Hong Kong Protests: What Do They Want and Why?

(Part -2 of a 4 Part Series) James Stuber Contributor The American Dossier What are the current Hong Kong protesters asking for? In the previous post I noted the history of Hong Kong protests the current ones precipitated by the proposed law permitting extradition of Hong Kong citizens to face charges in mainland China. Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam recently acceded to that demand withdrawing the proposed legislation. However the movement also has demanded that the Hong Kong government have leader Carrie Lam step down that it launch an Inquiry into police brutality and release protesters who have been arrested and that it adopt direct elections of Hong Kongs leader. Toward these demands the government has remained intransigent. Now a new ask" has emerged directed not at the Hong Kong government but toward the United States: on September 8th thousands of protesters turned up at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong demanding enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA"). The HKHRDA is a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R. NJ) and Senator Marco Rubio (R. FL) who initially introduced the bill in 2017 in response to the disappearance of some Hong Kong booksellers. Previously in 1992 Congress had awarded Hong Kong preferential trade and economic status; however that status was conditioned on Hong Kongs maintaining human rights and democracy and remaining sufficiently autonomous from China. The proposed HKHRDA would require an annual report on whether Hong Kong is meeting these standards; it also would impose sanctions on individuals found to be complicit in suppressing basic freedoms in Hong Kong. At this writing there is strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress for the HKHRDA. It is unlikely the U.S. would rescind Hong Kongs special status; however enactment of the bill would throw into sharper relief the contrast between authoritarian China and relatively free Hong Kong just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Chinese communist state on October first. We will examine the current upheaval in subsequent posts in the coming weeks: How does this compare to Tiananmen Square in 1989? Where to next? Jim Stuber is the author of the recent book What if Things Were Made in America Again: How Consumers Can Rebuild the Middle Class by Buying Things Made in American Communities. In the book Jim assesses the problem caused by sending American jobs overseas and describes how consumers can solve it. Toward that end Jim has founded a non-profit organization Made in America Again with the goal of bringing home $500 billion in consumer spending enough to balance trade and create six million jobs. Jim has kindly agreed to share his insights with The American Dossier from time to time. For more information please visit: www.madeinamericaagain.org