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A generation struggling to find hope: Extradition bill furore masks deeper issues facing Hong Kong youths

HONG KONG — It was only his third day of work, at his very first job since graduating from university. But Simon, who declined to reveal his full name, took annual leave to participate in protests on June 12.

Protesters fear that the bill would lead to the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong as anyone, including critics of Beijing, could be extradited to China.

Protesters fear that the bill would lead to the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong as anyone, including critics of Beijing, could be extradited to China.

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HONG KONG — It was only his third day of work, at his very first job since graduating from university. But Simon, who declined to reveal his full name, took annual leave to participate in protests on June 12.

“I’m in the banking industry, you can imagine they are not very open, they don’t talk about this,” said the 23-year-old, who joined thousands of others on the streets of Hong Kong to protest an extradition bill that had been proposed by the government.

“We are afraid of losing our jobs, we are afraid of being arrested. But why do we still go on the streets? We are fighting for freedom. We are fighting for the next generation of Hong Kong.”

Simon’s impassioned cry reflects the widespread anger among Hong Kong’s youths who had colonised the city’s streets over the past month to express their mounting dissatisfaction with the government.

The proposed bill, which would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be transferred to Taiwan and China, was the latest trigger for their collective action, but their despair and rage run deeper.

After all, this was not the first time that they had taken to the streets en masse. The Umbrella movement five years ago saw Hong Kong youths occupying roads for 79 days, demanding universal suffrage.

Their malaise is also partly driven by economic anxieties, with many frustrated that professional jobs and adequate housing are increasingly out of reach.

GROWING DISTRUST AND FEAR

The recent tensions came to a head when a group of protesters stormed the grounds of the Legislative Council complex on July 1 and defaced its chambers, the same day the city commemorated its handover to China.

The protesters fear that the bill would lead to the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong as anyone, including critics of Beijing, could be extradited to China.

While the bill has been declared “dead” by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday (July 9), protesters remained unconvinced.

Earlier in June, several assurances from Mrs Lam that Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and freedom of the press would not be affected did nothing to quell their fears as well.

The root of the problem is the distrust towards both the Hong Kong and Beijing government, a theme that came out often through TODAY’s interviews with several youth protesters.  

“We think the government may not play by the rules. We are having lesser and lesser trust in our government and in the institutions as well,” said a 21-year-old university student, who wanted to be known only as Kiu.

While the bill has been declared “dead” by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday (July 9), protesters remained unconvinced. Photo: The New York Times

While the issues that triggered street protests five years ago and today are different, the underlying concerns are the same: Anxiety over the future of a Hong Kong that would be ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

The erosion of trust is a result of a series of incidents over the last few years which the youth protesters see as insidious ways by which Beijing is slowly but surely increasing its control over Hong Kong.

In their view, the launch of mega-infrastructure projects, such as the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai and a planned high-speed rail station in Hong Kong, are among the steps Beijing is taking to tie Hong Kong’s economic fate to China’s.

They also cite as evidence for their suspicions the 2016 and 2017 disqualification of pro-democracy Legislative Council members, as well as a policy implemented in 1980 that allows 150 mainlanders to migrate to an increasingly overcrowded Hong Kong every day.

Many also said they feared suppression of free speech under Communist rule, pointing to the abduction in 2015 of five staff members of a bookstore selling books critical of Beijing.

“We lack the trust in the Chinese government. Even if it does not charge you with political reasons, they can charge you with maybe a crime,” said a 24-year-old youth protester who wanted to be known only as Ms Yau.

The independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary is also deemed to be under threat after China’s national legislature interpreted the Basic Law — effectively the city’s constitution, which took effect after the 1997 handover — on five occasions.

Rightly or wrongly, youth protesters have developed a fear that they might be arrested even for participating in peaceful protests, which was why many declined to reveal their full names to TODAY.

“We never imagined that Hong Kong people would one day have to be hiding from the government just because we are urging the government not to do the wrong thing. It’s hilarious but at the same time very sad,” said Kiu.

A YOUTH-LED MOVEMENT?

While the young people of Hong Kong have become the face of the push for democracy over the last few years, analysts were quick to point out that the proposed extradition bill also sparked concerns among lawyers, academics and business groups, among others.

That said, Dr Stephan Ortmann, a politics professor at the City University of Hong Kong, said that the angst against the bill and the government as a whole “is particularly strong and widespread among the youth”.

After all, it is the young people who will be affected the most when 2047 approaches. That is the year when the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle is set to expire and it is uncertain of what will become of Hong Kong, hence rendering a greater sense of “urgency” among the youth, said Dr Ortmann.

Hence, youth protesters often mentioned how their relations with older people are fraying due to a “generational gap”, perceiving their elders as being concerned only with their monthly pay cheques.

Yet, some youths may, over time, end up following in the footsteps of these older people.

One young protester, 21-year-old Owen Hui, said many of his friends who were active in the Umbrella movement five years ago did not participate in this year’s protests against the extradition bill, simply because they have started working.

They have “lost their energy and the power to attend the protests and fight for the future”, the university student lamented. “They have not given up hope. But because they have to work for a living, therefore they just don’t have the time and energy to do so.”

Ms Wing Chan, a 33-year-old programmer, is emblematic of this trend. She is against the extradition bill but said she is able to participate in protest events only on weekends due to work commitments.

Dr Ortmann said this does not mean that youthful angst against the government dissipates with age, just that it may become “less immediate, as other work-related issues become more important”.

THE “SILENT” VOICES

While there is a lot of attention on how Hong Kong youths had been driving the protests, there are also young people with different views.

Speaking to TODAY, these youths from the opposing camp said they felt that their voices had been largely ignored in the ongoing debates and media reports about the extradition bill.

