THE STREETS OF HONG KONG

Marking the 20th anniversary of the horrific event in Tiananmen, the protest is yet another round, in the long fight to save autonomy.

Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997, it has been a part of the British colony ever since the opium war in 1841. The sovereignty of Hong Kong was restored to China under "one nation, two systems". As per the agreement, Hong Kong will stay a part of China but will remain autonomous. It will keep its own judicial, legislative and economic system intact for 50 years. 

Currently, Hong Kong is witnessing a mass protest against the proposed extradition bill, which will allow criminal extradition to mainland China. Fearing the law will be used to silence voices against the autocratic Beijing, the citizens of Hong Kong marched on the streets in unison. This is the largest mass protest of its kind, unveiling a new chapter in the long book of struggle to preserve the autonomy.

Following a series of backlash, the administration has decided to suspend the controversial bill for now. 

China has regularly tried to curb Hong Kong's autonomy to bring it under direct administration of its ruling communist party. This, in turn, is creating a  gap of distrust between citizens of Hong Kong and the Chinese government, which continue to grow wider and deeper.

In 2014, a mass demonstration was ignited, following a decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress provisioning selective pre-screening of candidates running for the 2017 election of Hong Kong's chief executive. Widely reported in the press as the " Umbrella Movement", protestors used umbrellas in defense against police's pepper spray. The fight for a transparent democratic process was mostly armed with peaceful protests led by students at the forefront.

Tiananmen Square 1989

China has been long known for tackling public protests with an iron fist. Suspension of the extradition bill stands contradictory to the usual method including violence against its own citizens. 
The "Tiananmen square 1989" is such an example of protest held in the past and how China curbed it with the military action. The incident accounted for hundreds of lives and left many injured, the official figure of people killed was never released by the Chinese. 

Marking the 20th anniversary of the horrific event in Tiananmen, the protest is yet another round, in the long fight to save autonomy

Few of us might be convinced, that the Chinese aim of becoming the next world superpower overweighs current turmoil, forcing it to take a different route to resolve it. Somehow any such action against civilians might attract global criticism leaving a gap of trust which China is been trying to curb. 

Hong Kong remains open to the international press, which might act as a catalyst to the anti-Chinese campaign, led by the US in the veil of trade disputes. 

• Though the controversial bill was suspended, for the time being, the protestors are demanding the bill to be scrapped altogether. 
• Although not a permanent panacea for the pro-democratic voices in Hong Kong, future development will be quiet widely reported in the press. 
• Meanwhile, the Chinese government will try to persuade the citizens through different tactics without leveraging its admiration of becoming the global superpower surpassing the US.