Pro-democracy demonstrations and other civil disobediences
| Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement |
| Part of democratic development in Hong Kong, Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict and the Chinese democracy movement |
| Various protest scenes in Hong Kong Clockwise from top: Protesters on 12 June 2019 • Makeshift roadblock ablaze on 15 September 2019 • Protesters flooding the streets on 18 August 2019 • Mourning the death of Chow Tsz-lok • Police tear-gas dispersal on 12 June 2019 • Hong Kong Way campaign 13 September 2019 • Protesters on 16 June 2019 |
| Date | Entire movement:
Since 15 March 2019 (2019-03-15) [1]
Large-scale breakout:
Since 9 June 2019 (2019-06-09) - Protests begin to diminish in scale in early 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic[2] [3] [4]
- The Hong Kong government declares that most street demonstrations have ceased since the Hong Kong national security law came into effect in mid-2020[5]
|
| Location | Hong Kong
Other cities worldwide in solidarity |
| Caused by | - Proposal of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019
- Alleged misconduct by the Hong Kong Police Force against protesters (since 12 June 2019)[6] [7] [8]
- Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict, political screening, economic and social inequality[9]
- The failure of the 2014 Umbrella Revolution[10]
- More (see § Background)
|
| Goals | Five Demands - Full withdrawal of the extradition bill
- Retraction of the characterisation of the 12 June 2019 protests as 'riots'
- Release and exoneration of arrested protesters
- Establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police behaviour
- Resignation of Carrie Lam and universal suffrage for the Legislative Council and the chief executive elections
|
| Methods | Diverse (see § Tactics and methods) |
| Resulted in | Government crackdown - Imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law by China on 30 June 2020 causing widespread effect and sparking mass migration
- Overhaul of Hong Kong electoral system by China in early 2021 to ensure only 'patriots' rule Hong Kong
- Mass arrest, disqualification, and/or exile of prominent pro-democratic activists and lawmakers
- Twice invocations of colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance for implementation of anti-mask law and postponement of election
- Suspension of extradition treaties with Hong Kong by the United States, United Kingdom and various Western nations
- Deterioration of Hong Kong–Taiwan relations, China–United States and China–United Kingdom relations
- Second round of U.S. embargoes and sanctions against China, including Executive Order 13936 under Hong Kong Autonomy Act
|
Concessions
given | - Bill suspended on 15 June 2019 and officially withdrawn on 23 October 2019[11] [12]
- Police partially retracted characterisation of protests on or before 12 June 2019 as 'riots', except for five individuals in Admiralty on 12 June[13]
|
| Parties to the civil conflict |
| |
| Deaths, injuries and arrests |
| Death(s) | 3+[23] |
| Injuries | - 2,600+ (as of 9 December 2019)[24] [a]
|
| Arrested | 10,250 (as of 17 May 2021)[26] [b] |
| Charged | 2,500 (as of 17 May 2021)[26] |
| Property damage | HK$5.35 billion+ (US$755 million+)[29] [30] [31] |
| Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement |
|
| Traditional Chinese | 反對逃犯條例修訂草案運動 |
| Simplified Chinese | 反对逃犯条例修订草案运动 |
| Transcriptions | | Standard Mandarin | | Hanyu Pinyin | Fǎnduì Táofàn Tiáolì Xiūdìng Cǎo'àn Yùndòng | | Yue: Cantonese | | Jyutping | Faan2 deoi3 tou4 faan6 tiu4 lai6 sau1 ding3 cou2 on3 wan6 dung6 | |
| |
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests,[32] or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests,[33] are a series of demonstrations since 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill on extradition. The protests began with a sit-in at the government headquarters on 15 March 2019 and a demonstration attended by hundreds of thousands on 9 June 2019, followed by a gathering outside the Legislative Council Complex to stall the bill's second reading on 12 June.
On 16 June, just one day after the Hong Kong government suspended the bill, an even bigger protest took place to push for its complete withdrawal and in reaction to the perceived excessive use of force by the Hong Kong Police Force on 12 June. As the protests progressed, activists laid out five key demands (see Objectives). Police inaction during the 2019 Yuen Long attack and 2019 Prince Edward station attack further escalated the protests.
Lam withdrew the bill on 4 September, but refused to concede the other four demands. A month later, she invoked the emergency powers to implement an anti-mask law. Confrontations escalated and intensified. The storming of the Legislative Council in July 2019, the deaths of Chow Tsz-lok and Luo Changqing, the shooting of an unarmed protester, and the sieges of two universities in November 2019 were landmark events.
