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Beijing Threatened by Hong Kong Street Protests
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
September 30, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Since returning Hong Kong from British rule to
Communist China July 1, 1997, Beijing’s heavy-handed government kept its
distance, promising to let Hong Kong continue as a semi-autonomous province. Only eight years before, Chinese
tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square June 3-4, 1989, flattening pro-Democracy
protesters, sweeping out any hope of freedom in Communist China.
Now the same scenario plays itself out
in Hong Kong where tens-of-thousands of Cantonese pro-Democracy protesters took
to the streets Sept. 28 to demand independence or at least autonomous leadership
from Beijing. Two days before
China’s National Day public holiday celebrating 65 years of Mao Zedong’s 1949
Communist Revolution. Hong Kong’s
Cantonese population, ruled by the British for over 150 years can’t stomach
Beijing’s intrusive and oppressive style of governing.
Calling demonstrations illegal, Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive
Leung Chun-ying said Hong Kong’s Occupy Central group demonstrations are “out of
control,” hinting at a possible crackdown.
“We have spent more than a week under the sun, under pepper spray, we of
course can stand the rain. Nothing
can stop us,” a student calling himself “Choi told the Agence France Presse. With over 100,000 demonstrators
flooding Hong Kong’s streets, the pro-Democracy demonstrations are reaching a
critical mass, prompting Beijing to take action.
“Occupy Central founders had said repeatedly that if the movement is
getting out control, the would call for it to stop. I’m now asking them to fulfill the promise they made to society, and stop this campaign
immediately,” said Chun-ying. Protesters want Beijing-backed Chun-ying to step down, replaced with independent
leadership.
Hong Kong’s British-educated Cantonese population hasn’t been comfortable
since 1997 with Beijing’s heavy-handed Mandarin rule. “I think there will be a massive
turnout over 100,000 people tonight and leading into National Day,” said hedge
fund manager and Occupy Central activists Ed Chin. Hong Kong’s demonstrations pose
public relations problems for Beijing, hoping to bury the Tiananmen Square
massacre but, at the same time, inconsistent with China’s policy of showing no
mercy to lawbreakers. British
Deputy Foreign Minister Nick Clegg said he will register his protest to China’s
London-based attaché d’affaiire, insisting that Hong Kong be given the right of
free elections. Pro-Demcracy
protesters reject Beijing’s attempt to cherry pick candidates for future
elections. Protesters want to pick
their own leaders and have more autonomy from Beijing.
China's 61-year-old
President Xi Jinping hasn’t showed much tolerance for street protests in other
regions of China, especially its restive Eastern provinces where Islamic
terrorist groups sometimes give Chinese authorities fits in Xinjiang Province
where Muslim Uyghurs have tried to breakaway to form an independent state. Unlike China’s remote eastern
provinces, Hong Kong remains in the Western focus where the storied history of
rich British trading houses like Jardine, Matheson & Co. or Dent & Co., called
Tai-pans once controlled the economy.
Tai-Pan’s long history dates back to British rule as far back as 1834
something running afoul with Mao’s Communist revolution that eventually found
its way to Hong Kong in 1997 when the British lease ran out. Hong Kong’s Cantonese population
can’t get used to Beijing’s Big Brother mentality, spurring vocal street
protests.
Looming in the background of Hong Kong’s street protests are Beijing’s
strong-arm tactics that the world saw June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square. “We are all afraid, but we think we should keep on resisting for a full democracy,”
33-year-old college student Jackie Yip told the AFP. Yip knows Tiananmen only remotely
but fears the same kind of crackdown in Hong Kong. Protestors want Beijing’s
puppet Leung Chun-ying out and want
Beijing out of the selection process for his replacement. “If the government does not respond
after Oct. 2, the action will inevitably be steeped up,” said Alex Chow,
chairman of Hong Kong’s Federation of Students.
If demonstrators push too hard, Beijing will mobilize the same kind of
force seen in Tiananmen Sqaure.
“Everyone has the power.
We’re here for the bargaining chip with Beijing,” said Wong, hoping his
aggressive approach doesn’t backfire.
Hong Kong’s young Cantonese population not only doesn’t speak Beijing’s
Mandarin but wants no part of the mainland’s strong-arm tactics, especially when
it comes to governing Hong Kong.
While Mao railed against the Tai-Pan capitalist dogs, the Cantonese have their
own identity that doesn’t match Beijing’s model of following in lockstep. Protest leaders like Chow and
Wong hope that Beijing can be shamed into making concessions on Hong Kong. Chinese President Xi Jinping, busy
building up China’s military, won’t tolerate insubordination by Hong Kong
protesters too long. Already hit
with tear gas, Hong Kong’s protesters could find themselves in a brutal
crackdown if Xi loses patience.
Beijing has already told Hong Kong that protesters are engaged in “illegal”
activity. If demonstrators continue
to cross the line, look to Beijing to begin cracking heads.
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