 April 2019. . 25 November 2019.
- Web site: Hong Kong is one of the most unequal cities in the world. So why aren't the protesters angry at the rich and powerful?. Toby. Carroll . . 27 September 2019 . 5 April 2020.
- Web site: Economic discontent a primary force behind Hong Kong unrest, researchers in Singapore say. Toh. Ee Ming . . 9 August 2019 . 4 April 2020.
- Web site: Young, educated and middle class: first field study of Hong Kong protesters reveals demographic trends. Lok-kei. Sum . . 12 August 2019 . 5 April 2020.
- Web site: Hong Kong barely passes as 'flawed democracy'. Standard. The. The Standard. en. 19 February 2020.
- Web site: Democracy Index 2019 A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest. EIU.com. registration. 28 January 2020.
- News: Hong Kong extradition: How radical youth forced the government's hand. Helier. Cheung . . 17 June 2019 . 8 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617102656/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-48655474 . 17 June 2019. live.
- Web site: Wong . Alan . Forsythe . Michael . Jacobs . Andrew . Defying China, Hong Kong Bookseller Describes Detention . The New York Times . 28 August 2019 . 16 June 2016 . Months after he and four other booksellers disappeared from Hong Kong and Thailand, prompting international concern over what critics called a brazen act of extralegal abduction, Mr. Lam stood before a bank of television cameras in Hong Kong and revealed the harrowing details of his time in detention. 'It can happen to you, too,' said Mr. Lam, 61, who was the manager of Causeway Bay Books, a store that sold juicy potboilers about the mainland’s Communist Party leadership. 'I want to tell the whole world: Hong Kongers will not bow down to brute force.' . https://web.archive.org/web/20190909083211/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/world/asia/hong-kong-bookseller-lam-wing-kee.html . 9 September 2019 . live .
- Web site: Joseph . Elizabeth . Hunt . Katie . Missing Hong Kong bookseller: I was kidnapped by Chinese 'special forces' . CNN . 28 August 2019 . 16 June 2016 . Defying China, Lam Wing-kee, who resurfaced earlier this week, spoke publicly about his detention by Chinese authorities at a surprise news conference, according to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK. Lam said he was taken by 'special forces' after crossing the border into mainland China from Hong Kong eight months ago and detained in a small room. A confession he made on Chinese state television was scripted and edited, he added. He said he had been told to return to mainland China on Friday with evidence about to whom his bookstore had been sending banned books. But he said he had decided not to go back and wanted to speak out about what had happened. . https://web.archive.org/web/20190828041722/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/16/asia/china-hong-kong-booksellers/index.html . 28 August 2019 . live .
- News: Lee . Martin . This may be China's worst assault yet on the rule of law in Hong Kong . The Washington Post . 4 September 2019 . 15 May 2019 . ... in January 2017, Chinese Canadian billionaire businessman Xiao Jianhua was abducted in Hong Kong from the Four Seasons Hotel by mainland agents, spirited off to China and not seen since. In 2015, five Hong Kong publishers vanished ... Why were these people abducted? Because there is no extradition law between Hong Kong and China. There is no extradition law because there is no rule of law in China, where the Chinese Communist Party dictates who is innocent and who is guilty. For the same reason, the United States has no extradition arrangements with China (though it does with Hong Kong). . https://web.archive.org/web/20190709075723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/15/this-may-be-chinas-worst-assault-yet-rule-law-hong-kong/ . 9 July 2019 . live .
- News: What's Going On in Hong Kong? What To Know About the Protests. 8 August 2019. 14 August 2019. The New York Times. Daniel. Victor. Alan. Yuhas. limited. https://web.archive.org/web/20190905223251/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/world/asia/hong-kong-protests-explained.html. 5 September 2019. live.
- News: China's history of extraordinary rendition. Jeff. Li. BBC News Chinese. 16 June 2019. 14 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190814121831/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-48634136. 14 August 2019. live.
