Several pro-democracy media outlets, including Apple Daily and Stand News, have closed down in the past year. Hong Kong has also started to mirror . If I want to write without worrying about the authorities, I have to move to a free country. With speech freedom under threat, I would have limited opportunities in Hong Kong. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith wants to show China that it cant get away with tearing up international treaties and abusing human rights. And what they meant was that you were only going back because you don't want to feel guilty, but actually, you are not going to contribute much to the movement by being in jail because I'm not a public figure at that time that could really raise any attention from the international media. RUWITCH: It's a very divided city right now. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Hong Kong eases travel rules in apparent shift from zero-Covid policy You know, there are newspapers you just can't get anymore because they've folded. But now, I dont think I will ever be able to go back. (modern). 24 June 2019 A chronology of key events: 1842 - China cedes Hong Kong island to Britain after the First Opium War. A day earlier, the foreign ministers of the G7Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., the U.S. and the European Unionissued a joint statement declaring the changes approved by the National Peoples Congress (NPC), combined with the recent mass arrests of pro-democracy activists and politicians, undermines Hong Kongs autonomy. But at the same time, since Hong Kong has returned to China's governance, they're trying to draw the connection between Hong Kong and China people. While many Hong Kongers figured that Beijing would move to end the protests, most thought the steps would be familiar. But then, at the same time, having no hope at all is fatal. Threats to national sovereignty and security, or challenges to the central governments authority in Hong Kong, would cross a red line and will never be permitted, Mr. Xi said. After protesters defaced the national emblem at the Central Liaison Officein Hong Kong in July 2019, Chinese state media erupted. While the clampdown seemed to arrive with startling speed, it was the culmination of yearslong efforts in Beijing. It states that "the ultimate aim" is to elect the territory's leader, the chief executive, "by universal suffrage" and "in accordance with democratic procedures". If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. We have agreed to shield his identity because he's worried his views can make him a target of government reprisal. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was signed in 1984, stipulates that Hong Kong would retain its high degree of autonomy, rights and freedoms for 50 years after the handover. We can almost hear Beijings apparatchiks laugh as London erupts in impotent fury. ", "The U.K. has no sovereignty, jurisdiction or right of 'supervision' over Hong Kong after the handover, and it has no so-called 'obligations' to Hong Kong citizens, a spokesperson said on Saturday. Entry requirements - Hong Kong (SAR of China) travel advice The UK has said it is considering more rights for holders of a special passport issued to some people in Hong Kong. Most of the newspapers that you could trust to tell the truth are closed and the publications that have survived wont speak out. The Hong Kong authorities have arrested more than 110 people in national security investigations over the past year, charging 64, including most of the citys best-known pro-democracy activists. Today, in his speech, Xi Jinping really seemed to drive home one point, and that was that Hong Kong's political development was - is basically going to be on Beijing's terms. By Shibani Mahtani April 20, 2021 at 5:00 a.m. EDT Hong Kong police officers perform a new goose-stepping march, the same style used by police and troops on the Chinese mainland, during. Everybody is frightened. Since that law took force one year ago, Beijing has unleashed a stampede of actions to bring Hong Kong into political lock step with the Chinese Communist Party: arresting activists, seizing assets, firing government workers, detaining newspaper editors and rewriting school curriculums. She was raised in Chicago and graduated from Yale University. It was: how long would Beijings 50-year pledge of one nation, two systems survive? But Hong Kong is very different now to how it was before. Many in 1997 were worried that Hong Kong would lose its lustre under Chinese rule, An agreement between Britain and China at the time of handover enshrined freedoms for Hong Kong, Protesters sometimes clashed with police during the 2019 protests, Questions have been raised about Hong Kong's status as an international financial hub. The territory, which used to be a British colony, was handed back to China in . I still check the news to see whats happening in Hong Kong, but its not easy to access information any more. This fresh start comes via the British national (overseas) visa scheme. Hence the eye it keeps on Hong Kong, and over the horizon on South Korea and Taiwan. Britain seized Hong Kong during the First Opium War, and China's Qing Dynasty formally ceded it to the U.K. in a treaty in 1842. Confrontation, celebration and confetti: Photos of the week, Oscar-winning Banshees pub opens for real, Gods, goatskins and drums: Morocco's mystical musicians, Armageddon: The 3,000-year-old city behind the biblical story. Behind China's Takeover of Hong Kong It can, and it will. The population decrease to 7,394,700 continues the largest fall since the city began keeping comparable records in 1961. That's what then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin said during the historic handover of the city of Hong Kong from Britain to China. "Beginning in 2020, you have people in Hong Kong who are either in jail and therefore can't do anything, or some who try to stay out of jail so they self-censor for good reason.". For this conversation, we'll call him T. That's the initial of his last name. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. His hardline agenda was not immediately apparent. It was his first visit to Hong Kong as Chinas top leader. (modern). Many were anxious about how the capitalist, free-wheeling former British colony would fare under Communist Chinese rule. The citys opposition had envisioned grinding, shifting political battles against Chinese government encroachment over decades, not a lightning war. Net outflows of residents in July regularly exceeded 1,000 a day, according to government figures recorded by the former investment banker David Webb. The bravery of young Hongkongers in defying the new measures has been impressive. "My biggest worry is that Hong Kong and China will no longer be meaningfully distinct from each other by 2047," he says. If we're given the chance to have a referendum in Hong Kong somehow tomorrow, what kind of society we want to build - that is actually the fundamental question that needs answering even more so than the question about what we have to do now. Hong Kong is to ban all flights from the UK to curb the spread of the Delta variant of Covid. And actually, someone told me very bluntly, if you want to go back to Hong Kong and serve jail time, that is actually a very selfish decision. It stipulates progressive election reform so that the chief executive and all members of the legislature will eventually be elected through universal suffrage. How are they coping? Anger over the potential bill erupted into some of the largest protests Hong Kong had ever seen. At the time, the city was promised "a high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. Mr Ngo says the diaspora will likely hold on to their identity as Hongkongers, and the activists among them, are probably going to continue their struggle for democracy in Hong Kong and "building resistance from abroad". Thats gone too far.. You would watch the news and see police beating up young people. 'We are not emigrating we are escaping'. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Politics Hong Kong party that wants Britain to take over again aims to win five Legco seats Extreme localist says he will liaise with British government over repealing Sino-British. Im safe now. Friends and families turn out in droves to see them off grandparents hand out lucky money in red envelopes to grandchildren, aunts and uncles joke with children to lighten the otherwise melancholic mood. The papers new phrase, comprehensive jurisdiction, suggested that Beijing no longer saw a legal firewall encasing Hong Kong, said Michael C. Davis, a former professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and author of Making Hong Kong China.. I believe, after all, you can really earn money to help the people that you believe deserve to be helped. Previously, she covered New York State politics for the metro desk. Ive been organising some seminars for BNO visa holders to try to find out how we can help them integrate into UK life. Would we see them again? Beijings decision to impose radical changes to restrict participation in Hong Kongs electoral system constitutes a further clear breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement on Saturday. In 2019, there were huge marches and often violent protests against the government. The education system in Hong Kong is brainwashing kids. Beneath the usual hustle and bustle, Hong Kong has changed dramatically since the introduction of the law. We must live to tell why we had to flee., Hong Kong jails man, 24, for nine years under national security law, I covered Hong Kong for decades. BLOCK: Anna Kwok directs the Hong Kong Democracy Council in Washington, D.C. T - we're using only his initial - works in finance in Hong Kong. When the British handed its colony Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997, it was promised 50 years of self-government and freedoms of assembly, speech and press that are not allowed Chinese on the Communist-ruled mainland. Copyright 2022 NPR. When I reported in 1997 on the Hong Kong celebrations bidding farewell to British rule, there was one question on all lips. Police challenge a protest in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong in June 2021. What are they doing? The Home Office expects up to 153,000 people with British national (overseas) status and their dependents to arrive in the UK in the first year, and up to 322,000 over five years. The announcement stunned the city. If you're abroad and you need emergency help from the UK government, contact the nearest British embassy, . It also drastically shrank