After the conflict at Chinese University and siege of the Polytechnic University, the unprecedented landslide victory of the pro-democracy camp in the District Council election in November and the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 brought a little respite. Tensions mounted again in May 2020 after Beijing's decision to promulgate a national security bill for Hong Kong before September. More than a hundred people, including several prominent activists, have been arrested since the imposition of the law. In July 2021, the Hong Kong government declared that the law had restored peace and stability to Hong Kong.[5] [34] The resulting political atmosphere in Hong Kong sparked a wave of mass emigration from the city.[ not verified in body ]
The approval ratings of the government and the police plunged to their lowest points since the 1997 handover. The Central People's Government alleged that foreign powers were instigating the conflict, although the protests have been largely described as 'leaderless'. The United States passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on 27 November 2019 in response to the protest movement.
The tactics and methods used in Hong Kong inspired other protests that followed worldwide.
Background [edit]
Direct cause [edit]
The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 was first proposed by the government of Hong Kong in February 2019 in response to the 2018 murder of Poon Hiu-wing by her boyfriend Chan Tong-kai in Taiwan, which the two Hongkongers were visiting as tourists. As there is no extradition treaty with Taiwan (because the government of China does not recognise Taiwan's sovereignty), the Hong Kong government proposed an amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (Cap. 525) to establish a mechanism for case-by-case transfers of fugitives, on the order of the chief executive, to any jurisdiction with which the territory lacks a formal extradition treaty.[35]
The inclusion of mainland China in the amendment was of concern to Hong Kong society; citizens, academics and the legal profession fear the removal of the separation of the region's jurisdiction from the legal system administered by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would erode the 'one country, two systems' principle in practice since the 1997 handover; furthermore, Hong Kong citizens lack confidence in China's judiciary system and human rights protection due to its history of suppressing political dissent.[36] Opponents of the bill urged the Hong Kong government to explore other mechanisms, such as an extradition arrangement solely with Taiwan, and to sunset the arrangement immediately after the surrender of the suspect.[35] [37]
Underlying causes [edit]
After the failure of the Umbrella Revolution in 2014[38] and the 2017 imprisonment of Hong Kong democracy activists,[39] citizens began to fear the loss of the 'high degree of autonomy' as provided for in the Hong Kong Basic Law, as the government of the People's Republic of China appeared to be increasingly and overtly interfering with Hong Kong's affairs. Notably, the NPCSC saw fit to rule on the disqualification of six lawmakers; fears over state-sanctioned rendition and extrajudicial detention were sparked by the Causeway Bay Books disappearances.[40] [39] Xi Jinping's accession to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 marked a more hardline authoritarian approach, most notably with the construction of Xinjiang internment camps. The spectre that Hong Kong may similarly be brought to heel became an important element in the protests.[41]
Anti-mainland sentiment had begun to swell in the 2010s. The daily quota of 150 immigrants from China since 1997, and the massive flows of mainland visitors strained Hong Kong's public services and eroded local culture; mainlanders' perceived arrogance drew the scorn of Hongkongers.[41] The rise of localism and the pro-independence movement after the Umbrella Revolution was marked by the high-profile campaign for the 2016 New Territories East by-election by activist Edward Leung.[42] Fewer and fewer young people in Hong Kong identified themselves as Chinese nationals, as found by pollsters at the University of Hong Kong. The younger respondents were, the more distrustful they were of the Chinese government.[40] Scandals and corruption in China shook people's confidence of the country's political systems; the Moral and National Education controversy in 2012, the Express Rail Link project connecting Hong Kong with mainland cities and the subsequent co-location agreement proved highly controversial. Citizens saw these policies as Beijing's decision to strengthen its hold over Hong Kong. By 2019, almost no Hong Kong youth identified as Chinese.[43]
The polite Umbrella Revolution provided inspiration and brought about a political awakening to some,[38] [44] but its failure and the subsequent split within the pro-democratic bloc prompted a re-evaluation of strategy and tactics. In the years that followed, a general consensus emerged that peaceful and polite protests were ineffective in advancing democratic development, and became an example of what not to do in further protests. Media noted that protests in 2019 were driven by a sense of desperation rather than the optimism of 2014.[45] [46] The aims of the protests had evolved from withdrawing the bill, solidifying around achieving the level of freedom and liberties promised.[47]
Objectives [edit]
Initially, protesters demanded only the withdrawal of the extradition bill. Following an escalation in the severity of policing tactics on 12 June 2019, the protesters' objective was to achieve the following five demands (under the slogan 'Five demands, not one less'):[48]
- Complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process: Although the chief executive announced an indefinite suspension of the bill on 15 June, its status of 'pending resumption of second reading' in the Legislative Council meant that its reading could have been resumed quickly. It was formally withdrawn on 23 October 2019.[49]
- Retraction of the 'riot' characterisation: The government originally characterised the 12 June protest as 'riots', it later amended the description to say there were 'some' rioters, an assertion protesters still contested. The crime of 'rioting' carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
- Release and exoneration of arrested protesters: Protesters considered their lawbreaking acts to be mostly motivated by a politically righteous cause; they also questioned the legitimacy of police arresting protesters at hospitals through access to their confidential medical data in breach of patient privacy.
- Establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into police conduct and use of force during the protests: Civic groups felt that the level of violence used by the police against protesters and bystanders, arbitrary stop-and-search,[50] and officers' failure to observe Police General Orders pointed to a breakdown of accountability.[51] [52] The absence of independence of the existing watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Council, was also an issue.[53]
- Resignation of Carrie Lam and the implementation of universal suffrage for Legislative Council elections and for the election of the chief executive:[54] The chief executive is selected in a small-circle election, and 30 of the 70 legislative council seats are filled by representatives of institutionalised interest groups, forming the majority of the so-called functional constituencies, most of which have few electors.
History [edit]
Early large-scale demonstrations [edit]
Police used tear gas to disperse protesters gathering outside the Legislative Council Complex on 12 June 2019.
After several minor protests in March and April 2019,[55] the anti-extradition issue attracted more attention when pro-democratic lawmakers in the Legislative Council launched a filibuster campaign against the bill. In response, the Secretary of Security John Lee announced that the government would resume second reading of the bill in full council on 12 June 2019, bypassing the Bills Committee.[56] With the possibility of a second reading of the bill, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) launched their third protest march on 9 June. While police estimated attendance at the march on Hong Kong Island at 270,000, the organisers claimed that 1.03 million people had attended the rally, a number unprecedently high for the city.[57] [58] Carrie Lam insisted second reading and debate over the bill be resumed on 12 June.[59] Protesters successfully stopped the LegCo from resuming second reading of the bill by surrounding the LegCo Complex.[60] Police Commissioner Stephen Lo declared the clashes a 'riot';[61] police were subsequently criticised for using excessive force, such as firing tear gas at protesters at an approved rally.[62] [63] Following the clashes, protesters began calling for an independent inquiry into police brutality; they also urged the government to retract the 'riot' characterisation.
Marco Leung Ling-kit on scaffolding at Pacific Place before he fell to his death on 15 June
On 15 June, Carrie Lam announced the bill's suspension but did not fully withdraw it.[64] The same day, Marco Leung Ling-Kit, a 35-year-old man, fell to his death after slipping on scaffolding and plunging 17 meters to his death whilst protesting Lam's decision and claims of police brutality.[65] Ruled by an inquest jury as 'death by misadventure',[66] this accident formed a rallying point for the movement and his anti-extradition slogans later became the foundations for the 'five demands' of the protests, and his yellow raincoat became one of the symbols of the protests.[67] A protest on the following day had almost 2 million people participating according to an CHRF estimate, while the police estimated that there were 338,000 demonstrators at its peak.[68] While Lam offered a personal apology on 18 June,[69] she dismissed calls for her resignation.[70]
Storming of the Legislative Council and escalation [edit]
The CHRF claimed a record turnout of 550,000 for their annual march on 1 July 2019, while police estimated around 190,000 at the peak;[71] [72] an independent polling organisation estimated attendance at 260,000.[73] The protest was largely peaceful. At night, partly angered by several more suicides since 15 June 2019, some radical protesters stormed into the Legislative Council; police took little action to stop them.[74] [75] [76]
After 1 July 2019, protests spread to different neighbourhoods in Hong Kong.[77] [78] [79] CHRF held another anti-extradition protest on 21 July on Hong Kong Island. Instead of dispersing, protesters headed for the Liaison Office in Sai Ying Pun, where they defaced the Chinese national emblem.[80] While a standoff between the protesters and the police occurred on Hong Kong Island,[81] groups of white-clad individuals, suspected triad members, appeared and indiscriminately attacked people inside Yuen Long station.[82] Police were absent during the attacks, and the local police stations were shuttered, leading to suspicion that the attack was coordinated with police. The attack was often seen as the turning point for the movement, as it crippled people's confidence in the police and turned a lot of citizens who were politically neutral or apathetic against the police.[83]
Protesters pointing their laser pointers at a newspaper outside the Space Museum, mocking an earlier police demonstration that aimed to illustrate the danger of laser pointers, which was seized from an arrested student-union president[84] [85]
A call for a general strike on 5 August was answered by about 350,000 people according to the Confederation of Trade Unions;[86] over 200 flights had to be cancelled.[87] [88] [89] Various incidents involving alleged police brutality on 11 August prompted protesters to stage a three-day sit-in at Hong Kong International Airport from 12 to 14 August, forcing the Airport Authority to cancel numerous flights.[90] [91] [92] On 23 August, an estimated 210,000 people participated in the 'Hong Kong Way' campaign to draw attention to the movement's five demands. The chain extended across the top of Lion Rock.[93]
