Would the Sunflower Movement Hong Kong Edition Be the Turning Point for the Future of Mainland-Hong Kong Relations?

 Would the Sunflower Movement Hong Kong Edition Be the Turning Point for the Future of Mainland-Hong Kong Relations?

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

July 3, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

On the 22^nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, 550,000 Hong Kongers routinely held a rally; this year’s theme followed the anti-repatriation movement, demanding "withdraw the vicious amendment bill, Carrie Lam step down." However, outside the rally, the protests and demonstrations escalated and expanded, not only blocking the proceedings of the celebration ceremony, but even ramming and occupying the Legislative Council, virtually a Taiwan Sunflower Movement redux. What is worthy of concern is that the tradition of Hong Kongers’ peaceful protests, finally, under the influence of Beijing's intervention in their autonomy, took a step toward violence; the protesters issued a manifesto of protest, demanding the dissolution of the Legislative Council, implementing direct elections, directly challenging Beijing.

The ramming and occupying of the Legislative Council lasted for more than half a day; the Hong Kong police did not, as it did last time, use tear gas and other means for aggressive dispersion. After the crowds entered the building, the police suddenly withdrew. In the following three hours, hundreds of people sprayed paint on the walls and vandalized equipment; then the Hong Kong police started to clear the building. However, the violence apparently harmed the social support for the movement. The British Foreign Secretary and EU foreign official made their stance known that they supported Hong Kongers seeking freedom, but demanding that the protesters exercise self-restraint, rejecting any violent acts. The president of the Barristers Union, a pro-democracy camp, also criticized that the violent acts of the protesters undermined the rule of law in Hong Kong.

For many years, Beijing has massively compressed Hong Kong's freedom of speech and room for participation in politics, hindering the development of civil society; the Hong Kong government allows demonstrations in order to release the pressure, but it does not face squarely the true vox populi, leading to increasingly fierce protests and demonstrations. What is even more worrisome is that the protesters mostly belonged to the post-return generation, with some of them surprisingly considering the governance during the British colonial rule as a paradigm, believing that it had a progressive value superior to China’s authoritarian system. Not only did Hong Kong independence elements hoist former Hong Kong flags with the Union Jack, the crowds that rammed and occupied the Legislative Council also displayed this symbol of authority for former colonial government.

Turmoil alternates in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Beijing authorities must face squarely that Hong Kong society, because of political conflicts, evolved into a crisis of national identity, never again allowing old social wounds to bleed again and again into scars becoming sorrows of the times, permeating into the future. When Hong Kong is no longer Hong Kong, China will also suffer from its consequences; not only would the world harbor more misgivings about the rise of China, but the factor of the turmoil in Hong Kong would also become baggage for governance. The Beijing authorities ought to ponder if Hong Kong has adequate democracy and pluralistic flexibility, China can have more time to rise and turn with ease.

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