Blog by Kei Sze

Freedom of speech, the rule of law and liberties are among the core values of Hong Kong which are protected by the basic law and the one country two system policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping. However, with increasing political interventions from mainland China, lots of people have lost faith in the current system and the future of Hong Kong. With the social, political and economic issues and problems in Hong Kong, young people have chosen to express their anger and frustration through radical protests and bloody riots. Lots of radical ideas such as Hong Kong independence have emerged recently, to be more precise, after the 2014 Umbrella Movement. A lot of factors have led to the conclusion that more and more Hong Kong people have turned radical.

A terrorist is radical but a radical is not necessarily a terrorist. Radicals are often seen as a threat to the well-being of the society as some radicals support the uses of extreme violence. Yet, some radical demands of the nineteenth century have become mainstream today. We can define the word ‘radicalisation’ as a process by which a group of people or an individual adopt extreme ideas that challenge the roots of the system and aim to change the status quo fundamentally.

There is no single reason that can fully explain the rise of radicalism in Hong Kong. What we can do, though, is to identify some of the major factors contributing to it. From my own perspective, the main reason is the increasing distrust between the Chinese government and the people of Hong Kong. Deng XiaoPeng, the former president of China, promised Hong Kong people that they will enjoy a high degree of autonomy and can continue the same way of life they had enjoyed under British rule. Seemingly direct and obvious interventions from Beijing such as the abduction of Hong Kong citizens (“disappearance” of booksellers) in Hong Kong have, however, led to “the rise of ‘anti-China’ sentiment and anxiety about the “mainlandisation” of Hong Kong. Some might feel that the Chinese authority violates their rights and breaks the promise not to change the Hong Kong system for fifty years. Thus, the rise of localism and nativism. However, the main question remains: how do young people become radicalised?

The distrust from Beijing has further increased the hostility and resistance against the PRC (People’s Republic of China), which also contributed to radicalisation in Hong Kong. According to article 45 of Basic Law, “[…] the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures” (Basiclaw.gov.hk, 2017). The people of Hong Kong were promised to elect their Chief executive via universal suffrage in 2017, which is a decision made in 2007. However, the Beijing government announced that “Chief Executive shall be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong” (South China Morning Post, 2017). Without a doubt, Hong Kong people think that we have lost control over our city as China is slowly but surely extending its power over Hong Kong issues.

Logo of the Umbrella Movement

The unsolved economic issues, dissatisfaction with the government and with decisions made in Beijing concerning the election of the Chief executive have built up, leading directly to the second largest protest seen in Hong Kong. The umbrella movement consists of the traditional “mild” activities like sit-ins and hunger strikes, which are often seen as ineffective. Unfortunately, the police brutality against unarmed students caused even more activists to rethink the tactics of non-violent resistance. Add to this the fact that the government chose to ignore the opinions of their people, a lot of radical localist political parties have formed and came into power after the Occupy Central movement.

According to Kwong, the radical localists “[…] believe that taking violent action is a method to force the authorities to provide real universal suffrage and put the interests of Hong Kong people first” (Kwong, 2017). All the anger and hatred towards the authority, the police, in particular, are the driving force behind the recent Mong Kok Riots. The trigger point is the crackdown on illegal hawkers in Mong Kok at the start of the Chinese New year. A group of young people from radical localist parties such as Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous stood up and defended what they see as the vital Hong Kong’s traditions. They hope to defend the “identity and dignity of Hong Kong” (Kwong, 2017) from Beijing and authorities.

Although most mainstream media and pro-Beijing camps have strongly condemned their violent acts and radical ideas, the radical localists gained plenty of followers, and it is shown in the 2015 legislative council election. “Edward Leung represented Hong Kong Indigenous and won 15.32 percent or 66,524 votes cast in the election”(Lam, 2017). A survey conducted recently also showed that 15.9% of Hong Kong people “thought that radical action, including blocking traffic and provoking clashes, was the only way to force the government to respond to people’s demands”(Kwong, 2017).

Some radical ideas that fundamentally oppose the ongoing system such as Hong Kong independence, return to British rule, self-determination and Hong Kong independence have been circulating in the society, especially among the young. These separatist ideas will only further increase the tensions and mistrust between Beijing and Hong Kong. The stronger the resistances are the more interventions in Hong Kong affairs from Beijing. A vicious cycle has been formed and it seems to be unbreakable. Hong Kong will need a strong and open-minded political leader that can unite the people and build mutual trust among different camps. Unfortunately, Beijing has hand-picked Carrie Lam, though, as the next chief executive after CY Leung, which received a record low public support ratings. In terms of popularity, it is a difficult start for her as “more Hongkongers oppose than want her as Hong Kong leader” (Ng, 2017).

From my perspective, the ultimate solution will be a constitutional reform. The introduction of universal suffrage for both legislative council and chief executive would be effective as real choices are given to the people (Kwong, 2017). Without any concession from Beijing, the anti-China sentiment will only further build up and the society will continue to be trapped in this vicious cycle. In such as tense atmosphere, a little event may result in another violent “state-society conflict” in the future.

References

Basiclaw.gov.hk. (2017). Basic Law Full Text – chapter (4).  [Accessed 25 April 2017].
Hong Kong’s umbrella revolution – the Guardian briefing | World news | The Guardian [Accessed 22 May 17]
Kwong, Y. (2017). STATE-SOCIETY CONFLICT RADICALIZATION IN HONG KONG: THE RISE OF ‘ANTI-CHINA’ SENTIMENT AND RADICAL LOCALISM. Asian Affairs, [Accessed 19 April 2017].
Lam, J. (2017). Despite by-election victory, Hong Kong’s pan-democrats face tough road ahead to city-wide polls in September. [online] South China Morning Post. [Accessed 25 April 2017].
Ng, E. (2017). ‘Difficult start’ for Carrie Lam as more Hongkongers oppose than want her as Hong Kong leader | Hong Kong Free Press. [online] Hong Kong Free Press.  [Accessed 25 April 2017].
One Country, Two Systems.  [Accessed 22 May 17].
South China Morning Post. (2017). Full text: NPC Standing Committee decision on Hong Kong 2017 election framework. South China Morning Post  [Accessed 25 Apr. 2017].

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