Since late September, Hong Kong has been gripped by pro-democracy protests that subsequently paralyzed parts of the city and have led many to wonder what effect they will have on mainland China. The mass protests are actually being led by young people and students, and they are centered on the city’s financial and government district. Protesters are understandably calling for more democracy and the right to choose Hong Kong’s top political leader in the 2017 elections without the continued interference from the Chinese government. When the protests began, the streets were filled with tens of thousands of people.
Student leaders and protesters first gained sympathy from supporters of democracy in Hong Kong and around the world on Sept. 28 when police used tear gas and riot control tactics on demonstrators, according to The Economist. This continued on Oct. 3 when pro-government thugs were seen provoking scuffles with protesters. Since then, violent clashes between protesters and police have subsided for the most part, and the government has agreed to talks with demonstrators. However, Hong Kong and Chinese officials continue to show they are unwilling to make any concessions.
In recent days there have been fewer demonstrators in the streets as many had grown too tired or too dispirited to carry on. However, after a series of talks scheduled for Friday, Oct. 10, between protesters and the government were cancelled, leaders of the student movement called on supporters to return to the streets, according to a BBC News report.
“Come to occupy the road outside the public headquarters, come bring your tents to show our persistence on long term occupy action,” said Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old founder of the Scholarism movement, to BBC news.
The activists are now hoping for a new show of strength by protestors in order to sustain the movement. This movement, which aims to bring more political independence to Hong Kong, is now at a stalemate with the central government in Beijing, and it has set up a tense standoff in which neither side seems willing to budge.
There are a number of factors that have led to the current level of protests. An important historical factor is Hong Kong’s long tradition of protesting. Hong Kong is a small, semi-autonomous city-state that enjoys limited democracy and some independence from China. However, the Chinese government still has significant control over Hong Kong’s political affairs. The people of Hong Kong have protested every year since 1989 in order to commemorate the student movement of that year and, more importantly, to protest against various aspects of their status in the People’s Republic of China.
Many of the protest’s leaders and activists are extremely young. The students have certainly come out ahead of the older activists in these demonstrations. Recently, the Hong Kong economy has become more dependent on the Chinese mainland, and, as a result, the people’s identities have become increasingly unique. People in Hong Kong wish to maintain their own identities for the most part. Over time, that conviction has increased in response to the connections to the mainland.
These demonstrations have led many to wonder if they will spread to mainland China and how the Chinese government will respond to them. I would argue, these protests will most likely not spread to China in the short term. You will possibly see a small number of intellectuals, dissidents and students showing sympathy for the protests. However, there is little coordination among these people in China for similar protests, and, not to mention, protesting and freedom of expression is prohibited by the communist Chinese government.
Furthermore, I feel there is not much sympathy from the people in mainland China at the moment. For a number of years, relations between the mainland and Hong Kong have not been great on a societal level to say the least. On the other hand, allowing people in Hong Kong to vote for their chief executive will lead people in China to ask, “Why should a person in China not have the same rights as a person in Hong Kong?”
Beijing will surely not bow down to these student-led protests. They will see this situation as a crucial test of their authority over the small territory of Hong Kong. I would argue that it is very unlikely that they will budge on any of the big issues, such as allowing the people of Hong Kong to choose their own candidates for the chief executive position. They may compromise somewhat on how the nominations of the chief executive take place; however, that may be a stretch. Nonetheless, if these protests in Hong Kong continue, the pressure on the Chinese government will continue to grow as well.