Protestors have been blocking streets, shops, stations, and even the airport in Hong Kong for over four months now, as they strive to show their disapproval of a controversial extradition bill that would give China more judicial power over the otherwise autonomous territory of Hong Kong. The protests have turned violent, sparking international criticism of the way they are being handled, though until now it was difficult to point fingers at China directly and most of the blame was directed at the Hong Kong government.
However, today Reuters reported that Carrie Lam, who is the highest ranking Hong Kong official, had actually submitted a proposal to end the protests peacefully by withdrawing the extradition bill, the item that started the whole protest. Her plan included a careful assessment of the protesters’ demands and a recommendation to get rid of the problematic bill.
Nevertheless, official communication shows that China shut down the proposal and told Lam not to give in to the protesters’ demands. By doing this, China essentially became responsible for the protests, because otherwise the Hong Kong government would have likely ended them already. China’s decision to directly tell Lam what she can and cannot do also sparked a lot of concern about Hong Kong’s independence.
With China stopping Hong Kong’s government from resolving the protests peacefully, it is unclear what would happen to the city, where millions still continue to protest in an attempt to save their democracy from China’s Communist Party.
