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Poll Shows Hong Kongers Not Exactly Against China
Jan 2, 2020, 01:59pm
Only 17% of Hong Kongers say they want independence from China with just 20% saying China has abused the “one country, two systems” model to favor Beijing, a Reuters poll released on December 31 shows.
The survey, conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Institute exclusively for Reuters, asked 1,021 locals in mid-December how they felt about the ongoing protests in the autonomous region, and asked for their thoughts on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. A clear majority supported the protests, and 57% supported the removal of Lam as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive.
Protests began last year in response to a number of government issues, but exploded in regards to a proposed law that would allow for people in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China to stand trial.
Hong Kongers saw this as a breach of the one country, two systems policy that has been in place since the U.K. government returned Hong Kong, once a colonial outpost, to the Chinese in the 1990s.
China has two autonomous regions that act independently from Beijing. Hong Kong is the biggest. The former Portuguese colonial territory and now gambling den, Macau, is the other one.
Both have their own currencies and freedoms not enjoyed by those ruled fully by the Communist Party in Beijing. However, Hong Kong is far and away the most important city for China as it is a massive source of dollars, a global financial center, and a great end-around current tariffs imposed by President Trump.
The reveal that a majority of Hong Kongers are not pushing for independence is a positive for Beijing, whose leaders have fallen short of calling the protest movement a CIA operation.
Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, have warned the U.S. to stay out of domestic affairs. The U.S. Senate passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act last month, backing the Hong Kong protesters whom Trump said should have been listed in Time magazine’s Person of the Year issue.
Hong Kong protesters are often seen waving American and British flags at protest rallies.
Many young protesters will lose existing freedoms — such as access to foreign social media and content — by the time they are in their 40s. The one country, two systems model expires in 2047, making Hong Kong no different than Shanghai.
Some China watchers believe Beijing will extend that date, preferring to keep Hong Kong at status quo in order to avoid political unrest and an exodus of young people to other competing cities like Shanghai, Seoul, and to a larger extent, London and to cities throughout the U.S.
Hong Kong ended 2019 on both a high note and a low one.
Activist leaders were brutally beaten in October. But a month later, voters handed dozens of pro-Beijing politicians their hats in a romp that saw pro-Democracy politicians winning District Council seats.
Protesters were back at it again on Wednesday, with more taking to the streets to highlight their five demands, including the release of people arrested at rallies.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrap...ngers-not-exactly-against-china/#47bb07543b1a
Jan 2, 2020, 01:59pm
Only 17% of Hong Kongers say they want independence from China with just 20% saying China has abused the “one country, two systems” model to favor Beijing, a Reuters poll released on December 31 shows.
The survey, conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Institute exclusively for Reuters, asked 1,021 locals in mid-December how they felt about the ongoing protests in the autonomous region, and asked for their thoughts on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. A clear majority supported the protests, and 57% supported the removal of Lam as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive.
Protests began last year in response to a number of government issues, but exploded in regards to a proposed law that would allow for people in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China to stand trial.
Hong Kongers saw this as a breach of the one country, two systems policy that has been in place since the U.K. government returned Hong Kong, once a colonial outpost, to the Chinese in the 1990s.
China has two autonomous regions that act independently from Beijing. Hong Kong is the biggest. The former Portuguese colonial territory and now gambling den, Macau, is the other one.
Both have their own currencies and freedoms not enjoyed by those ruled fully by the Communist Party in Beijing. However, Hong Kong is far and away the most important city for China as it is a massive source of dollars, a global financial center, and a great end-around current tariffs imposed by President Trump.
The reveal that a majority of Hong Kongers are not pushing for independence is a positive for Beijing, whose leaders have fallen short of calling the protest movement a CIA operation.
Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, have warned the U.S. to stay out of domestic affairs. The U.S. Senate passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act last month, backing the Hong Kong protesters whom Trump said should have been listed in Time magazine’s Person of the Year issue.
Hong Kong protesters are often seen waving American and British flags at protest rallies.
Many young protesters will lose existing freedoms — such as access to foreign social media and content — by the time they are in their 40s. The one country, two systems model expires in 2047, making Hong Kong no different than Shanghai.
Some China watchers believe Beijing will extend that date, preferring to keep Hong Kong at status quo in order to avoid political unrest and an exodus of young people to other competing cities like Shanghai, Seoul, and to a larger extent, London and to cities throughout the U.S.
Hong Kong ended 2019 on both a high note and a low one.
Activist leaders were brutally beaten in October. But a month later, voters handed dozens of pro-Beijing politicians their hats in a romp that saw pro-Democracy politicians winning District Council seats.
Protesters were back at it again on Wednesday, with more taking to the streets to highlight their five demands, including the release of people arrested at rallies.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrap...ngers-not-exactly-against-china/#47bb07543b1a