Ignoring a police ban, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong Island on 31 August following the arrests of high-profile pro-democracy activists and lawmakers the previous day.[94] [95] [96] At night, the Special Tactical Squad (officially known as the Special Tactical Contingent) stormed Prince Edward station, where they beat and pepper-sprayed the commuters inside.[97] On 4 September, Carrie Lam announced the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill once Legco reconvened in October and the introduction of additional measures to calm the situation. However, protests continued to push for the realisation of all five demands.[98]
Intensification and sieges of the universities [edit]
A young protestor was shot in the chest by police
On 1 October 2019, mass protests and violent conflict occurred between the protesters and police in various districts of Hong Kong during the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. This resulted in the first use of live rounds by police. One 18-year-old student protester was shot in the chest by police in Tsuen Wan.[99] [100] [101] Carrie Lam invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to impose a law to ban wearing face masks in public gatherings, attempting to curb the ongoing protests on 4 October.[102] The law's enactment was followed by continued demonstrations in various districts of Hong Kong, blocking major thoroughfares, vandalising shops considered to be pro-Beijing and paralysing the MTR system.[103] [104] [105] Protests and citywide flash rallies persisted throughout the month.[106] [107]
Protesters clashed with the police late at night on 3 November 2019. Alex Chow Tsz-lok, a 22-year-old student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was later found unconscious on the second floor of the estate's car park. He died on 8 November following two unsuccessful brain surgeries.[108] [109] After his death, protesters engaged in flash rallies against the police and attended vigils in various districts of Hong Kong. They blamed the police for his death, though the police denied any involvement.[110] In response to Chow's death, protesters planned a city-wide strike starting on 11 November by disrupting transport in the morning in various districts of Hong Kong.[111] That morning, a policeman fired live rounds in Sai Wan Ho, wounding an unarmed 21-year-old.[112] On 14 November, an elderly man named Luo Changqing died from a head injury which he had sustained the previous day during a confrontation between two groups of anti-government protesters and residents in Sheung Shui.[113] [114]
For the first time, during a standoff on 11 November, police shot numerous rounds of tear gas, sponge grenades and rubber bullets into the campuses of universities, while protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs in response.[115] Student protesters from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) confronted the police for two consecutive days.[116] After the conflict, protesters briefly occupied several universities.[117] [118] A major conflict between protesters and police took place in Hung Hom on 17 November after protesters took control of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and blockaded the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. Thus began the siege of PolyU by police which ended with them storming onto the campus and arresting several protesters and volunteer medics in the early morning of 18 November.[119] [120]
Electoral landslide and COVID-19 [edit]
Protesters flood the streets during the New Year's march
The 24 November 2019 District Council election, considered a referendum on the government and the protests, attracted a record high voter turnout.[121] The results saw the pro-democracy camp win by a landslide, with the pro-Beijing camp suffering their greatest electoral defeat in Hong Kong's history.[122] [123] The unprecedented electoral success of the pro-democracy voters, the mass arrests during the PolyU siege, and faster response by police contributed to a decrease in the intensity and frequency of the protests in December 2019 and January 2020.[124] Despite this, the CHRF organised two marches to maintain pressure on the government on 8 December 2019 and 1 January 2020.[125] [126]
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China caused the number of large-scale rallies to dwindle further because of fears that they might facilitate the spread of the virus. Despite this, the pro-democratic movement's tactics were repurposed to pressure the government to take stronger actions to safeguard Hong Kong's public health in the face of the coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong.[127] As the coronavirus crisis escalated in February and March 2020, the scale of the protests dwindled further.[128] [129] Police have used coronavirus laws banning groups of more than four, for example, to disperse protesters.[130] [131] On 18 April, police arrested 15 pro-democracy activists including Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee and Margaret Ng for their activities in 2019, drawing international condemnation.[132]
Implementation of the national security law [edit]
