A Fight for Freedom: Hong Kong Protest

Since June 2019, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered on the streets of Hong Kong to protest against the extradition law. Leaders of China and Hong Kong have come to an agreement in the new extradition bill, where alleged criminals in Hong Kong will be sent to Beijing, China. This agreement brought fear and enraged the citizens of Hong Kong as they argue the bill will undermine their independence.

In the past weeks, conflicts between the police and protestors have become more frequent and violent. The police have been taking an increasingly violent approach in stopping the protesters by firing tear gas and water cannons; but this hasn’t stopped the protestors. They have continued fighting back using umbrellas to protect themselves from the water cannons. From these fights, the police have detained many Hong Kong citizens who were found in possession of offensive weapons, assaulting the police officers.

In addition, there are many controversial remarks about Hong Kong leaders since the citizens don’t have a say in who their leader is. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is selected by a small committee and is approved by China. Although they are the leaders of Hong Kong, laws are made by the Legislative Council (LegCo). Within the LegCo, almost one-third of the political parties are pro-China and the other two-thirds are pro-democracy. The structure of the Legislative Council greatly benefits Beijing since the executive branch will easily have control over it. Moreover, when Hong Kong was handed over to China by the British in 1997, they made an agreement where the people of Hong Kong would eventually be able to vote for their own leaders. This is still not the case today.

This protest has also affected people on a global scale. There are many Chinese immigrants all over the world. Some of the many rallies around the world took place in New York and Washington with hundreds of Hong Kong protesters demanding the extradition bill to be scrapped. They also demanded for the resignation of Hong Kong leader, Carrie Lam. Additional countries that have Hong Kong citizens participating in the protest are Britain, Germany, France, Australia.

Junior Chloe I. who is from Hong Kong and occasionally travels back, stated that “the Hong Kong protests [doesn’t] affect me that much but it can get quite inconvenient at times. It is especially inconvenient for many people when the roads and MTR are blocked off, but luckily I haven’t experienced any inconveniences regarding transportation.” Some inconveniences Chloe I. had were that she had “appointments at places like Causeway Bay and Mongkok,” but had to cancel the appointment since those places were the “hotspots for protesting.” In addition, Chloe I. also witnessed one of the riots happening in a mall near where she lives and “was shocked because [she] never thought [she] would see the riots in real life.”