In a time where the world is preoccupied with how to recover from a pandemic, Xi Jinping has shown that China will not be undermined because of it. In the past year, China has been dealing with the Hong Kong protests and as a result has received strong international backlash. More recently, Taiwanese separatists have added pressure because they want Taiwan to join WHO as a result of their successful handling of the coronavirus outbreak. China has refused to back down and chose to clamp down even harder on separatist sentiment.
The past week saw China moving to bypass Hong Kong’s Basic Law, which caused international upset. China plans to impose national security laws in Hong Kong in an attempt to regain control of Hong Kong as a result of the protests the past year. The new security laws are expected to entirely ban treason, subversion and sedition. There are fears that this law will allow China to target critics within the Hong Kong government.
Hong Kong has been regarded as separate from China because of its history of being a British colony. In a 1984 agreement, China agreed to accept Hong Kong’s more Western-style laws and basic freedoms when the British agreed to return the colony back to Chinese rule. The principle of ‘one country two systems’ was then adopted in order to describe the governance of Hong Kong and Macau. This made Hong Kong a part of China’s foreign and defense policies but separate in terms of domestic affairs.
China’s current government abhors the idea of having 2 types of Chinese government and believes in the one-China policy, where there can only be 1 type of Chinese government and that is the one operating in mainland China. Usually, the one-China policy is applied to Taiwan’s case but the Hong Kong protests over the past year has put it in the spotlight since the protestors flirt with the idea of autonomy and independence from the mainland.
The Hong Kong protests 2019-2020 began because of the Fugitives Offenders amendment bill, which would put Hong Kongers under the jurisdiction and legal system of mainland China. Although the bill has been withdrawn, there is already substantial tension between protestors and the government because of it. The Chinese government has been criticised due to its handling of the protests. Protestors have condemned the police for using excessive force on what was initially peaceful protesting.
So why has China taken a dramatic approach to Hong Kong? Because between the recent protests and Carrie Lam backing down and withdrawing the bill, Hong Kong can no longer be used as an example for Taiwan. While Carrie Lam was cracking down on the protests, Tsai Ing-wen successfully secured her second term. Ms Tsai, known for her strong stance against Beijing, famously said “today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan” shot up in the polls as a result of Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong. Taiwan is already seen as a “key support base” for the protest movement in Hong Kong so if the support continues as the situation escalates, the region would become more unstable. Therefore to ensure control over the region and the overall bigger picture of the one-China policy, regaining control over Hong Kong is vital.
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