On the eve of July 1, 1997, pro-democracy politician Emily Lau, 70, distributed postcards in central Hong Kong to mark the moment when Hong Kong, a British colony for over 150 years, returned to Chinese hands. Lau didn’t celebrate the transfer of power, but neither did she protest.
“We accepted it,” she says. “The people who were afraid had left. Those who stayed behind had a wait-and-see attitude. Many people thought: we are Chinese, and Hong Kong is on Chinese soil. We didn’t want to ask the British to stay, and we didn’t want independence. Some of the pro-democracy camp called for a return to China, but with democracy.’
As the 25th anniversary of the transfer is celebrated on Friday, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the atmosphere in Hong Kong is very different. After months of protests in 2019 against Beijing’s increasing influence, the Chinese government hit back with the introduction of a National Security Act and reform of the electoral system. They were used to muzzle opponents and reverse Hong Kong’s gradual democratization.
To date, 189 people have been arrested under the Security Act, including MPs, lawyers, journalists and academics. The opposition has disappeared from parliament, ten independent media have been shut down and history books are being rewritten. Xi’s two-day visit to Hong Kong was celebrated in the Financial Times described as that of ‘an emperor who triumphantly moves to a rebellious outpost finally crushed by his generals’.
Agreement upon transfer
“Nobody could have predicted this would happen,” said Lau, a former Democratic Party leader and one of the few opposition members who dared to speak to foreign media. “We were concerned that our freedom would diminish, but not that it would get that bad. Our freedoms, our security, the rule of law: everything is crumbling. Many of my friends and party members are in prison, others have left Hong Kong.’
Western governments accuse Beijing of not complying with the Hong Kong agreements. Under an agreement between China and the United Kingdom, Hong Kong would retain political, economic and legal autonomy for 50 years after 1997, on the principle of ‘one country, two systems’. The Basic Law, Hong Kong’s unofficial constitution, stated that residents would gradually gain universal suffrage.
“One country, two systems” was a brilliant concept,” said Chris Patten, 78, who was the last British governor to govern Hong Kong. “It solved many political and moral difficulties surrounding the handover, both for China and the United Kingdom, and it ensured that Hong Kongers would maintain their lifestyle for 50 years. But that was of course destroyed by Xi Jinping.’
Musical protests
In the first years there was much protest in Hong Kong, but Beijing gave in. In 2003, 500 thousand people demonstrated against a National Security Act, which was repealed. “There were big protests, but no police were involved,” says Lau. ‘The Lonely Planet even cited the peaceful, colorful and musical protests as a reason to come to Hong Kong. As long as Beijing controlled itself and left Hong Kong alone, everything ran smoothly.’
More and more Hongkongers felt at home in China, but around 2012 a turning point followed. Chinese cities overtook Hong Kong economically, and more and more mainland Chinese bought real estate and luxury goods in Hong Kong, causing prices to rise and annoyance.
Xi Jinping also brought a president to power who was far less patient with activists, human rights lawyers or Hong Kong democrats. When he limited the promised universal suffrage to pre-approved candidates in 2014, the Umbrella Movement erupted. That turned out to be a prelude to much larger and more violent protests in 2019.
“Some opposition figures openly called for Hong Kong’s independence, insulted the national flag, destroyed public facilities and attacked government buildings,” said Liu Shuyong, 81, a professor of history at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. “In those circumstances, the central government had no choice but to act decisively.”
Foreign tensions
Liu, a mainland native, has been following developments in Hong Kong for more than 40 years, commenting on the transfer in 1997 as a guest host on the Chinese state channel CCTV International. His view on Hong Kong’s history is in line with the official view. “Across the world, most Chinese people had a sense of pride about Hong Kong’s return,” he says. “It felt like a holiday.”
According to Liu, “one country, two systems” is still intact: Hong Kong is not a state-led market economy like the rest of China. But it has not always been easy, due to economic problems, rising populism, but also foreign tensions. “The opposition in Hong Kong has become younger and more radical. Some western countries have fanned the flames behind the scenes by using Hong Kong to stem China’s development.’
Liu is positive about the future, and above all hopes that economic development can reduce political tensions, in line with the Chinese government view. But that is miles from how the opposition sees it. “The second half of the fifty years will be very difficult,” says politician Lau. “But we will continue to fight for what we believe in, peacefully. We’re not giving up. I often visit my friends in prison, and they feel the same way. It’s not over.’
High visit: quarantine
Xi’s visit to Hong Kong marks his first trip outside mainland China since the start of the Covid pandemic. To exclude the risk of contamination, all three thousand people present had to be quarantined for 24 hours in advance, and in a ‘closed loop’ for one week, with a PCR test every day. Xi will be in Hong Kong for two days, but will stay overnight in Shenzhen, according to local media. He will attend a 25th anniversary ceremony on Friday, as well as the inauguration of new Chief Executive Officer John Lee, a Beijing confidant.