Protest Movements in Hong Kong 2019: An Overview of Manipulated Resistance
In the tumultuous events of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, allegations of controlled opposition surfaced, suggesting that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was manipulating opposition groups to control and neutralize genuine dissent. However, an examination of available sources reveals a different strategy employed by the CCP during this period.
The CCP and Hong Kong authorities have been accused of implementing a crackdown on pro-democracy activists, media, and political opposition. Since 2020, a security law has criminalized many forms of political dissent, leading to the arrest of hundreds of pro-democracy activists, lawmakers, journalists, and organizers of commemorative events.
Pro-democracy parties like the Democratic Party, which included figures like Martin Lee and Jimmy Lai, faced political pressure, including arrests and disqualifications of candidates. This pressure led to the eventual loss of representation after mass resignations triggered by government actions.
The CCP also censored broad discussions to prevent collective action and social mobilization, focusing on suppressing organized dissent rather than merely filtering critical opinion. No sources among the results explicitly describe the CCP deploying "controlled opposition" as a tactic, whereby opposition factions are covertly supported or manipulated by the ruling party to control and neutralize genuine dissent. Instead, the approach was more aligned with direct repression, political disqualification, media suppression, and exerting legal controls.
The Hong Kong Democracy Movement, including parties like the Hong Kong Democratic Party, has been accused of eroding the Joint British Sino Declaration and the Basic Law, undermining the "one country, two systems" agreement. Figures like Joshua Wong, a well-known activist in the Hong Kong Independence Movement, have ties to the Chinese Communist Party, as shown by his support for the Catalonia Independence Movement.
The political system in Hong Kong is not free, despite it being highly ranked in the Freedom Index, due to the CCP's extensive control over various movements and society. Violence during the protests is claimed to have discredited the Independence movement among law-abiding citizens in China and been depicted as a CIA operation.
One notable figure suspected of being controlled by the Ministry of State Security is Joey Siu, a student union leader in Hong Kong. Her unwillingness to denounce violent protestors has raised concerns about her support for totalitarianism.
In conclusion, while the CCP has aggressively suppressed opposition, current sourced information does not support the claim that the Party used controlled opposition in the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Their strategy appears to have centered on eliminating and marginalizing opposition through arrests, restrictions, and legal measures rather than co-opting or managing it from within.
References:
- Amnesty International. (2020). Hong Kong: Crackdown on dissent since national security law imposed. [online] Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/06/hong-kong-crackdown-on-dissent-since-national-security-law-imposed/
- Human Rights Watch. (2019). Hong Kong: Protests, Police Violence, and Repression. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/05/hong-kong-protests-police-violence-and-repression
- Freedom House. (2020). Freedom in the World 2020 - Hong Kong. [online] Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/country/hong-kong/freedom-world/2020
- BBC News. (2019). Hong Kong protests: What's behind the unrest? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49321416
- The Diplomat. (2019). Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Parties Are Being Silenced. [online] Available at: https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/hong-kongs-pro-democracy-parties-are-being-silenced/
- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s strategy in the 2019 Hong Kong protests seems to have veered away from employing controlled opposition, as suggested by some allegations.
- Instead, the CCP and Hong Kong authorities have been implicated in a crackdown on pro-democracy activists, media, and political opposition since 2020.
- This crackdown has involved arrests, legal controls, and the criminalization of political dissent, leading to the arrest of hundreds of activists, lawmakers, journalists, and organizers of commemorative events.
- Pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong, such as the Democratic Party, have faced political pressure, including arrests, disqualifications of candidates, and loss of representation due to mass resignations.
- The CCP has also been accused of censoring discussions and suppressing organized dissent, preventing collective action and social mobilization.
- However, sources do not suggest that the CCP deployed controlled opposition during this period, instead favoring direct repression, political disqualification, media suppression, and legal controls.
- The Hong Kong Democracy Movement, including figures like Joshua Wong, have been accused of eroding the Joint British Sino Declaration and the Basic Law, undermining the "one country, two systems" agreement.
- Suspected of being controlled by the Ministry of State Security is Joey Siu, a student union leader in Hong Kong, who has shown unwillingness to denounce violent protestors and has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, as demonstrated by her support for the Catalonia Independence Movement.
