History

The  British  took  over  HongKong  in  late  1800s  when  China  lost  a  series  of  wars  to  Britain  and 
as  a  result  ended  up  ceding  it  for  a  period  of  99  years.  HongKong  remained  a  British  colony 
until 1997, when British gave it back to China under a special agreement. 
This  agreement  was  called  “  One  Country,  Two  Systems”.  It  made  Hongkong  a  “special 
administrative  region”  Under  this  arrangement,  HongKong  would  maintain  “a  high  degree  of 
autonomy”  as  well  as  democratic  freedoms  like  the  right  to  vote,  freedom  of  speech,freedom 
of  the  press,assembly.  This  policy  made  it  very  different  from  China,  where  citizens dont have 
the  same  freedoms.  However  this  agreement  is  only  valid for 50 years and in 2047, HongKong 
is expected to fully become a part of China . 

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 
Hong  Kong’s  Basic  Law  say  that  Hong  Kong  is  supposed  to  administer  itself.  But  the 
arrangement  also  gives China the power to appoint Hong Kong’s chief executive, “on the basis 
of  the  results  of  elections  or  consultations  to  be  held locally.” An election committee, currently 
of  about  1,200  people,  votes  and  selects  the  chief  executive.However  the  committee  is 
stocked  with  Beijing  loyalists​,  which  means whoever wins is more or less the candidate Beijing 
wants to win. 

The  pro-democracy  uprising  that  has  rocked  Hong Kong for the past several months began as 

a  protest  against  proposed  amendments  to  Hong  Kong’s  extradition  law​.The  amendments 
were  prompted  by the gruesome case of a Hong Kong man who was accused of murdering his 
pregnant  girlfriend while they were in Taiwan in 2018. The suspect, Chan Tong-kai, fled back to 
Hong  Kong  and  because  Hong  Kong  doesn’t  have  a  formal  extradition  treaty  with  Taiwan,  he 
couldn’t  be  sent  back  to  face  trial.The  Hong  Kong  government seized on this case and used it 
as  the  rationale  to  propose  amendments  that  would  allow  case-by-case  extraditions  to 
countries including China that lack formal extradition treaties with Hong Kong. 

People  were  worried  that  China  would  take  advantage  of  this  law  to  arbitrarily  detain 
Hongkongers  —  such  as  those  who  openly  dissent  against  the  Chinese  government.  The 
amendments  would  apply  retroactively​,  meaning  thousands  of  people  who  may  have  angered 
mainland China with a supposed past crime could be at risk of facing trial there. 

Current Scenario
Over the past ten weeks, the situation in Hong Kong has become increasingly tense. The broad
protests, which on one occasion totaled roughly two million people, initially demanded scrapping
of the extradition bill. The city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, eventually suspended the bill
indefinitely calling bill “dead” but she has refused to formally withdraw it.

Incidents of police violence have added fuel to the fire. Incidents of police brutality, including
reports of excessive use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and other weapons have exacerbated
tensions between protesters and police. Fueled by anger toward the police, as well as the slow
erosion of civil liberties, the largely leaderless protests have morphed into a broader, more
complicated movement: about protecting freedoms, democracy and Hong Kong’s autonomy.

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It is more than just about a bill. It is about the status of hongkong and the power
China has over it . it is a fight to preserve the freedom people have here. China
and hongkong are two very different places with a very complex political
relationship.

Extradition bill threatens to give China more power over Hongkong .

Hongkong operates as semi autonomous region

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