Over the past two weeks, the streets of Hong Kong have been racked with protests on a scale rarely seen. By some accounts, more than 2 million people participated, over a quarter of Hong Kong’s population of 7 million.
The cause of the massive unrest was a proposed law that would allow accused criminals to be extradited to China. Protesters knew what that meant. Anyone in Hong Kong who was critical of the Chinese regime would end up in Chinese prison camps, instead of having a chance at what remains of due process within Hong Kong.
On the surface, China’s response to the protests in Hong Kong has been mild. This should come as no surprise. The regime knows that sending in the tanks, the way it did after losing patience with the occupiers of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, would not work in Hong Kong. Over 150 years of British rule gave Hong Kong residents a familiarity with democracy and respect for individual rights—and an intolerance for tyranny. When Hong Kong was turned back over to China in 1997, the expectation was that these rights would be preserved under the concept of “one nation, two systems.” But as ever, the Chinese are playing the long game.
Beijing has operatives embedded in Hong Kong’s police and security services. They have control over local gangsters. They have installed pervasive surveillance technology. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, is a puppet of the Chinese regime, and while her political career may not survive the current unrest, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council is full of Chinese puppets. Slowly but relentlessly, China’s regime will identify and silence dissidents in Hong Kong. It may take decades, but China has implacable resolve. The goal is to turn Hong Kong into just another Chinese city.
So what does it mean to be Chinese in the 21st century?
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11.29.2024