Seven things Hong Kongers fear they could lose to China

Pro-democracy protesters. Photo by our Observer Enoch Chan

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters are currently occupying central Hong Kong, and refusing to leave. Despite deploying tear gas and making dozens of arrests over the weekend, police have not been able to dislodge the demonstrators, who want to be able to vote free of Beijing’s interference. Our Observers explain that they are afraid of losing many of the freedoms they enjoy in Hong Kong if the Chinese authorities gain more influence in the city’s affairs.

Police firing tear gas at protesters on Sunday night. Video courtesy of François-Xavier Pasquier.

Though Beijing had promised that Hong Kong residents would be able to freely elect their next chief executive in 2017, the Chinese authorities are now insisting on vetting candidates, which has angered many. A policy paper issued back in June, which stated that the city's high degree of autonomy is more of a privilege than a right, also fanned the flames of discontent.

During the last big pro-democracy protests, just two months ago, we asked our Observers in Hong Kong how they felt about this situation. Here are seven things they told us they were concerned they soon would no longer be able to do:

Cast their votes freely

If they do not allow our first-ever genuine universal suffrage, I fear there is a high possibility that the government will become more autocratic and will never listen to our voices. Many of us fear that the chief executive would act only to benefit mainland China but not Hong Kong, and that the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ status of Hong Kong will finally change.

Express themselves

What most people in Hong Kong are currently afraid of is assimilation with China. If you go to China, you realise that, even though you are pretty much free to do anything or roam about the country, there are a lot of limitations to your life. You can't access foreign websites such as YouTube or Facebook; you can't say certain words or use certain catchphrases if they are politically sensitive… And you have to watch where you go and what you advocate for. So of course, people here in Hong Kong are afraid of losing their freedom of expression.

Riot police on the streets of Hong Kong Sunday night. Photo by our Observer Peggy Yeung.

Get a fair trial

The Chinese government made "loving the country" a requirement for judges [in a white paper released June 10]. We all question whether the Chinese government really wants judges to love the country, or if what they really mean is that the judges will have to serve the government. We believe the judiciary of Hong Kong should always be independent. We are really afraid that one day, Hong Kong will become the same as China, where laws aren’t respected and corruption is rampant.

Protesters reenacted the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre during a protest in July. Photo by our Observer Eddy.

Take to the streets

Clement Ngu is a university student in Hong Kong.

I’m worried that we could lose our freedom to gather in big groups and protest. In recent protests, I was struck by how so many people could come together to make their voices heard. Yes, the police try to discourage them. But they are not deterred, and still feel free to say exactly what is on their minds.

Posted on Twitter by @chunshek

Think critically

Frederick Yeung is a freelance writer in Hong Kong.

I’m worried that the Chinese Communist Party wants to completely brainwash our children with patriotic education praising the Communist rule. Patriotic education is already widespread in schools here in Hong Kong. In textbooks, there are messages about how to love the People’s Republic of China, and encouraging children to spread this mindset to parents.

They also promote the importance of the Communist Party in modern Chinese history, focusing on economic growth and technology breakthroughs in the space industry, but neglecting to mention wrongdoings such as the June 4 massacre of 1989 [at Tiananmen Square] or the arrests of activists such as Liu Xiaobo.

 

In addition, the government is pushing for standard Mandarin, which is China’s official language, to replace Cantonese in primary schools. While people in Hong Kong don’t reject the learning of Mandarin, many are worried that this could lead to the decline of Cantonese.

 

Right now, people in Hong Kong can still criticise Chinese leaders and policies based on facts, but the next generation may lose this capability if they are educated in a patriotic way, putting national interests before public interests. And that could harm the nation’s development in the long term.

Ride in safe transportation

Bon Lam owns an IT company in Hong Kong.

I’m concerned that Hong Kong’s infrastructure will become very poor if China gains more influence. This is already starting to become a real problem. For example, Hong Kong recently started buying Chinese-made trains. This was total nonsense, since they cost more than those we would have bought from French or Japanese companies. This is not just like, say, buying a cheap China-made mobile phone.

The Chinese aren’t exactly known for the safety of their trains – just look at the Wenzhou train collision incident, which showed how terrible their technology is. With infrastructure, we’re risking our lives in the interest of the Chinese! We need to worry about our infrastructure, food, education and even drinking water under the control of this puppet government, who are destroying Hong Kong to please the People’s Republic of China. The next government won’t be any better if there is no universal suffrage.