"If we lose...we will lose a generation."
The protests that have consumed Hong Kong for more than three months started because of a proposed bill that would've made it easier for mainland China to extradite citizens from the semi-autonomous city, raising fears that Beijing's central government would target political dissidents.
Violent clashes between protesters and police culminated in a confrontation at a subway station on August 31, when police appeared to beat demonstrators with batons—possibly resulting in a fatality, though the authorities dispute that.
The activists, politicians, and academics we spoke with said that the protest movement has become about much more than the extradition bill—which the government has since withdrawn—or police brutality. It's a fight for the survival of an island of liberalism in the shadow of an increasingly authoritarian superstate with ambitions of global dominance.
No comments:
Post a Comment