After five long months of unrest in Hong Kong, what are the protesters still fighting for? Many have proudly said the non-violent and violent protests are for democracy. To “Free Hong Kong.” To “Liberate Hong Kong.” But what does that really mean?
What Hongkongers cannot say — what they are forbidden to say — is that the protests are for independence. They want to become a city-state free to govern themselves along the lines of Singapore or Monaco. They want to be free to govern themselves like Taiwan. But no one can legally say this because to do so is an illegal act in Hong Kong.
The reason Hongkongers cannot publicly admit they are fighting for independence or self-determination is that doing so is illegal. Advocating, promoting, or marching for independence is illegal in Hong Kong. So much for “freedom of speech” in Asia’s financial hub.
Last year, the Hong Kong government, backed by Beijing, banned a separatist party and further silenced talk of independence by any politician or organization. Hong Kong’s government has stated many times in the last two years that “free speech isn’t absolute.”
In 2017, China considered any speech or act which advocates for independence or self-determination in Hong Kong to be a violation of China’s national sovereignty. Hong Kong’s Criminal Ordinance explains that anyone with a “seditious intention” will be guilty of an offense and could be punished by two years in jail and a fine equivalent to $638. These crimes also fall under Article 23, related to subversion and sedition. This is the primary reason citizens in Hong Kong deny that the protests are for independence — they do not wish to go to jail.
And so politicians and citizens instead advocate for true democracy through universal suffrage — a right in Hong Kong’s “mini-constitution” which has not yet been granted to the people. Many political parties in Hong Kong agree that Basic Law Article 45 supports and indicates universal suffrage as an aim for the city.
Over the last two years, anyone seeking election has had to undergo a vetting process by Beijing. Anyone wanting to be elected to public office in Hong Kong must denounce self-determination and prove they do not support independence.
Joshua Wong recently underwent a vetting process and was banned from running in November’s elections. In an interesting twist, election officials for several weeks refused to make a decision. Dorothy Ma Chau Pui-fun, manager of the southern district candidacies, unexpectedly took sick leave without making a decision. Three more unidentified electoral officers refused to even accept the role to vet Wong on his political stance.
As the deadline approached on Oct. 31, the replacement electoral officer, Laura Liang Aron, who is originally from mainland China, finally ruled to ban Wong from the elections. The government cited the democracy activist’s former advocacy for self-determination as the primary reason for his disqualification.
What Hongkongers have been calling for consistently over the last five years is to be granted universal suffrage. Hong Kong citizens and protesters are now fighting for the ability to be able to democratically elect public officials, like the chief executive officer, without any kind of political screening from Beijing.
Once publicly elected officials are in place under Hong Kong’s own form of government, disconnected from the mainland, Hong Kong could begin peaceful maneuvers to democratically obtain its independence. Think of it this way: Step one is universal suffrage; Step 10 is independence. You cannot peacefully reach step 10 without first achieving step one. So Hongkongers are fighting for step one, for universal suffrage, before they can even begin to consider larger changes.
But the Hong Kong government, controlled by Beijing, will never allow universal suffrage because they know where it would most certainly lead in the future.
This is why, instead of granting the people of Hong Kong economic reforms and universal suffrage, the government and police continue to violently crackdown on most public gatherings and marches.
C.G. Fewston is an American novelist currently residing in Hong Kong. He is the author of A Time to Love in Tehran.
