New Pro-Democracy Protests In Hong-Kong

New Pro-Democracy Protests In Hong-Kong

This Tuesday marked the 17th anniversary of Hong-Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty and departure of British rule. What was initially considered a celebration turned over the last decade and a half into one of the biggest pro-democracy protests in China.

The main reason behind the protests is the interference of Beijing into the affairs and government of Hong-Kong, a city that was promised a high degree of autonomy 17 years ago. The motto of this year’s protests was "Defending Hong Kong Authority: No fear of Beijing's threat of comprehensive control."

Protest figures vary with organizers announcing that around 510,000 people took part in the manifestation while police forces declare that the figure didn't go over 100,000. This is not something new, with independent figures saying that the real number always lies somewhere in the middle.

A declaration by the Chinese government made earlier this year which said that Hong-Kong has the power to run local affairs only if authorized by the central government has managed spike tensions in the area with several protests being spontaneously started since.

The rage stirred by the lack of autonomy has affected local politicians as well. An impromptu 10-day referendum held during an Occupy Central protest showed how citizens are ready for democratic political reforms. More than 800,000 participants, approximately 10 percent of the city’s population took part voting for an electoral reform that would allow candidates to be nominated by the nominating committee, political parties and the public.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday July 03 2014, 11:38 AM EST. Ref: wsj. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0