While attending a protest to support the police, they were quick to point out that their presence did not automatically mean that they are pro-Beijing or pro-government.

Some told TODAY that while they understood the source of the angst of many young protesters, they believe their methods to be wrong and directionless.

“They don’t have a clear strategy, they don’t have a clear goal. They just want democracy and freedom, but how?” questioned a 23-year-old postgraduate student, who wanted to be known only as Davy.

While attending a protest to support the police in performing their duties to enforce law and order, many were quick to point out that their presence did not automatically mean that they are pro-Beijing or pro-government. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY

They also called out what they believe to be hypocrisy among some youth protesters who had become so extreme in their opinions that they automatically shut down others who expressed a different viewpoint.

These youths, who believe that the bill has been politicised by anti-establishment groups, said they have developed a fear of sharing their contrarian views due to the censure they might face from their friends and the wider community. Hence, some requested that TODAY not publish their full names. 

As one of them, who wanted to be known only as Eric, put it: “(The minority who disagree with the protesters) are afraid to speak up, because their friends would bully them. Is that freedom of speech? I don’t think so.”

“I think Hong Kong is given a higher degree of freedom of speech (than China), but (youth protesters) are diminishing it by themselves. That’s really sad,” said the 24-year-old postgraduate. 

Another proponent of the bill, who wanted to be known only as Rogan, attributed it to the lack of critical thinking among some youth protesters, who are selective about the news they consume and end up “believing what they want to believe”.

“Some people have walls on the Internet (referring to the Internet firewall blocking Chinese citizens from accessing information outside China), some people have walls in their mind. The government is not the key to freedom of speech. These people limit themselves,” said the 24-year-old postgraduate.

Whether for or against the extradition bill, it is clear from the interviews that Hong Kong youths have a high degree of political consciousness.

Former Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa has attributed this to the introduction of liberal studies in secondary schools. Analysts pointed to other factors.

According to Dr Gary Wong, a sociologist at the University of Hong Kong, the awakening of political consciousness among Hongkongers is a result of the lived realities after the city’s handover to China in 1997.

The colonial government enjoyed some degree of legitimacy due to a "long period of economic expansion and minimal interference in local culture". That is not to say there wasn’t any public discontent, but people knew that the colonial government was not accountable to them, said Dr Wong.

Things changed after the handover, with expectations that Hong Kong was now led by a government accountable to the public. Yet the result has been decades of economic stagnation and widening social inequalities.

“Growing up under this social environment, I believe that young people will be politically aware without receiving (liberal education),” said Dr Wong.

POOR GOVERNANCE

While the issue of personal freedom has been the rallying cry, some youth protesters have said that their increasingly tough living conditions are also contributing factors.

Besides sky-high property prices, the perception that housing policies only benefit wealthy investors from China adds to the tension.

Lamenting the exorbitant prices of properties in Hong Kong, Mr Hui said that it is an issue which “increases the conflict between the young people and the Hong Kong government”. 

High office and retail rents in Hong Kong have had a domino effect of creating other problems — prices at supermarkets and eateries have risen and new companies, such as start-ups, face difficulties establishing themselves.  

Wage increases, unfortunately, have not gone up in tandem.

While the issue of personal freedom has been the rallying cry, some youth protesters have said that their increasingly tough living conditions are also contributing factors. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY

Data from Hong Kong’s statistics department in 2015 showed that while the median income rose 20 per cent over the past 20 years, education fees have gone up by 75 per cent, while property prices have tripled.

With widening social inequality, it has become increasingly difficult for the young to achieve upward social mobility.

In the 1980s and 1990s, it was still possible for the working class to improve their life conditions despite fewer opportunities.

“The life chances of young people are less favourable now. The class structure is getting more rigid,” said Dr Wong.

The government has also failed to increase the supply of public housing, leading to at least a five-and-a-half-year waiting time for applicants to be allocated a home.

Hong Kong’s land sale policy, which favours high bids as it contributes to the government’s coffers, leads to high land costs and adds to the problem. Landowners and property tycoons sit on huge land reserves, so there is little space that can be freed up for public housing.

Dr Ortmann said that the disproportionate power held by these property tycoons are a colonial legacy, and the inability of the post-handover government to correct these issues have definitely contributed to the angst.

With calls for every successive Chief Executive to resign after the handover, the root cause for poor governance rests squarely on the political system set up in Hong Kong, analysts said.

The Chief Executive is elected with very limited public participation. Many of those who have a say in the election come from the business community and pro-Beijing groups. This means the leader in Hong Kong is primarily accountable to the central government and business interests, and not to the masses, analysts said.

In addition, the Chief Executive does not have a ruling party with which she can control the government, said Dr Ortmann. 

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Desperation and hopelessness — these emotions seemed to cut across many Hong Kong youths whom TODAY spoke to, no matter which side of the extradition bill they are on.

For some, the overriding fear is that Hong Kong will become another city in mainland China and lose its distinctive qualities.

For others, it is the unresolved social inequalities and increasingly polarised viewpoints that will tear the social fabric.

While young Hongkongers of various political stripes believe that universal suffrage, which was promised in the Basic Law, would be a key step forward, analysts are more pessimistic.

It may accord the Hong Kong government greater legitimacy, said Dr Wong, but in principle and in reality, the Chief Executive “should also be accountable to Beijing” under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

“This is a structural problem of One Country, Two Systems,” added Dr Wong.

Dr Ortmann echoed similar sentiments, adding that such a system could work if China granted sufficient autonomy and trusted local leaders.

“This appears not to be the case, which is perhaps not surprising considering China's centralised political system which is based on a lack of trust toward local officials,” he added.

“In any case, China needs to think soon what will happen after 2047, as no transition period or any plans appear to exist.”

Related topics

Hong Kong protest Carrie Lam Hong Kong protesters extradition bill

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