Opinion Give and take
Law that sparked Hong Kong protests has been withdrawn, opening up space for dialogue.
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Over three months, the protests have grown into an anti-China, pro-democracy movement.
In June, as the protests in Hong Kong gathered momentum, the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, suspended the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. As of Wednesday, the Bill stands withdrawn. The proposed law, which would have allowed those accused of criminal activity in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China, was the tinder that sparked the protests which have challenged the authority of the Chinese state.
Lam addressed another key demand of the protestors — the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into the use of force by the police against protestors. The question now is whether these steps are too little and have come too late.
Over three months, the protests have grown into an anti-China, pro-democracy movement. The extradition law was seen as an attack on the “one country, two systems” formula that has allowed Hong Kong to maintain its special status and autonomy since it acceded to China in 1997.
While the protestors have attacked symbols of the Chinese state — its flag, emblem, etc — the police and Chinese authorities have called them rioters and accused them of showing “signs of terrorism”.
The authorities have also been accused of brutality by the protesters. Two of the major demands of the protestors — amnesty for those arrested during the protests and direct elections for the chief executive’s office — remain bones of contention. What the current concessions by Lam, backed by the Chinese government, provide is an opportunity for the protesters to take their movement from the streets to the negotiating table.
Throughout the current protests, the spectre of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 has lurked in the background. Then, as now, the Chinese economy and party-state was in a period of transition, and a popular protest for democracy challenged the government and communist party’s dominance. While Beijing has engaged in muscular rhetoric, it has also affirmed its commitment to “one country, two systems”. For the Chinese government as well as the leadership of the protests, it is important to realise the impact of the disruption of the last three months. According to IHS Markit Hong Kong, which tracks private business activity in the city, private sector activity is the lowest it has been since 2009, when the city was reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis.
Beijing must now use the subtlety of state-craft, of listening and give and take, not speak the language of force. A sustained dialogue in and about Hong Kong is the only route to normalcy.
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