I Britain’s Blunder: How It Dealt With Hong Kong
How the UK miscalculated what was going to happen and how it should’ve dealt with it
Is Hong Kong part of China? Even 5 years ago, many would have pondered for a long time before giving their answer: some saying yes, others saying no. Yet today, it is true that Hong Kong is now under the full control of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China. It is a sad story of how an island, with all its liberal values, had its democracy shredded apart. The saddest of all, though, is how Britain dealt with this. Britain failed the island; it left the Hong Kong Movement in tatters, it didn’t capitalize on a great opportunity, it let down the people of Hong Kong. They should’ve supported the people of Hong Kong more in their cause and they should’ve allowed the people of Hong Kong to create a new base in the UK. Before though, we have to wind back to understand the UK’s involvement in this sad affair.
On 1 July 1997, Chris Patten (the last governor of Hong Kong) left on HMS Brittania, handing the keys to the Chinese government. Over the past 10 years, a wave of great legislation had been rocking the halls of government officials- one of them would turn out to ensure the rights for Hong Kong to retain its legislative system after the Chinese handover. That law was the Hong Kong basic law. Over these past ten years, Hong Kong was rapidly nearing universal suffrage and it seemed as if this basic law would keep the Chinese in place.
A reminder of when the UK was here
20 years passed and democracy in Hong Kong remained, but stagnated. You see, as China became wealthier, it became less and less dependent on the wealth of Hong Kong — once the pearl of China’s economic wealth. The pearl soon became a simple rag; what once compromised 25% of China’s wealth slumped to only 2%. This is where China’s aggression of Hong Kong democracy comes in. Here are the stages:
1. The one country, two systems start stagnating
It had been promised that China would not intervene in Hong Kong’s governance until the year 2047 (in still a super long time) and that Hong Kong until then, would move towards democracy. Perhaps Britain thought that by then, China would be democratic and that it would therefore not be a problem, but it was. Democratic rights stalled and in 1998, only 20 seats in the parliament were directly elected. Immediately, this was the beginning of the end. Back then, British Prime Minister Tony Blair could not see it coming and did nothing.
2. Protests erupt
After a reform in the constitution in 2007, it became clear pan-democrats were unable to achieve their aims. But they were still there. Then the protests started, often every year — in 2012 and 2014. Then 2017 came another wave of protests and this time China acted. 16 members including democratic leader Joshua Wong was given prison time. The umbrella movement was in full swing. Then came the tragedy: 2020.
3. China’s crackdown
By now, all members of the Hong Kong parliament were largely pro-mainland Chinese and democratic parties such as Demotisto (Joshua Wong’s party) were censored. He was unauthorized to run by June 2020 and things had taken a nasty turn. On the 30th of June, Hong Kong’s national security law came in place. It immediately destroyed freedom of speech — thousands were arrested and after a month or two, protests died down. A few days ago, Apple Daily, the last strand of uncensored Hong Kong newspaper, closed down. It was the end of a short-lived era.
Now, you must be still wondering- what the hell has Britain got to do with this?
Following this, Britain could have done much more — it allowed people born before 1997 with British citizenship to come and live in Britain but it could’ve been better. It could’ve taken in all Hong Kong citizens that were born even after 1997 and didn’t have Hong Kong citizenship. This would’ve been a win-win for pro-democrat Hong Kongers and a great success for Britain. After all, Hong Kong has some of the wealthiest and most educated people in the world: Hong Kong ranked 4th in the PISA and the GDP per capita is a staggering 48,713 dollars. It holds a den of highly skilled professions: lawyers, finance, IT, pharmaceuticals, and a steadily increasing number of doctors. Something the UK needs direly to maintain the NHS pool of doctors. The financial sector, devastated by Brexit would’ve also had a boost.
It would’ve also allowed the democrats of Hong Kong to spend their lives campaigning for a just cause rather than spending it in a damp Chinese jail cell. This was an injustice the UK should’ve never committed; after all, even after the handover, they still felt a yearning to be the guardians of this gone democracy. They forgot their place and under the pressure of the might of the Chinese jaws, they collapsed and forgot who they were and their principles when it would’ve been a success for them and those in Hong Kong. Now democracy seems unlikely and since little remains of this democratic movement after most leaders were locked up and no base to perform their protests, they are lost. Lost and trapped by a competent Chinese government.
Worst of all, Britain and the people of Hong Kong got little out of it. If you saw the protests in London for the Hong Kong movement, it is a tragedy. With no leaders, they are unable to spread their ideas and only Hong Kongers themselves attended. Where the Palestinian and climate movement garnered a wide support base, that of Hong Kong has been withered although Britain could’ve averted it. There are signs this could change — over 35,000 Hong Kongers have applied for asylum. Still, this is a great British blunder and with it, the question of Hong Kong is dying; this is a movement that will define the world and will define democracy for years to come, and what Britain did, or didn’t do, will change the fate of history forever. Sadly, it will probably be a tragedy rather than a happy ending — time will tell…
