The subject of the Hong Kong protests has been everywhere in the news recently. It seems that almost no one understands why they are happening. In order to understand the reasons behind the trouble, the history of the problem should be examined. In 1997, Hong Kong stopped being a British colony and was placed under the control of the People’s Republic of China. China promised Hong Kong similar rights to those they had under British rule. Once China’s economy grew and it was no longer so dependent on Hong Kong’s, they began whittling down the freedom of the Hong Kong people. The protests initially started because the Chinese government started taking people from Hong Kong and putting them on trial on the “mainland.” Beijing has also interfered with Hong Kong elections, turning them into “selections” of Communist-backed candidates. People feared that the Communists would occupy Hong Kong, and having nothing to lose, they took to the streets and have been protesting for months.
This being said, I don’t feel the media have done a good job covering these protests. It seems that whenever the news is related to Hong Kong, it is just a series of videos or pictures of protesters and police officers facing off. There have also been speculations of fake news being spread about the issue, some claiming that stories about the protests have come from both the Chinese government and the leaders of the protestors. Even if this is true, fact checking is quite easy now-a-days, so people found the “fake news” quickly enough, but only if they bothered to look.
The protests have been seen around the world, and now American college students from Boston to California are pitching in. Their attempts to call out the Chinese government have resulted in some campus troubles, with pro-Hong Kong students getting into fights with those that are pro-China. If the supporters of both sides can stop fighting with each other, free speech and open debate can be the winner. So many seem confused as to why the protests are happening, but a greater conversation is being started, and that is how change is made.