Protests Disrupt Inauguration of New Hong Kong Chief Executive

Since assuming political control over Hong Kong in 1997, the Chinese government has found itself subject to frequent criticism from pro-democracy advocates who argue that its policies have curtailed the political freedom of Hong Kongers. Nevertheless, despite these setbacks, the island remains one of the few areas of China's sovereign domain where individuals can gather in protest without being swiftly repressed by the government.

This reality was on full display this past Sunday, when somewhere between 82,000 and 400,000 Hong Kongers marked the inauguration of new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying by taking to the streets in protest. The demonstrations, which also coincided with the fifteenth anniversary of the British handover of Hong Kong to the Mainland, were spurred in large part by popular discontent regarding the Chinese government's refusal to implement promised democratic reforms on the island. A particular point of concern has been the method used to select Hong Kong's Chief Executive, which many Hong Kongers view as inherently designed to select a pro-Mainland candidate. Under this system, the Chief Executive is not directly elected by the general population, but rather, is chosen by "a so-called electoral college of 1,200 business leaders and other influential citizens, mostly loyal to Beijing."

The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has previously pledged that Hong Kongers would be able to participate in full democratic elections for the Chief Executive by 2017, but these promises have been looked upon dubiously by outside observers, who question Beijing's actual level of commitment to democratic reforms. As Augustine Tan pointed out in a 2008 editorial for The Asian Times:

As yet there is nothing certain about any of these moves because they are subject to further discussions, amendments to electoral laws and agreement on how to go about all these matters...The only certainty is that Hong Kong will get exactly Beijing wants it to have, which is exactly zilch.

Certainly, when analyzing the Hong Kong situation from the PRC's perspective, it is easy to see why Beijing's commitment to democratization has been less than full-fledged. Over the years, the Communist Party has repeatedly demonstrated that it views democracy as a mortal threat to its political survival. In this context, the last thing that Beijing would want is a vibrant democracy just off its southeastern coast, serving as a potential example to politically dissatisfied Chinese on the Mainland.

Moreover, China has an additional incentive to stall democratic progress on the island for as long as possible. Hong Kong is currently governed according to the principles of the Basic Law, a legal document jointly drafted by the British and Mainland governments prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the PRC. Article 5 of the Basic Law states that, "The socialist system and policies shall not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years." Therefore, though it can be assumed that Hong Kongers will retain some degree of political freedom until 2047, what will happen after the fifty-year threshold is far more uncertain.

Nonetheless, pro-democracy advocates should be somewhat encouraged by the Hong Kong population's response to its political grievances. The scope of the protests demonstrates an island with a strong civil society, and casts a degree of doubt on the idea that the PRC could somehow stonewall Hong Kong's democratization for another 35 years. If nothing else, news of these protests may help to plant the seeds of such civic engagement on the Mainland, as NPR illustrated in its analysis of the protests:

 ... [M]ainland tourists were in awe at the huge turnout [at the protest] and the number of different issues represented, ranging from protecting Hong Kong's freedoms to workers' rights to concerns over the role of local authorities in the death of Chinese dissident Li Wangying, who officials said hanged himself..."This is extremely good," said a 26-year-old mainland tourist, who gave his name as Mr. Li. "I'm very moved. I'd very much like to live in this place."