HONG KONG PROTEST 2014

BACKGROUNG

Ø  After the Second World War, the trend of decolonization swept across the world. Still, Britain chose to keep Hong Kong for strategic reasons. In order to consolidate her rule, constitutional changes, the Young Plan, were proposed in response to the trend of decolonization so as to meet the needs of the people.

Ø  In 1982, the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, hoped that the increasing openness of the PRC government and the economic reform in the mainland would allow the continuation of British rule. The resulting meeting led to the signing of Sino-British Joint Declaration and the proposal of the one country, two systems concept by Deng Xiaoping.

Ø  "One Country, Two Systems", also officially translated as "One China, Two Systems", is a constitutional principle 

·         formulated by Deng Xiaoping, the Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC), for the reunification of China during the early 1980s.

·         There would be only one China, but distinct Chinese regions such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan could retain their own capitalist economic and political systems, while the rest of China uses the socialist system.

·          Under the principle, each of the three regions could continue to have its own political system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including external relations with foreign countries. Taiwan could continue to maintain its own military force.

Ø  On 4 April 1990, the Hong Kong Basic Law was officially accepted as the mini-constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after the handover. The pro-Beijing bloc welcomed the Basic Law, calling it the most democratic legal system to ever exist in the PRC. The pro-democratic bloc criticised it as not democratic enough.

Ø  Relations with the PRC government in Beijing became increasingly strained, as Patten introduced democratic reforms that increased the number of elected members in the Legislative Council.

Ø  This caused considerable annoyance to the PRC, which saw this as a breach of the Basic Law.

Ø   On 1 July 1997 Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China by the United Kingdom.

Ø  Hong Kong would retain responsibility for its own domestic affairs including, but not limited to, the judiciary and courts of last resort, immigration and customs, public finance, currency, and extradition.^]Articles 45 and 68 of this constitution prescribed that the Chief Executive would eventually be elected through universal suffrage.

2014 HONG KONG PROTESTS

Ø  The 2014 Hong Kong protests, also referred to as the Umbrella Revolution, began in September 2014

Ø  When anti-government advocates in Hong Kong protested outside the government headquarters and occupied several major city intersections after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) announced its decision on proposed electoral reform.

Ø   Instead of allowing civil nominations, the NPCSC made it clear that a nomination committee would elect up to three electoral candidates for the general public to vote upon.

Ø   After the election, the Chief Executive elected would have to be formally appointed by the central government before officially taking the post.

Ø  The Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism (Hong Kong student activist group formed on 29 May 2011 by a group of secondary school students) began protesting outside the government headquarters on 22 September 2014 in favor of public nominations.

Ø   On the evening of 26 September, several hundred demonstrators breached a security barrier and entered the forecourt of the Central Government Complex, which has been barred from public entry since July 2014.

Ø  Officers cordoned off protesters within the courtyard and restricted their movement overnight, eventually removing them by force the next day, including student leader Joshua Wong, who was eventually detained for more than 40 hours.

Ø  Occupy Central announced that they would begin their civil disobedience campaign immediately.( Occupy Central  is a civil disobedience campaign initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Hong Kong, and advocated by Occupy Central with Love and Peace.)

Ø   On 28 September, the protesters marched onto Harcourt Road and proceeded to occupy Queensway as well, blocking both east-west arterial routes in northern Hong Kong Island. After a several hour standoff, police attempted to disperse the protesters with pepper spray and tear gas.

Ø  As of October 2014, the government has set a 'deadline day' in which they say they will clear the streets of protestors; the protestors have stated that they are up for negotiations, but there has been no comment about conceding to the government.