Hong Kong’s Protests Have Become About a Lot More Than an Extradition Bill

The ongoing battle with Hong Kong’s police and pro-democracy protesters saw a violent weekend of three consecutive days of protesting, during which each party resorted to violence against the other. The latest in a string of clashes had police firing rubber bullets and tear gas, while anti-government protesters divided into groups and stormed the busiest points of the city, including Central Hong Kong and Causeway Bay.

This was the eighth consecutive weekend of protests on the island, which started off regarding an extradition bill that would have allowed fugitives from Hong Kong to be sent to Beijing to have their verdicts decided. The protests have since expanded to address citizens’ calls for increased democratic rights. What appears to have been a frequent occurrence in the past few weeks has escalated significantly in the standoff between protesters and the police. The demands of protesters have taken new shape as they berate China’s involvement in Hong Kong’s domestic affairs. Much of their anger is directed at the attitude of the government, lawmakers, and the police.

While Beijing-appointed leader Carrie Lam has suspended the extradition bill, she has not formally withdrawn it. Protestors are no longer as fixated on this development since their demands have broadened to include an independent investigation into the behavior of the police – particularly in regards to the attacks in Yuen Long, where protesters were attacked by alleged thugs. During this outburst of violence, police were visibly absent and slow to respond to citizens calling for help. This has led protesters to believe that the police have failed to protect not only them, but ordinary citizens as well.

The pro-democracy demonstrators have also called for Lam to resign. Lam was elected by a mostly pro-Beijing committee chosen by just 6 percent of Hong Kong’s eligible voters, according to the BBC. While she has allegedly offered to step down, Beijing has insisted that she “stay to clean up the mess she created.” This has further enraged Hong Kongers in the quest for autonomy since Hong Kong is technically a ‘Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China’ which supposedly has autonomy and a separate political system.

In response to the growing violence and peak of tensions, the Chinese government is now making a rare move: the Beijing office responsible for Hong Kong and Macau affairs will deliver its first briefing on the issue on July 29 at 3 PM local time. They have not yet made any formal announcement in regards to the Hong Kong protests. More than that, this is Beijing’s first news conference addressing Hong Kong and its politics since 1997, when British colonial rule in the area ended.

The catalyst in it all is Beijing’s power over Hong Kong, which citizens fear is only increasing. This concern has undoubtedly become the main driving force behind the current unrest.

“Even Carrie Lam’s resignation and universal suffrage aren’t going to resolve the crisis in Hong Kong,” Oscar Cheung, a protester in his twenties, told Bloomberg. “The truth is China is having a tighter and tighter grip on Hong Kong and our rights.”

Infographic by Statista.

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