On this episode of China Uncensored,
it's been 20 years since the British gave Hong Kong back to China
and everything is awesome.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I'm your host Chris Chappell.
20 years ago tomorrow, on July 1st 1997,
the British handed Hong Kong over to China.
1997 was a simpler time,
it was the year we told you what we want, what we really really want.
The year we ran
through platform 9 3/4 for the very first time.
And the year we promised Leo
that our hearts would go on
by watching him die in movie theatres like 14 times.
Wait,
1997 was 20 years ago?
Shelley, I think I'm glimpsing my own mortality.
Life is short, just an MmmBop and it's gone.
But in China in 1997, the theme was reunification.
Look how happy it made everyone.
At the time, Hong Kong, the pearl of the Orient,
had been under British rule for 156 years.
Their lease for Hong Kong was signed not with the Chinese Communist Party,
but two governments prior
when the Chinese emperor wore golden robes
and the British Queen wore a fancy crown.
Wait she still does.
The reasons why the British had to return Hong Kong to China are so complicated
that they should be a whole other episode.
And let me know in the comments below if you want me to do that episode.
But suffice it to say,
Chinese leaders made it clear,
what we want, what we really really want,
is for Hong Kong to be part of China again.
So starting in the 1980s,
the Chinese Communist Party began negotiating the handover with Great Britain.
They agreed on the principles of one country two systems'
and 50 years no change.
Well yes,Hong Kong would technically become part of China
but would get to keep its basic freedoms rule of law,
capitalist economy,
complete with dangerously unregulated street signs.
And the CCP would definitely, in no way, change Hong Kong
for at least 50 years.
Plus, 2047 was so far away.
I'm sure by then we'll all be living in that moon colony Newt Gingrich keeps talking about.
Anyway at the time of the handover in 1997,
there were some concerns
about what the future of Hong Kong would become
under the Chinese Communist Party's rule.
After all it had been only eight years since Tank Man.
The most predictions for the future of Hong Kong were optimistic.
At the time, The Economist suggested that Hong Kong
"could serve as a laboratory for political change on the mainland."
A former Washington Post correspondent said
Hong Kong will infect China with democracy.
And the New York Times called Hong Kong a Trojan horse
that could destroy those in power
and suggested that perhaps
it is the Chinese Communist Party leaders
who should tremble
about whether their style of life and leadership can long survive
when faced with the shining beacon of Hong Kong's freedoms.
Granted,
there were also a few negative nellies out there.
Like an article in Fortune magazine
called: "The death of Hong Kong."
It predicted Hong Kong would lose its global standing
that English would lose its place to Mandarin,
that legislators and the chief executive would be selected by the CCP,
and the power struggles in Beijing
would ultimately determine who really rules Hong Kong.
But a lot of Hong Kongers
were also cautiously optimistic.
After all,
most Hong Kongers were ethnically Chinese and, like I said,
the big theme at the time was reunification with the motherland.
So they held a giant ceremony,
did their awkward handover thing
and everyone celebrated together in weird harmony,
including a huge gala
where the biggest Hong Kong stars sang a medley of popular songs,
some of which had their lyrics change to be about Hong Kong reuniting with China.
So how did it all turn out?
Are the seven million residents of Hong Kong better off?
Of course,
the Chinese Communist Party kept all of its promises...
for six years.
And then they try to sneakily implement Article 23,
a draconian anti-subversion law,
under the guise of national security.
It was designed to allow police to burst into people's homes,
search their stuff and arrest them without a warrant
just because they're suspected of subversion of the Chinese Communist Party.
It also criminalized speech that instigate subversion
whatever that means.
Oh, and it made things that were illegal in mainland China
also illegal in Hong Kong.
But, HongKongers discovered what Article 23 was all about.
And some of them marched through the streets in protest.
And by some, I mean half a million people.
The CCP wasn't expecting so many people to oppose Article 23,
which was then withdrawn.
And the CCP was forced to back down
for a while at least.
Until they realized
what HongKongers really need
is more effective brainwashing.
So in 2012,
they tried to force Hong Kong schools to teach what they called
patriotic education.
It would give children lessons on appreciating mainland China,
and gloss over major events
like the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
And there's nothing wrong with patriotic education
according to Chinese state media.
But once again, those rebellious HongKongers didn't agree.
