Council of Councils
Think Global Health
Online Store
International efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say countries aren’t doing enough to limit dangerous global warming.
Protests in Hong Kong: Three Things to Know
October 7, 2014 3:07 pm (EST)
- Explainer Video
The Chinese government’s decision to appoint Hong Kong’s next chief executive from a list of vetted candidates has caused protests throughout the former British territory. Young students and professionals have banded together to demand more autonomy and express other grievances related to urban life. As the protests enter a second week, Barbara Demick, CFR’s Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow, offers three things to know:
- Not Tiananmen: The demonstrators—most in their teens and twenties—may conjure images of Tiananmen Square, but unlike 1989 the protests are not calling for democracy in mainland China, says Demick. "They are looking for a degree of self-rule for Hong Kong, which is, after all, a special administrative region," she explains.
More From Our Experts
- Broken Promises: In the eyes of the protestors, "China has reneged on pledges it made in 1997 when Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule," says Demick. As part of the transition, Hong Kong was guaranteed autonomy, freedom of speech, and free assembly—in a law commonly known as "one country, two systems." Beijing also promised "universal suffrage" by 2017, which many protestors believe should include the free election of Hong Kong’s chief executive.
- Basic Complaints: Beyond their rhetoric of democracy and freedom, Hong Kong protestors have "some real bread-and-butter grievances," says Demick. These include urban overcrowding, exorbitant real estate prices, and an extremely competitive job market.
More From Our Experts
Explore More on Hong Kong
Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong in recent years, dimming hopes that the financial center will ever become a full democracy.
After the British government handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997, Beijing promised to let the city keep its capitalist economy and some of its democratic freedoms under the “one country, two systems” approach. However, Hong Kong’s future looks grim as Beijing increasingly cracks down on protests, free press, and dissent.
This compelling book reveals China’s ambitious new strategy to reclaim the country’s past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape in dramatic new ways.
Top Stories on CFR
Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at CFR, and Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at CFR, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the future of U.S. policy toward Russia and the risks posed by heightened tensions between two nuclear powers. This episode is the first in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Violence around U.S. elections in 2024 could not only destabilize American democracy but also embolden autocrats across the world. Jacob Ware recommends that political leaders take steps to shore up civic trust and remove the opportunity for violence ahead of the 2024 election season.
Those seeking to profit from fentanyl and governments seeking to control its supply are locked in a never-ending competition, with each new countermeasure spurring further innovation to circumvent it.