Current protests in Hong Kong have brought international attention to what Hong Kong citizens are demanding of the Chinese government to provide its citizens.

The issue at hand is that because of a decision made by the Chinese National People’s Congress the same committee will select the chief executive candidates for the 2017 election, generating candidates who will likely only be pro-Beijing and not from a democratic party.

This does not bode well for Hong Kong citizens.

The implementation of universal suffrage is supposed to start with the 2017 election, but protestors from Hong Kong are arguing that because the same committee of 1,200 people will be selecting the candidates for the election it won’t be a fair candidacy or election.

Universal suffrage allows adults to vote (a democracy) but Hong Kong citizens are arguing this will not be the case for the 2017 election because the same committee will be selecting the new candidates and they think it highly unlikely that anyone who is from a democratic party will be selected.

The Protest has gained international attention because of who is protesting and how many citizens from Hong Kong have joined this movement. Young and old have said that it is their duty to stand up for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is governed by the Chinese government and was controlled by the British for 150 years before being turned over to the Chinese in 1997.

Government leaders do not seem interested in negotiating with the protesters but have sent people out to discuss with protestors what the protestors would be willing to compromise on.

Hearing about what is going on in Hong Kong is something quite foreign to most U.S. citizens.

Most are used to hearing about the war in the Middle East and internal conflicts in the U.S.

The diversity of age in protestors is also something new. Protests today are generally concentrated by a particular age demographic.

An average working class U.S. citizen might never travel to Hong Kong.

Concern for this protest centers around the thought that the Chinese government is still trying to suppress Hong Kong and its citizens by keeping the same committee to select candidates for the 2017 election.

China is still giving Hong Kong citizens the right to vote in the 2017 election even though it will likely be for a candidate they aren’t interested in.

Some people may have heard the protest referred to as the “Umbrella movement.”

The term was coined for the protest because protestors were using their umbrella’s to ward off the tear gas sprayed at them by the police.

Students at Linfield are likely interested in this topic as many classes taught here are centered on looking at issues through a global and political lens.

Protests in Hong Kong illustrate to the world that the voices of the people will still generate debate, discussion and thought towards what it means to have a government that is for the people.

Whichever way the protests dissolve in Hong Kong, whether from a reached compromise or by force, citizens of the world will now know something about the other side of the world that they may have never known.

Getting people to look outside their bubble, as is often discussed in courses at Linfield, remains one of the most important parts of being a good global citizen.

Jonathan Williams
@LinfieldReviewNews