Beijing snuffs out sparks of democracy in Hong Kong

As Americans head to the polls today, Hong Kong residents are heading to the streets after Beijing barred two legally elected pro-independence legislators from taking office. In an effort to stem the rise of the independence movement in the former British colony, China violated its agreement to allow Hong Kong a “high degree of autonomy” in political, economic, and legal affairs.

Thousands of protesters angry over the announcement clashed with police armed with batons and pepper spray outside the China Liaison Office on Sunday night. The demonstration, which saw four people arrested and two officers injured, echoed the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement two years earlier. More protests are expected in the coming days.

At the center of the dispute are two young lawmakers, 30-year-old Sixtus “Baggio” Leung and 25-year-old Yau Wai-ching, both elected in September. During their swearing-in ceremony, they defied Chinese rule by holding flags that read “Hong Kong is not China” and altered their oaths, pledging allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation.” Yau also added in an expletive and a derogatory term for China.

The Hong Kong government deemed the oaths invalid and called for a legal challenge to keep the two from taking their seats. Before the courts could decide the case, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee stepped in and issued a ruling on Hong Kong’s Basic Law, or mini-constitution. It said lawmakers must read their oaths “completely and solemnly” in allegiance to Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, or else they would be disqualified without a chance to retake the oath. Lawmakers who make a “false oath” or engage in acts that violate the oath will be subject to legal action.

Standing Committee chairman Li Fei called Yau and Leung traitors and claimed Beijing’s interpretation would “defend national unity and sovereignty.” He went on to say that supporting self-determination—giving Hong Kong residents the chance to determine the fate of the city after it is scheduled to fully reunite with China in 2047—is equivalent to advocating for independence. And Beijing “is determined to firmly confront the pro-independence forces without any ambiguity.”

This is the most direct intervention by the Chinese government since the 1997 handover: China has never before blocked an elected Hong Kong lawmaker from taking office or interpreted the Basic Law before a Hong Kong court released its ruling. Other pro-independence lawmakers also fear for their own seats despite being sworn in.

The U.S. State Department expressed disappointment over Beijing’s decision.

“We believe that an open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and government by the rule of law is essential for Hong Kong’s continued stability and prosperity,” spokesman Mark Toner said.

Hong Kong’s once-free South China Morning Post published an editorial stating the “timely intervention is necessary. It is a strong tool to stamp out pro-independence forces from entering the establishment.” Ever since Chinese tech giant Alibaba purchased the English-language newspaper, its editorials have fallen in line with Beijing’s official stance.

Claudia Mo, a pan-democracy legislator, said the Chinese government fears Hong Kong’s independence sentiments will spread to areas like Tibet and Xinjiang. But she noted China never promised “one country, two systems” to those regions like it did to Hong Kong. She fears whatever autonomy Hong Kong once had is now shattered: “China’s mandarins now behave exactly like the Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984. Whatever and whenever they find something politically incorrect, they will just change it and make it bend to their will.”