the proportion of lawmakers who can be directly voted in by the people - from 50% to 22%. Thats crazy. Also, here, even though people might not agree with you, they will still be respectful. No foreign country or organization has the right to take the Joint Declaration as an excuse to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs.". Everything collapsed in a very short period of time. Over the years, China has increasingly tightened its grip over Hong Kong. Hong Kong Travel Restrictions The paper marked the opening of a contest for control in the city, culminating in the sweeping national security law that few saw coming. I still have family there, and I want to be able to visit them in the future, so Id rather not have my name published. The year before we left was really upsetting. I'm trying to justify with myself that I'm not letting myself get corrupted in this way. Im very happy here. U.K. Says China Breached Hong Kong Handover Treaty Yet Again After 2014, Mr. Xis calls for resurgent party power emboldened policy advisers to look for new ways to break the impasse over Hong Kong. Every day, I worried about [the police] knocking on our doors the fear was constant. People always say that, oh, you were born in 1997, and that means something, right? Wearing a yellow face mask the colour symbolising resistance in the citys 2019 pro-democracy movement one young woman, who gave her name as Charlie, was among those waving goodbye to her friends. Something went wrong. Nobody was willing to grab this hot potato, Professor Tian said. Here, youre not forced to love Britain or the Conservative party. Johnson wants to send his unusable aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. KWOK: We used to play mahjong every week together with our friend group. Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. According to official figures, in the first quarter of this year, Hong Kong residents planning to leave permanently applied to withdraw HK$1.93bn (180m) from their MPF accounts a surge of 49% year-on-year. And today, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was in the territory to mark the occasion. and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, "The face of Hong Kong is evolving and it's probably becoming a little bit less international and a bit more mainland-oriented," Mr Kuijs says. China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of "one country, two systems", where the city would enjoy "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for the next 50 years. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. I mean, so 25 years ago, I was actually there for the handover. But thats not true. All rights reserved. I would like to go back to Hong Kong. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. We were thinking about how to slow their strangling, stop it, and then turn for the better.. Insiders shook their heads at the idea that Beijing could impose one. But then my question would be, so why did I not get a chance to decide on my own future? T: How Anna shared those feelings - also mine, even living in Hong Kong. It was a heartbreaking scene. When freedom of press no longer exists, the truth cannot be revealed. Half way into the promise, where do things stand? To Beijing, the national emblems defacement confirmed that the protests had become an assault on its very claim to Hong Kong. How a British Passport Offers Escape for Hong Kongers: QuickTake The leader is the chief executive, elected by a 1,500-member election committee. Many in Hong Kong had long worried that the citys autonomy was brittle, but previous Chinese leaders had preferred to exercise influence indirectly and covertly. A man who allegedly booed the Chinese national anthem while watching an Olympic event at a shopping centre was arrested. It is out of our league. The plan, published days later, proposed a legal system and enforcement mechanism for national security in Hong Kong. As of 2022, nearly all of the LegCo members are pro-Beijing. Ive travelled around from Rotherham to Sheffield to Warrington to Manchester to Bristol, and Ive come back to Sheffield. Hong Kong had developed a vastly different political and economic system from mainland China, which since 1949 had been under authoritarian one-party Communist rule. Installing Chinas national emblem last July at the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, which became a Chinese security agencys base of operations. This sort of guilt will always appear. For the first two months here, I was living in a hostel. And when you were still young, people would say, oh, you are going to be the leader of tomorrow and you're going to be the future. Mr. Xi came to power in 2012 amid expectations in Hong Kong that he might be a pragmatic overseer, content to rely on the politicians and tycoons who had long served as Beijings surrogates. 