As mainlanders head to Hong Kong to protest, Chinese authorities are
increasingly cracking down on the former British colony.
More than a century ago, the
revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, revered today as the father of modern China, found
refuge in Hong Kong while plotting to overthrow China’s last imperial dynasty.
After the Communist takeover in
1949, the then-British colony was used as a center by intelligence operatives
from around the world. Little wonder, then, that on the eve of Britain’s
handover of its colony in 1997, Beijing wanted to ensure that the territory
would no longer be a base for subversion against the mainland.
However, 15 years after the
handover, Hong Kong continues to provide sanctuary to groups and individuals
whose activities are considered illegal in mainland China today, such as Falun
Gong.
And, increasingly, disaffected
individuals who cannot protest legally on the mainland are coming to Hong Kong
to stage their protests.
This began two summers ago after
mainland authorities cracked down when several hundred people held rallies to
protest against a proposal to switch programming on the main channels of
Guangdong TV from Cantonese to Putonghua, or Mandarin.
Subsequently, a number of
activists traveled to Hong Kong and, on Sunday, August 1, 2010, a historic
demonstration was staged that included protesters from the mainland and Hong
Kong calling for the preservation of Cantonese. Some in Hong Kong also fear for
the future of their dialect as Putonghua continues to make inroads in the
former British colony, now a Chinese special administrative region.
About 200 people dressed in white
marched from Wanchai to government headquarters in Central Hong Kong demanding
the preservation of Cantonese. Some of the mainlanders covered their faces with
medical masks for fear of reprisals after they returned to Guangzhou.
While the staging of protests is
part of Hong Kong culture – in the absence of an elected government – in the
mainland such rallies are considered illegal.
Just how much influence Hong Kong
wields on the mainland was suggested by Lang Zi, a Guangzhou poet, editor and
blogger. “We here in Guangzhou follow closely all the actions in Hong Kong,
such as the civil movements against the demolition of Queen’s Pier, the
building of the high-speed-rail line and so on,” he told the South China
Morning Post. “We’ve seen it all and got inspired by what Hong Kong people did
to save their valuable past.”
While Hong Kong’s influence over
Guangzhou, capital of neighboring Guangdong province, is perhaps to be
expected, it is now clear that people across China are seeking to make use of
the freedoms of the largely autonomous city, carrying their grievances there.
And, where mainland activists go, its security personnel are not far behind.
Ever since 2003, pro-democracy
rallies have been held on July 1, which is a holiday to mark the reunification
with the mainland.
While individual mainlanders may
have marched alongside Hong Kong people in the past, this year there was a very
visible mainland contingent, some of whom held up banners that identified
themselves not only as being from the mainland but from various provinces and
cities.
Subsequently, at least two of
them were arrested when they returned to the mainland. The two, Song Ningsheng
and Zeng Jiuzi, both of Jiangxi province, were sentenced to labor camp for 14
months. This is the first known instance of mainlanders being punished for
protesting in Hong Kong.
Under the Chinese policy of “one
country, two systems,” it is lawful for people in Hong Kong to hold such
demonstrations. Under Hong Kong law, visitors can also take part. But
evidently, China considers it illegal for mainlanders to join Hong Kong
protests.
Mr. Song became a rights
activities after his wife died in 2008 as a result of a medical blunder. Ms.
Zeng’s husband died in mysterious circumstances while working in Shandong
province. She had been petitioning without success for the reopening of an
investigation into her husband’s death.
Liu Zhonghua, Ms. Zeng’s son, was
quoted as saying that she went to Hong Kong because “there’s absolutely no way
to fight for one’s rights here in mainland China.”
Another female activist, Li
Guizhi, who is blind, was prevented from entering Hong Kong to publicize the
death of her son in 2006. She says he was cremated without her permission and
she has been demanding an investigation.
Ms. Li was held in a so-called
“black jail” by the security authorities but managed to escape. However, she
was recaptured after only a week of freedom.
All these people are desperate.
They sought justice in Hong Kong because there were no avenues for doing so on
the mainland.
Liu Weiping, leader of a group
called the People’s Rights Union of China, said at a press conference in Hong
Kong that he had helped about 100 mainlanders take part in the rally. He said
that the two Jiangxi residents had been approached by someone who pretended to
be a local reporter and asked where they were from and who had organized their
visit.
This means that mainland security
people are operating in Hong Kong, contrary to the rules of “one country, two
systems,” under which the mainland has no police jurisdiction in Hong Kong.
Unless China provides avenues for
redress of grievances to its citizens, they will continue to try to do so in
Hong Kong. And the former British colony will continue in China’s eyes to be a
base of subversion against the mainland.
Frank Ching
Business & Investment Opportunities
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