Chinese leaders agreed to give Hong Kong a „high degree of autonomy“ when they retook power. Now residents fear China is reneging on that deal.
Reminders are everywhere, even underfoot. Stairs at Hong Kong parks, glued with Chinese floral prints, help mark an anniversary many refuse to celebrate.
Hong Kong will commemorate 20 years under Chinese rule Saturday, honoring the rainy night Britain returned the territory and ended a century and a half of colonization.
Local officials are spending $82 million on the festivities. China’s Xi Jinping will make his first trip to Hong Kong as president, a new leader will begin her term, and sparkling fireworks over Victoria Harbor will illuminate Asia’s financial hub.
But the sheen of celebration belies a divided society and a disenchanted populace. A small group of largely pro-Beijing elites chose the new chief executive, despite public opposition. Many citizens can’ t afford to live in its towers. Thousands plan to protest Xi’s visit.
Chinese leaders agreed to give Hong Kong a “high degree of autonomy” when they retook the territory. Now, more than ever, residents fear China is reneging on the deal.
People thought “as long as we’ re not breaking any Hong Kong laws, we’ re safe in our own beds, ” said Anson Chan, the territory’s former No. 2 official under the British and Hong Kong governments. “Now, no one thinks they’ re safe in their own bed.”
The first signs of conflict started Wednesday night, when police arrested 26 pro-democracy protesters for being a public nuisance — including legislator Nathan Law and Joshua Wong, a 20-year-old activist who has become the territory’s symbol of defiance.
They encircled the Golden Bauhinia statue, a blooming flower monument that China gave to Hong Kong to cheer the transfer of sovereignty. Xi will attend a flag-raising ceremony there this week.
Before the handover, Chinese and British officials negotiated a “one country, two systems” framework that lets the semiautonomous territory keep its independent courts, uncensored media and free speech for 50 more years — rights not enjoyed on the mainland.
Hong Kong is much better off than some predicted when it moved from Western governance to communist rule. Its economic output last year was nearly 60% higher than two decades ago. The tterritory tolerates political debate and regularly ranks as the world’s freest economy.
But an increasing number of its 7.3 million people sense those freedoms eroding.
“I fear for the worst, ” said Adrian Chiu, a 25-year-old research assistant, “that ‘one country, two systems’ will soon only exist in name.”
The U. K.’s seizure of the territory in 1841 came as a surprise, even to the British.