'Can we ever return?' Tears and heartbreak as Hongkongers leave for a new life in the UK | Hong Kong | The Guardian Friends embrace at the departure gates before one of the twice-daily. China would surely milk the cash cow for all it was worth, but any sign of trouble and Beijing would instantly wipe this imperialist pimple off the map. Are Italians ready to eat pasta made from insects? Meet the Hong Kong 'repats' moving back to Britain. At least with the BNO scheme, people around the world know what happened to us back in Hong Kong. T, welcome to you. The number of regional headquarters of international firms in Hong Kong dropped by nearly 10% from 2018 to 2021. Video, Armageddon: The 3,000-year-old city behind the biblical story, Five moments in fraught Hong Kong-China relations, Hong Kong: 'We don't know where the red line is', The UK Hongkongers living in the shadow of the handover, Why business is not giving up on Hong Kong, Syrian government cancels BBC press accreditation, BBC star 'accused of paying teen for explicit photos', 'Tour de France is sad' after Cavendish crashes out, Latvia swears in EU's first openly gay president, Dutch government collapses over asylum row, USA forward Rapinoe to retire at end of season. You know, but critics say the pillars of what made Hong Kong different from other Chinese cities are being dismantled piece by piece, things like freedom of speech and an independent judiciary. It allows them to live, study and work in Britain for five years. A few months ago, a primary school played a video about the Nanjing massacre [by Japanese forces in 1937]. I dread not being able to see him again, she said. Around that same time, he wrote publicly that in a dire crisis, Chinese leaders could take all necessary measures to defend sovereignty, casting aside the fetters of lesser laws. Meanwhile, as Britain buys missiles and planes, Beijing surges into the 21st century armed with the weapons of cyberwar and intellectual theft. Bringing out Chinese troops to quell protests could spook financial markets. You can visit Hong Kong. Enough is enough, Regina Ip, a pro-Beijing legislator in Hong Kong, said in a recent interview, recalling the authorities reaction to the vandalism. Banks have turned us down because we have been living here for less than a year. UK has too much at stake to confront China over Hong Kong But the clampdown was years in the making, and many signals were missed. "There will be more hearings and the court will decide what concerns national security.". Why Mao Zedong was right not to 'liberate' Hong Kong before 1997 But Mr Lee believes that the younger generation growing up in Hong Kong will become more patriotic. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert 'Can we ever return?' Tears and heartbreak as Now, observers say, there is slim hope for a more democratic political system and they fear that the character of the city has fundamentally changed, with Beijing in full control. Top loyalists and government advisers in Hong Kong were not briefed on the option, which might have risked inflaming the protests. The whole process developed or evolved gradually, until a couple years ago, then it sped up very quickly, said Lau Siu-kai, a Hong Kong scholar who advises Beijing on policy. The tipping point was 2019 when China proposed an extradition bill that could potentially allow HongKongers accused of of crimes to be tried in China. Im a housewife. No one dreamed Chinas patience would last 23 years. I'm Melissa Block. Within weeks they had become a massive movement, venting years of pent-up discontent over Beijings encroachments. Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. KWOK: I think part of it is a lot of frustration. Patricia Chiu, a businesswoman who recently fled Hong Kong for the UK, said it was the loss of the citys former way of life that broke her heart. What do you think about when you think about the other end of this tunnel? For the past month, Ive been working as a regional coordinator for Hongkongers in Britain. What will the next 25 years hold for Hong Kong? The region, once a rare . Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. When that freedom was a legacy, however brief, from the British crown, it is more so. I wanted the government to know that we were not happy about the extradition bill and how they were treating people. First of all, he had not been outside of mainland China for the entire pandemic until this trip. Hong Kongs soberer heads were right: the radicals should have lived with such freedoms as they were allowed. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. But many of those who left permanently are likely to have moved to the UK, which received more than 123,000 applications for the BNO visa since its introduction in January 2021 until the end of March this year. Hong Kong developed rapidly under UK rule, becoming one of the world's major financial and business centres. In July the same year, Raab said the National Security Law which China had imposed on the people of Hong Kong was also a clear and serious violation of the Joint Declaration. And on 1 July, protesters forced their way into parliament, tearing portraits down, smashing furniture, with one even raising the old British colonial flag. Every day you see people getting arrested. In the beginning, I thought if more people protested peacefully, the government would stop imposing a law we didnt want, but it just became more violent. The reality is that modern China can do what it likes, and there is nothing Duncan Smith or anyone in Britain or Europe can do about it. Armageddon: The 3,000-year-old city behind the biblical story. "If they don't think the current system is sustainable, the option will be to reintegrate Hong Kong, even before 