Most have heard of the protests occurring in Hong Kong. But what caused people to protest? Why is it happening now? Will it work?

What’s happening

In February, Hong Kong’s government proposed a bill that would establish a mechanism for Hong Kong to deport criminals to mainland China.

The protests began after the bill was introduced due to concerns over China requiring Hong Kong to deport political dissidents. Over the past few months, the movement has evolved into demonstrations demanding free elections in Hong Kong. Here are the five demands:

One country, two systems

Hong Kong was colonized by the British Empire until 1997 when it was returned to China. Things to consider:

Hong Kong has undergone westernization for the past 100 years.

Hong Kong has its own legal system separate from mainland China.

There is no process for extraditing criminals from Hong Kong to China.

Why now?

Hong Kong’s confidence in mainland China to not strip HK of their civil liberties has been in decline since 2008. Scholars offer a few explanations:

Social : Decline in Hong Kong citizens regarding themselves as “Chinese.”

: Decline in Hong Kong citizens regarding themselves as “Chinese.” Legislative : Proposed electoral process reforms allowing a pro-Beijing committee to screen elected candidates.

: Proposed electoral process reforms allowing a pro-Beijing committee to screen elected candidates. Economic: Concern for mainland Chinese citizens giving birth in Hong Kong, allowing them to benefit from HK’s social welfare.

Who is protesting

An independent estimate of the largest march during this protest stood at 500–800K protesters. For perspective, imagine all the people who live in the shaded SF neighborhoods below assembling for a protest:

Many organizations support or oppose Hong Kong protesters. Here’s a list of some responses from major companies:

Will it work?

We looked into China’s protest history and compared it to the world to see if there’s precedence for the protest demands to be met.

China is more accommodating to violent protests than other countries, and the 2019 Hong Kong protest has seen vandalism from demonstrators and brutality from police.

Countries giving in to protest demands is relatively rare. But China has been more willing to oblige to demonstrators than other countries.

It’s still unclear how the Hong Kong protest will turn out. With one demand successfully fulfilled so far, it will be interesting to see how the demonstrations develop.

Only time will tell whether these protests will be labeled as the Hong Kong Riots, or the Hong Kong Revolution.