Some things cannot be taken away from Hongkongers’. Read on to understand more about the recent protest in Hong Kong.
Protests, undeniably, are the outcry of citizens’ hunger for change in the country. We’ve seen it in the movies…
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And even in our own country.
And recently, on June 9th, our neighbouring country had one of its own to protest against the controversial China Extradition Bill. Now, for many newbies, extradition may be a big word. So, what does it mean to extradite? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, to extradite means:
To make someone return for trial to another country or state where they have been accused of doing something illegal
Aaahh… we get it now. Sort of. If you’re still confused, read on as we break it down for you more about the recent Hong Kong protest:
1. You can never take Hong Kong out of the Hongkongers
Once a Hongkonger, always a Hongkonger. Hongkongers stands true-blue to their national identity. You’ll probably understand more of this sense of identity in them once you understand Hong Kong’s history:
Hong Kong was under the British Colonial rule for as long as 156 years. These were also Hong Kong’s glorious years as it turned into a prosperous business hub. It was only until July 1st 1997 that Hong Kong was handed over to China.
Wait… so is Hong Kong a part of China, or not? Not exactly. Hong Kong was handed over to China on one condition: that citizens of Hong Kong can still have the right to enjoy certain rights, like freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. This means that citizens of Hong Kong can enjoy the concept of “One Country, Two Systems”.
To protect the Hong Kong identity, several protests has also happened before including the infamous 2014 Umbrella Movement that had the country on a standstill for 79 days.
2. The 2019 protest is the largest protest since 1997
Hong Kong city was covered in a sea of black in a three-times-a-week mass protest. The first that started on June 9th 2019 had one in seven of the Hong Kong population marched in the protest, with more than 1 million protestors. Citizens of Hong Kong swarmed the rally wearing black and carrying banners that say: “Stop Killing Us”, “No Extradition!” and “Don’t Shoot Our Kids!”.
The second, that happened on a Wednesday (June 12) night was a more violent one. Tens of thousands of youths gathered at the city’s government headquarters in hopes that the government will postpone the debate on the bill.
The rally ended up with up to 150 rounds of tear gas being fired and 11 people arrested.
The third rally that happened on June 16th, 2019 had double the amount of protestors as compared to the first one! Up to 2 million protestors marched at the Victoria Park with black and white ribbons on their chest. Although this time, it had a lesser police presence.
The rallies only served two purposes: to withdraw the bill completely and to have Chief Executive Carrie Lam to step down.
3. Hearing from both sides of the coin
It is certainly unfair to hear from just one side of the protest, so let’s hear it from the pro-Beijing side! In Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam’s point of view, the bill that was proposed in February, actually sparked from good intentions. Taking in reference of a murder case in Taiwan, where the alleged murderer, who is from Hong Kong, fled from Taiwan to Hong Kong.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam mentioned to avoid Hong Kong from being a “haven” for suspected criminals, the extradition bill was then introduced. However, in the critics’ point of view, this blurs the boundaries of the special privilege that Hong Kong has since 1997 (We knew that history lesson in the beginning would come in handy!), which by the way, Hong Kong would only completely go into the hands of China by 2047.
This certainly is a promise that shouldn’t be broken, let alone, touched.
4. Not much of a peaceful assembly
More than 23,000 of citizens have signed a petition against excessive violence on citizens who have participated in the assembly. Until now, at least 32 people have been arrested.
This stumbling block wasn’t enough to bring Hong Kong-ers down. Even taking measures digitally, a 22-year-old student who was a group admin to a Telegram group that was created to share information regarding the protest, was also arrested.
5. Sparking International Concerns
International countries like the U.S, Britain and Canada have also shown similar concerns to the Hongkongers in regards to the extradition bill stating that it could have potential effects on the autonomy privileges of Hong Kong.
6. It’s too late to apologize
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has since made two apologies: One, through a press release on June 15th, which states that the bill will be suspended and the second, a public apology, on June 18th. However, it wasn’t enough for Hongkongers (the June 16th protest was an obvious reaction) as they will not stop until the bill is withdrawn completely.
A person can really do whatever it takes for the love of one’s country. Let’s just hope and pray that it will come into a peaceful conclusion.
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