China saw hundreds of demos this year, but Hong Kong remains quiet
Hong Kong Free Press
Hundreds of protesters massed at three government offices in Shenzhen on November 27 to press authorities for an update on an official investigation into the collapse of China Evergrande, in what Reuters described as the first sizable protest in the country since 2022.
Significantly, the protests “were organised to follow official channels for expressing grievances to avoid antagonising authorities,” the news agency reported. Thus, they reached the front desks of various government offices en masse. Through protest citizens expressed “deep-seated frustration,” mostly with the implementation of government policies.
From July to September this year mainstream media such as Reuters and Bloomberg reported a dramatic increase in smaller-scale protests on the mainland. Researchers logged 826 protests nationwide, of which 57 per cent were organised group actions focused mostly on economic issues – often in Guangdong, but also in Shandong, Sichuan, Henan and Zhejiang.
Construction workers, textile and garment workers, service and logistics employees, and schoolteachers all voiced their discontent. In one analysis, hundreds of cases involved homeowners pushing back against the perceived abuses and overreach of property management companies, as mainland authorities mobilised these companies to serve what media described as “the first line of social management.”
But protesters on the mainland do not just focus on economic issues. Witness the urban “white paper” protests in November 2022 targeting Covid restrictions.
Mainland cases indicate that protest is not pre-approved by police, can take many forms and mostly does not rely on mass demonstrations. The cases also reveal that protest can be effective. Witness the authorities’ abrupt about-turn on Covid restrictions after the many white paper protests, and officials’ decision to compensate bank depositors after a fraud scandal in 2022. Still, mainland authorities investigated and detained those they perceived to be active in these demonstrations. Protesting is risky.
By contrast, authorities in Hong Kong have in practice generally banned protests aimed at the government, such as those we often see on the mainland. True, this year they approved all of the 71 applications for public meetings and the 270 applications for public processions – such as festival parades or charity walks.
But these activities were not protests against our authorities, but celebrations and demonstrations of support for local officials or demonstrations against the actions of foreign governments.
Authorities in the city telegraphed that applications to hold demonstrations on traditional dates would be unwelcome. In 2021, police arrested the organisers of some newly controversial demonstrations such as those marking the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4.
In 2022, activists said they were taken to police stations and warned not to hold demonstrations on July 1, the anniversary of the Handover. They also claimed they were being monitored by police. It was in this environment that authorities have reported receiving no applications for demonstrations on traditional protest days such as June 4 or July 1.
In pre-Covid 2019, Hong Kong police approved 94 per cent of the 436 applications for public meetings and 96 per cent of 495 applications for public processions. The tide turned in 2020 when authorities introduced the national security law and pandemic social controls. Post-Covid, Hongkongers have apparently lost the capacity for authentic protests and demonstrations aimed at addressing local issues.
Yet both the PRC Constitution (Article 35) and the Basic Law (Article 27) recognise freedom of assembly, procession, and demonstration. Why is the practice of these freedoms so different on the mainland and in Hong Kong?
No one should accept protest that turns violent, as Hong Kong witnessed in 2019. Xia Baolong, Beijing’s point man on city affairs, reflected this when he observed in 2023 that “demonstrations are not the only way to express one’s interests and demands.” At the time, Basic Law Committee vice-chair Maria Tam said that Xia was not ruling out demonstrations.
In October this year former Hong Kong minister Anthony Cheung advised the government to relax its de facto ban on public protest. ‘If I were government, I would encourage certain groups to assemble. [To win back international support] you have to prove that assembly is still possible.” That is, authorities should indicate their willingness to consider applications for demonstrations on a wider range of issues than is currently the case.
When asked to comment on Cheung’s advice, Chief Executive John Lee said such a view was narrow-minded. “There are many ways to express an opinion such as through seminars – there is no single avenue.” Some protests had been hijacked in the past, he said. “The most important thing is to ensure that others are not affected.”
The police caution that protest must not violate “the rights and freedoms of others.” What does this mean? Not creating a traffic disturbance? Not occupying public space that others could use? Not calling attention to an issue or cause with which others (including the authorities) may disagree, find obnoxious, or distasteful?
In the absence of objective standards for ensuring that others are not affected, officials have wide latitude. Protest, however, is precisely targeted at affecting others, by calling attention to a problem or a cause and urging others, including the authorities, to act or to change course.
Post-1997 Hong Kong came to be known as a city of protest, even though it is costly of time and treasure. Citizens turn to demonstrations when they perceive that authorities, whether developers or government or others, have ignored their concerns. Authorities in Hong Kong should reconsider their general ban on protests by encouraging applications to hold demonstrations on a wider range of issues.
Human rights require such a change. So too does effective governance. The authorities, after all, are not the only source of solutions to our many public problems.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
| HKFP is an impartial platform & does not necessarily share the views of opinion writers or advertisers. HKFP presents a diversity of views & regularly invites figures across the political spectrum to write for us. Press freedom is guaranteed under the Basic Law, security law, Bill of Rights and Chinese constitution. Opinion pieces aim to point out errors or defects in the government, law or policies, or aim to suggest ideas or alterations via legal means without an intention of hatred, discontent or hostility against the authorities or other communities. |
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
https://hongkongfp.com/2024/12/08/china-saw-hundreds-of-demos-this-year-but-hong-kong-remains-quiet/