And once again, thousands took to the streets to protest
including many high school students.
And once again, they forced the CCP to back down.
If those high schoolers had just been patriotically educated,
none of this would have happened.
But anyway
the Chinese Communist Party just wouldn't give up.
It kept going and going,
like the Energizer Bunny,
but evil.
You see, an important milestone was coming up.
The CCP had promised that in 2017,
Hong Kongers would be able to directly elect their chief executive for the first time,
instead of having someone chosen by a select pro-Beijing election committee.
So in 2014,
the CCP announced that: yes, they would indeed keep their promise
and allow Hong Kongers to elect their chief executive
as long as the pro Beijing election committee
could assist Hong Kong's democratic process
by pre-selecting all the candidates that people could vote for.
You know, to make sure the candidates love the country
and love Hong Kong.
It's like one of those diets where you can eat whatever you want
as long as it's broccoli.
You probably know what's coming next.
A hundred thousand Hong Kongers
came out to protest.
Police beat them and fired teargas
Or as they called it in China, 'Patriotism Vape',
side effects may include shedding tears of love for your country.
Those protests became The Umbrella Movement.
It was called that because Hong Kong protesters used umbrellas
as shields against the Patriotism Vape.
Umbrellas are not always the most effective shields,
but probably more effective than...
whatever I was trying to do here.
A lot of people were afraid that The Umbrella Movement
would turn into Tiananmen Square 2: Electric Boogaloo
But it didn't, which is good
because the sequel is always worse than the original.
Anyway, Chinese state media largely tried to ignore The Umbrella Movement.
And when they couldn't
they framed it as a secret American plot
to undermine China.
See, Hong Kong was a Trojan horse after all.
Ultimately, the protests faded away
and the next chief executive was a pro Beijing candidate chosen by the election committee.
So did Fortune magazine accurately predict Hong Kong's fortune?
Well it did accurately predict that legislators
would eventually be selected by the CCP.
And Hong Kong did lose some of its global standing.
As China's entry into the WTO
helped the CCP build up cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
In 1997,
Hong Kong accounted for some 16% of China's GDP.
That figure has now shrunk to 3%.
And Mandarin has replaced English as the second most common language
as close to a million mainland Chinese
have moved to Hong Kong.
And the future of Hong Kong is
definitely connected to the power struggle
between current Chinese leader Xi Jinping
and former commander toad Zhang Zemin.
But Chris, you say,
this all sounds so depressing.
Is Hong Kong's future just one of doom and gloom under the CCP?
Well,
that just depends on your perspective.
Like, from the perspective of my favorite state-run media the Global Times,
everything is great,
since decolonization is finally coming to Hong Kong.
And state run Xinhua News informs us that
democracy but a mirage during Britain's 150 years of rule,
has been greatly expanded.
And if you're still not convinced,
Xinhua even released a rap video
ahead of the celebrations about how cool things are in Hong Kong now
and how its forever part of the motherland.
Here's how they describe the handover.
All Chinese people had tears on their faces.
Lowering humiliation, raising sovereignty.
Raising up our dignified sovereignty.
See, everything is great.
But to be serious for a moment,
one of the things I really admire about the people in Hong Kong
when I was there last year
and especially in 2014 during The Umbrella Movement,
was their genuine love of Hong Kong
that drove them to resist the CCP's encroachment on their way of life.
And it has made a difference,
if Hong Kongers hadn't stood up to the CCP over the last 20 years
the CCP would have imposed an anti subversion law
that would ruin Hong Kong's freedom
patriotically re-educated their kids
and given them the formality of universal suffrage
without a real vote.
So yes, the future of Hong Kong does depend on what happens
in the party's internal power struggles.
But, it also depends on the people of Hong Kong
and whether they continue to resist the party.
Because one thing is clear,
the Chinese Communist Party won't stop trying to control Hong Kong.
And for those of us outside Hong Kong,
the last 20 years is a warning.
A warning to Taiwan
about what reunification with China controlled by the CCP
would look like.
And a warning to the rest of the world
about how well the Chinese Communist Party keeps its promises .
But hey,
as the Xinhua rap video points out,
at least Hong Kong is getting the world's longest bridge,
which is what they want, what they really really want.
So what do you think of the handover of Hong Kong to China?
Leave your comments below.
Once again I'm your host Chris Chappell
see you next time.
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