On 21 May 2020, state media announced that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) would begin drafting a new law that covers 'secession, foreign interference, terrorism and subversion against the central government', to be added into the Annex III of the Hong Kong Basic Law. This meant that the law would come into effect through promulgation, bypassing local legislation.[134] Despite international pressure, the NPCSC passed the national security law unanimously on June 30, without informing the public and the local officials of the content of the law.[135] The law created a chilling effect in the city. Demosistō, which had been involved in lobbying for other nations' support, and several pro-independent groups announced that they had decided to disband and cease all operations, fearing that they would be the targets of the new law.[136] Thousands of protesters showed up on 1 July to protest against the newly implemented law. On that day, the police arrested at least ten people for 'breaching national security' for showing protest art.[137]
Following the implementation of the national security law, the international community reassessed their policies towards China. Major countries in the West (Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, Germany and New Zealand) suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over the introduction of the national security law.[138] [139] [140] [141] [142] The US Congress passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and president Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to revoke the city's special trade status after Mike Pompeo informed the Congress that Hong Kong was no longer autonomous from China and so should be considered the same country in trade and other such matters.[143] On 7 August, the US announced that they would impose sanctions on eleven Hong Kong and Chinese top officials, including Carrie Lam, for undermining Hong Kong's freedom and autonomy.[144] British Home Office announced that starting from early 2021, current and former holders of the BN(O) passport in Hong Kong can resettle in the UK along with their dependents for five years before they become eligible to apply for permanent citizenship.[145]
Subsequent clampdown [edit]
Civic Party promoting the primaries as the democrats aspired to secure a majority in LegCo. Four candidates from the party were disqualified by the government.
Invigorated by its success in the November 2019 District Council election, the pro-democratic bloc was eyeing to win over half of the 70 seats in the Legislative Council in the election set to be held on 6 September.[146] Unfazed by the national security law, more than 600,000 people cast their votes in the bloc's historic first primaries in mid July 2020. The Hong Kong government then disqualified twelve candidates on 30 July, nearly all of whom were winners from the pro-democratic primaries.[147] [148] The decision drew international condemnation for obstructing the election and the democratic process.[149] On the following day, Carrie Lam, going against the public opinion,[150] invoked emergency powers to delay the election, citing the pandemic as the reason. While the NPCSC allowed the four disqualified incumbent lawmakers to transition to the extended term in July, they decided to remove them from office in November 2020, resulting in the mass resignation of all of opposition lawmakers.[151]
Former lawmaker Nathan Law met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2020, discussing matters concerning the national security law, the pro-democratic primaries, and the LegCo election.
The police continued to use the law to target local activists and critics of Beijing, including business tycoon Jimmy Lai. In January 2021, the police arrested more than 50 individuals, all of whom were candidates in the primaries for 'subverting state power'.[152] This meant that most of the active and prominent politicians in the opposite camp in Hong Kong have been arrested by the authorities using the national security law.[153] Arrest warrants were issued to exiled activists for breaching the national security law, including former lawmakers Nathan Law, Baggio Leung and Ted Hui.[154] [155] Twelve Hong Kong activists who were released on bail were captured by China's Coast Guard Bureau while fleeing to Taiwan on a speedboat on 23 August. Detained in Yantian, Shenzhen, they were subsequently charged with crossing the Chinese border illegally and were prevented from choosing their lawyers and meeting their families.[156] [157]
As protest activities dwindled, the government continued to tighten its control in Hong Kong, from censoring school textbooks and removing any mention of the Tiananmen massacre,[158] to removing public examination questions which the authorities deemed politically inappropriate,[159] to deregistering 'yellow-ribbon' teachers,[160] to declaring that separation of powers never existed in Hong Kong despite previous comments by the city's top judges recognising its importance in Hong Kong.[161] It also attempted to reshape the narrative of the Yuen Long attack by claiming that the attack had not been indiscriminate, changing the officially reported police response time, and arresting Lam Cheuk-ting, a pro-democracy lawmaker who was hurt in the attack, for 'rioting'.[162]
Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters [edit]
Jimmy Sham, a protest organiser and the convenor of CHRF, was attacked twice during the protests.
Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters had become more frequent since the movement began in June 2019. During a pro-police rally on 30 June, their supporters began directing profanities at their opposition counterparts and destroyed their Lennon Wall and the memorial for Marco Leung, leading to intense confrontations between the two camps.[164] Pro-Beijing citizens, wearing 'I love HK police' T-shirts and waving the Chinese national flag, assaulted people perceived to be protesters on 14 September in Fortress Hill.[165] Lennon Walls