- News: Surveillance-savvy Hong Kong protesters go digitally dark. 13 June 2019. 14 August 2019. France 24. Agence France-Presse. Hong Kong. https://web.archive.org/web/20190814113015/https://www.france24.com/en/20190613-surveillance-savvy-hong-kong-protesters-go-digitally-dark. 14 August 2019. live.
- News: Hong Kong March: Vast Protest of Extradition Bill Shows Fear of Eroding Freedoms. 9 June 2019. 14 August 2019. The New York Times. Austin. Ramzy. limited. https://web.archive.org/web/20190807075851/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/09/world/asia/hong-kong-extradition-protest.html. 7 August 2019. live.
- Unrest in Hong Kong Carrie on, for now. The Economist. 431. 9148. 23–24. 22 June 2019.
- The murder in Taiwan was the government's stated reason to revise the existing extradition bill to extradite the suspect from Hong Kong to Taiwan.
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- News: 'Record 3,000' Hong Kong lawyers in silent march against controversial extradition bill. 6 June 2019. 16 August 2019. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. https://web.archive.org/web/20190904172450/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3013461/thousands-hong-kong-lawyers-launch-silent-march-against. 4 September 2019. live.
- Despite the pro-government has a majority, it was after the disqualifications of lawmakers and re-election of some of the seats. Moreover, they has a majority in functional constituencies, but almost the same number of seats from geographical constituencies. 5 out of 6 disqualified lawmakers (see above section) were from geographical constituencies. Lastly, Michael Tien was a rogue member of the pro-government camp in the legislation of the extradition bill.
- News: https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e8%a6%81%e8%81%9e/article/20190613/s00001/1560365250077/%e5%8f%8d%e4%bf%ae%e4%be%8b%e8%ae%8a%e4%bd%94%e9%90%98-%e8%ad%a6%e9%96%8b%e6%a7%8d%e5%b0%84%e8%86%a0%e5%bd%88-%e6%9e%97%e9%84%ad%e6%9c%88%e5%a8%a5%e9%87%8d%e7%94%b3%e4%b8%8d%e6%92%a4%e5%9b%9e. zh:反修例變佔鐘 警開槍射膠彈 林鄭月娥重申不撤回. 13 June 2019. 16 August 2019. zh-hk. Ming Pao. Media Chinese International. Hong Kong. limited. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617143043/https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%25E8%25A6%2581%25E8%2581%259E/article/20190613/s00001/1560365250077/%25E5%258F%258D%25E4%25BF%25AE%25E4%25BE%258B%25E8%25AE%258A%25E4%25BD%2594%25E9%2590%2598-%25E8%25AD%25A6%25E9%2596%258B%25E6%25A7%258D%25E5%25B0%2584%25E8%2586%25A0%25E5%25BD%2588-%25E6%259E%2597%25E9%2584%25AD%25E6%259C%2588%25E5%25A8%25A5%25E9%2587%258D%25E7%2594%25B3%25E4%25B8%258D%25E6%2592%25A4%25E5%259B%259E. 17 June 2019. live.
- News: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam suspends extradition bill, but won't apologise for rift it caused or withdraw it altogether. 15 June 2019. 16 August 2019. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. https://web.archive.org/web/20190807004535/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014669/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-backs-down-over-extradition. 7 August 2019. live.
- News: Hong Kong to suspend controversial extradition bill after widespread protests. 15 June 2019. 16 August 2019. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808090323/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-15/hong-kong-to-suspend-controversial-extradition-bill/11213770. 8 August 2019. live.
- News: Hong Kong's 'dead' extradition bill finally buried as government formally withdraws it. 23 September 2019. 23 September 2019. South China Morning Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20191023112817/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3034263/hong-kong-government-officially-withdraws-extradition-bill. 23 October 2019. live.
- News: Violence is escalating in Hong Kong. Here are three possible outcomes. Shao. Grace. 29 July 2019. 29 July 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190729060918/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/29/violence-is-escalating-in-hong-kong-here-are-three-potential-outcomes.html. 29 July 2019. CNBC.
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