Hong Kong’s independence has been a long-standing and complex issue for the past 200 years. Hong Kong first became a colony after the Chinese government ceded the territory to the British in 1842 at the end of the first Opium War. The territory then remained in British control for the next 150 years. In 1997, the territory was transferred back to China but was permitted to keep their own system of government for the next 50 years.

Hong Kong’s current government system is not a direct democracy. Their legislative council members are selected by special interest groups, and the city’s Chief Executive is selected by other politicians and corporate members of an Election Committee, cutting off any source of participation from the general population.

Many of the recent issues in Hong Kong are centered around this absence of a democratic government.

Currently, the people of Hong Kong are protesting against the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill which was proposed by the Hong Kong Government in March earlier this year. If passed, the bill will allow fugitives from China and Taiwan residing in Hong Kong to be extradited back to the respective country in which they committed their offense. Protestors fear that the bill will begin to strip away Hong Kong’s autonomy and return control of the territory to mainland China.

Since the bill was proposed in March, protestors have taken to the streets in mass numbers to protest against the government and the Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The protestors have named five demands from the government including withdrawing the extradition bill, requiring Carrie Lam to step down, investigation into police brutality, release of arrested protestors, and greater forms of democracy. July 9, the Extradition Bill was declared dead, becoming the only demand to be answered thus far.

However, protests are still a daily occurrence in Hong Kong and the violence is only escalating. Most recently, large protests occurred on the 70th anniversary of Hong Kong at the beginning of October, resulting in an 18 year old boy being shot. To dampen the protests, Chief Executive Lam has put in place an anti-mask law in order to identify the protesters and deter them from going out into the streets.

Every day the protests become increasingly violent and may not end until each of the demands has been answered or the government crackdown becomes even more heavy-handed.

The American people must stand with the people of Hong Kong and help defend their independence and democratic rights through legislation and awareness of the island’s current situation. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”