![]() ![]() Experts say that ambiguity in the Basic Law heightens this fundamental tension. China is a one-party state and is reluctant to allow Hong Kong to hold free and fair elections. Was Hong Kong ever a democracy?Īlthough Hong Kong has certain freedoms, it has never been rated a full democracy by international standards. But in practice, Beijing has curtailed some of these rights. ![]() Under the Basic Law, Hong Kongers are supposed to be guaranteed freedoms of the press, expression, assembly, and religion, as well as protections under international law. Hong Kong is allowed to forge external relations in certain areas-including trade, communications, tourism, and culture-but Beijing maintains control over the region’s diplomacy and defense. (Qing Dynasty leaders ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Crown in 1842 after China’s defeat in the First Opium War.) Portugal returned Macau in 1999, and Taiwan remains independent. After more than a century and a half of colonial rule, the British government returned Hong Kong in 1997. The concept was intended to help integrate Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau with sovereign China while preserving their unique political and economic systems. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China that has, until recently, largely been free to manage its own affairs based on “ one country, two systems,” a national unification policy developed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s. These moves have not only drawn international condemnation but have also raised questions about Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub and dimmed hopes that the city will ever become a full-fledged democracy. Since then, authorities have arrested dozens of pro-democracy activists, lawmakers, and journalists curbed voting rights and limited freedoms of the press and speech. In 2020, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong. But in recent years, Beijing has taken increasingly brazen steps to encroach on Hong Kong’s political system and crack down on dissent. ![]()
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