Hong Kong’s huge protests, explained
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Published 2019-06-22
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Correction at 7:48: The protester says “They are not doing this for themselves, but for the future of Hong Kong.”
Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers have taken to the streets to protest a controversial extradition bill that could send Hong Kong residents to mainland China to be tried in court. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, says the bill is meant to prevent Hong Kong from becoming a safe haven for fugitives. But its opponents fear that Hong Kong would be exposed to China’s flawed judicial system, which would lead to further erasure of the city’s judicial independence.
At first Lam was determined to move forward with the bill. But after a series of massive protests, she announced she would “indefinitely suspend” the bill. But protesters aren't accepting the suspension, and have started demanding its complete withdrawal. They've also begun calling for Lam’s resignation.
But this rise in tensions is about a lot more than a bill. To understand why this bill hits a nerve with Hongkongers, it's important to understand Hong Kong’s relationship with China - and exactly how the bill would tip the scales in China’s favor.
Watch this video to understand the news coming out of Hong Kong and the history that led up to this moment.
For more watch Episode one of our Vox Borders Hong Kong episodes here:
• China is erasing its border with Hong...
And for even more context on Hong Kong’s history with Britain you can watch another one of our Vox Borders Hong Kong episodes here: • How 156 years of British rule shaped ...
If you want to get real nerdy you can read Hong Kong’s Basic Law (their mini Constitution) here:
www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclawtext/index.html
You can also read the Sino-British Joint Declaration that defined Hong Kong when the British handed it back to China in 1997 here: www.gov.cn/english/2007-06/14/content_649468.htm
And the extradition law introduced in Hong Kong that has sparked massive protests here:
www.legco.gov.hk/yr18-19/english/hc/papers/hc20190…
Here is a piece reported by the New York Times on the latest from Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's leader:
www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/world/asia/hong-kong-ca…
Here are some additional resources regarding Hong Kong’s democracy and political make-up:
sites.duke.edu/corporations/2018/01/29/the-mirror-…
www.cfr.org/backgrounder/democracy-hong-kong
books.google.com/books?id=ZDubDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA202&lp…
And finally, you can also find our latest articles covering the most recent developments here:
www.vox.com/2019/6/18/18683582/hong-kong-extraditi…
www.vox.com/world/2019/6/16/18680897/huge-hong-kon…
www.vox.com/world/2019/6/9/18658650/hong-kong-prot…
Thanks for watching! And let us know what you think of this video in the comments!
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All Comments (21)
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UPDATE 8/22/19: Last weekend saw the largest peaceful march in Hong Kong since the start of the protests. Organizers say roughly 1.7 million people marched on the streets of Hong Kong. Vox's daily podcast, Today, Explained, breaks down the situation and its most recent developments: 👉 Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3pXx5SXzXwJxnf4A5pWN2A 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts: applepodcasts.com/todayexplained 👉 Listen on Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/today-explained/e/6339855…
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you know it’s bad when a Chinese city would rather go back to being a British colony
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Seeing how small Hong Kong is to the rest of China gives me anxiety
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That one lady they interviewed made me smile. She's so different from so many older people today. She knows that she won't be around when Hong Kong becomes a full-on part of China, but she still cares for the future of her fellow, younger Hong Kongers.
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As a Hongkonger, thank you all for your supportive comments.
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"...and it all started with a murder." America: write that down write that down
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Yet another example of young people fighting for their future while the ones who won't be here make the decisions
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South koreans will always stand by Hong kong. We love hong kong
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I had no clue this was happening in 2019, so now I'm educating myself on this situation as much as I can. I didn't go to sleep last night until 3am cause I was doing research.
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"I won't be around anymore.... it's their future, it's their Hong Kong, they have every right to fight it" that hit me in the gut
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“if the bill passes, that means hong kong has fallen.” chills
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as a chinese person, i just wanted to say that i FULLY support hong kong. the chinese government can be really inhumane and it is not okay.
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I support freedom in Hongkong,Taiwan and Uighurs.
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That guy found the most legit loophole in loophole history. And unknowingly caused a revolution.
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This is the first time I've heard about the murder from a western outlet.
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I remeber back during the 2014 protests, my grandma said to me, "One day, there will be another protest, it will be way bigger. After those protests, Hong Kong will either become a true democracy or the Chinese government will tighten its grasp and take away the freedom of everyone." Now that I come to think of it, her words aren't that far off from reality...
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Why is the world so unfair, I just wish the world wasn't so corrupted..
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Hundreds of thousands? The one day at TWO MILLION people protesting. Total population: 7 million. 2 in 7 people were out protesting. This is unprecedented percentage of a population protesting.
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Since this video was uploaded 2 months ago so much has happened that they should make a second update video.
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I am a South Korean. We have fought communism for a long time and eventually kept democracy. I support Hong Kong's democratization from deep down. I love you. Democratic citizens.