2047.". At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and. No one, including the Western countries, truly believed that Hong Kong locally had the ability to complete this legislation.. Premium access for businesses and educational institutions. Mr. Xis predecessor, Hu Jintao, had raised the possibility of fulfilling Chinas repeatedly delayed promise to let the public directly elect the chief executive, Hong Kongs top official. MARTNEZ: So it sounds like China hasn't lived up to its promises. So Beijing promised Hong Kong's civil liberties and freedom - unavailable in the mainland - would be preserved for at least 50 years under a novel arrangement called "one country, two systems". To help us understand where things stand, we're joined by NPR's China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch. Hong Kong returned to China | HISTORY Hours before tens of thousands kicked off an annual protest for greater democratic rights, Mr. Xi inserted a steely warning into his celebratory speech. Can France prevent tensions igniting again? Until July 1997, Hong Kong was run by a British colonial . T: I believe getting into finance could create much more value for me through my friends with those community because on one hand, many politically active young generations, they're quite against getting into finance because it's about making money. I think England is a good place for people to have a quiet life. 2023 BBC. or But I think a lot of times, I wonder, when people talk about liberate Hong Kong, revolutions of our times, like the slogan that we have, what is the Hong Kong they want to see after the liberation? I thank the Hong Kong people, the agencys chief, Zheng Yanxiong, said in a rare public speech on National Security Education Day, in April. Expressions of dissent can be punished with up to life in jail, with the possibility of being sent to mainland China. But Mr. Xi was not yet ready to make dramatic incursions into Hong Kong. Chinese officials intensified calls for the territory to pass security legislation, a commitment demanded by the Basic Law, Beijings framework of rules that give Hong Kong its special status. A week later, the Hong Kong government announced that Chinas security agency would build a permanent headquarters on the citys waterfront, occupying a site about the size of two football fields. Some people think that the central government cant do anything, Mo Jihong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state think tank, said at a 2016 meeting about security legislation for Hong Kong. Chinese officials have said that the changes are improvements aimed at ensuring that only "patriots" are in control of Hong Kong. But one of the most pressing questions is what it means to be a Hongkonger. Its a catch-all law that has no limits how can we accept it? Its the city where I grew up.. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Hong Kongs march toward an authoritarian future began with a single phrase in a dry policy paper. The exodus intensified in the run-up to 1 August, when an immigration law allowing the government to bar people entering or leaving the city came into effect. But Im still thinking about the young people who dont have the right to apply for a visa [the scheme is only open to people over 18 who have BNO status. Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT, Purchase a Trial subscription for 100 for 4 weeks, You will be billed 4,190 per month after the trial ends. Britain is now in a dither over how to react. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Hong Kong handover: Am I Chinese or Hongkonger? The Chinese embassy in the U.K. issued a swift rebuttal to what it described as "groundless slanders. Now I am forced to flee Chinas white terror | Steve Vines, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. RUWITCH: Yes, Xi said that everyone in Hong Kong needs to understand and support the fact that the Communist Party runs China, that Beijing ultimately has jurisdiction over the territory, even though it has autonomy to a certain extent, and that only, quote, unquote, "patriots" can administer Hong Kong. You will still need to wear a mask if you visit . In Chinas top-down system, Mr. Xis words galvanized policymakers to look for new ways to defend that red line.. But Chinas leaders had already reached beyond the offices that usually dealt with Hong Kong their credibility wounded by the months of protest and quietly recruited experts to prepare for the security intervention, said two people who were told about the deliberations by participants. I grew up when Hong Kong was still a British colony, so that makes it easy for me to adapt to the British way of life. The 1st of July, 1997, will be a day worth remembering forever. Now, we need to educate our kids so that when they grow up, they have the choice to either go back to Hong Kong or stay in the UK. Advertisement. Its much cheaper in England compared with Hong Kong. They can bring over their dependents, but their children cant apply independently. Given the risk of a global backlash, and the territorys vital financial role, many assumed that Mr. Xi would move cautiously. Luckily, I met someone who was aware of the situation in Hong Kong and told me I could rent a room in his house.
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