Opinion | Reports of Hong Kong’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
With China now firmly in control of LegCo, the physique will quickly be indistinguishable from the National People’s Congress in Beijing: one other rubber-stamping organ of the Chinese Communist Party.
That was all the time the sport plan. As I’ve written before, imperial China had a observe of incrementally absorbing recalcitrant peoples on its periphery earlier than absolutely subjugating them. This historical precedent is the prototype for what is going on in Hong Kong in the present day: The “one country, two systems” precept supposedly meant to guard town’s semi-autonomy till 2047 actually was designed to deliver in regards to the seamless convergence of Hong Kong’s system with China’s. What took some dynasties a number of centuries to perform, the Chinese Communist Party hopes to realize in only a few a long time.
But authoritarian repression solely engenders extra resistance, seen or not.
A brand new wave of pro-democracy activists who reduce their enamel on the 2014 Umbrella Revolution have turned the legacy motion on its head. They junked the “loyal opposition” idea and, specifically after their calls for for true common suffrage went unanswered, many started to embrace numerous separatist stances, claiming that “Hong Kong Is Not China.”
As an ascendant motion, this new wave has borne the brunt of the federal government’s crackdown in recent times. Members who clamored for outright independence for Hong Kong had been the primary to be barred from contesting LegCo elections; those that might run and had been elected had been then banned from taking workplace or later removed. Many of the extra distinguished activists have since been arrested, or have gone underground or into exile.
This motion just isn’t simple to acknowledge; it’s too fluid for that (Bruce Lee’s admonition, “Be water,” is one of its mottos). It has no chief and no identify. And it’s resilient and combative, younger however steely and already battle-tested.
What will this pro-democracy vanguard do now that repression is each relentless and mundane?
It will most likely appear like numerous opposition actions in different authoritarian states, comparable to Poland from 1939 to 1990 (first towards fascism, then Communism) or Taiwan under Kuomintang rule (1945-87): An underground department in Hong Kong will quietly bide its time whereas gaining energy; a extra vocal abroad department will canvass worldwide assist.
Hong Kong’s new pro-democracy motion could also be small, however it’s critically necessary, combating on the entrance strains towards an aggressively increasing China. It can be full of life and ingenuity: Even with all these Chinese huge weapons educated on it, it is going to survive.
Yi-zheng Lian, a commentator on Hong Kong and Asian affairs, is a professor of economics and a contributing opinion author.
