London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Hong Kong protests: City must realise its true value to China to weather the political storm

Hong Kong’s protests have been driven by deep domestic concerns, and exacerbated and exploited by international politics. While Beijing should try easing local fears over judicial transparency, Hongkongers should embrace Chinese identity

The protests against the now-defunct extradition bill that have gripped Hong Kong for the past six months have deep social and economic roots. This situation has been effectively exploited by powerful foreign actors in a wide geopolitical conflict to achieve different political goals.

These events have completely overwhelmed the Hong Kong government, which is mostly trained in peacetime administration, not to handle crises of this scale and intensity.

Behind its facade of peace and prosperity, Hong Kong has many social and economic fault lines. Even with huge budget surpluses and foreign currency reserve assets that currently amount to US$434.3 billion, for a population of almost 7.5 million people, income inequality has grown over the years.

In 2016, it hit its highest level since the city began keeping records 45 years ago. The median household income of the top 10 per cent of the population is 43 times that of the lowest 10 per cent. With a median individual monthly income of HK$16,000 (US$2,044), life is tough in this city.

Until Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor recently raised the mortgage ratio to 90 per cent for first-home buyers (who still have to pay a price of slightly more than US$1 million for a flat), it would take eight years of combined unspent household income to save for the deposit of a flat in the private sector. People who wish to move into a public rental flat would still have to wait an average of more than five years.

On the education front, the 22 degree-granting institutions annually produce more graduates than the market can absorb, forcing many to take low-skill jobs. This structural mismatch of skills and opportunity has generated discontent among the younger generation.

Over the past few decades, while Hong Kong focused on economic growth, government and the community at large have allowed the education system to be infiltrated with anti-China material, imbuing the present generation with bias.

Meanwhile, in the four decades since China adopted its open-door policy, Beijing has lifted more than 800 million people from poverty and created a middle class of 400 million people. The number is expected to double in the near future .

In 2019, China replaced the US as the country with the most companies on the Fortune Global 500. Four of the five biggest banks in the world now are Chinese-owned.

The burgeoning middle class in China understands that economic prosperity depends on social stability and seems willing to accept limited political freedom as a prize for ever-expanding social mobility and economic freedom. China’s high savings rate is also an important buffer against global economic volatility.

A robust middle class, besides being an important driver of growth, also provides implicit endorsement and legitimacy for Communist Party governance. The spectacular rise of China, especially in technology, presents a threat to US global supremacy.

The Trump administration’s stance against President Xi Jinping’s technological ambitions has bipartisan congressional support.

The US flag-waving protesters in Hong Kong chanting for freedom and democracy have provided a convenient platform for the US to intensify pressure on China in difficult trade negotiations.



The Taiwanese government is eager to use the chaos in Hong Kong to show that Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model of governance has failed in Hong Kong and should not be applied to the island. This toxic mix of external forces, coupled with deep social fissures, is the dry timber set alight by the mismanagement of the extradition bill.

The Hong Kong people’s attitude towards Chinese from the mainland is a mixture of superiority, frustration, inadequacy,
jealousy and fear. Stories of seizures of land by local governments, prolonged detention without trial and denial of legal representation are constant themes of the local and foreign media. Mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong in record numbers, monopolising baby powder and private hospital beds, driving up property prices and exhibiting antisocial behaviour in public all create additional sources of frustration.

Images of the unexplained disappearance of booksellers critical of Beijing leadership and the alleged abduction of a mainland businessman from a five-star hotel in Hong Kong still weigh heavily on the minds of the people.

However, it should be pointed out Hong Kong still ranks third in the Fraser Institute’s Human Freedom Index, measuring individual freedoms of speech, assembly, religion and so on. The US trails at No 17.

But economic achievement and opportunity in China are not sufficient to compensate for the lack of transparency in the Chinese legal system. Chinese judicial authorities should heed the English legal dictum that it is not enough that justice be done but be seen to be done. It is only when powerful state-owned enterprises are brought to account for wrongdoing that people’s trust in the Chinese legal system can be restored.

After more than 150 years of British colonial rule, reversion to communist rule is daunting for many. While fear of the unknown is normal, Hong Kong is and always will be a part of China. Hong Kong’s importance to China lies not in economics but in China’s realisation of territorial integrity and national sovereignty.



While China should work on legal transparency, Hongkongers should embrace their cultural heritage and identity. Senseless destruction by young people is not a winning strategy to convince Beijing to grant Hong Kong greater freedom.

The combination of negative encounters with mainland Chinese and a new sense of inadequacy in reaction to mainland Chinese overachievement in schools and the workplace has resulted in rejection and self-seclusion. National reunification takes understanding, patience and adjustment from all stakeholders to achieve lasting harmony.

With a better understanding of China’s recent history and the true value of Hong Kong to China, the people of Hong Kong will realise that the safest place in the storm is in the eye of the storm itself.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×