Since June, protests have escalated against a deeply unpopular extradition bill between Hong Kong and China. I wholeheartedly agree that the bill is unjust, but I’m firmly against the negative impacts that the poorly executed, violent protests have had on Hong Kong citizens’ daily life. 

On February 8, 2018, a couple traveled from Hong Kong to Taiwan for vacation. Only the man returned. He later confessed that he had murdered his girlfriend on the trip. 

Aside from the crime itself, another issue emerged: Hong Kong authorities couldn’t charge him because the crime was committed in Taiwan, but he couldn’t be tried in Taiwan either because there was no extradition agreement between Hong Kong and Taiwan at the time. Subsequently, an extradition bill was proposed in 2019 to allow criminals from Hong Kong to be tried in China. 

Due to the continuous protests, the bill has been withheld. But the people of Hong Kong want more: freedom from China. However, now they are not fighting with words but with violence, which is entirely unacceptable.

The bad blood between Hong Kong and mainland China is nothing new. In the 1840s, China lost the Opium Wars to Britain, so Hong Kong ended up as a British colony for 99 years. The British then returned Hong Kong to China in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” agreement. This deal states that Hong Kong, although part of China, has a high degree of autonomy and democratic freedom. However, the agreement will end in 2047, when Hong Kong is set to become a fully integrated part of China. 

The citizens of Hong Kong worry that the extradition bill may be exploited by the Chinese government to further suppress Hong Kong and ultimately take it over. This concern is based on the fact that Hong Kong’s current government is deeply influenced by China; Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was chosen by an electoral committee, most of whose members align with Beijing’s ideologies, with China’s approval. 

Additionally, LegCo (the Legislative Council of Hong Kong) has many seats voted by business corporations, who tend to vote for pro-China representatives to keep good business relationships with mainland China. Thus, Hong Kong’s legislature is largely pro-China, even though the popular vote of Hong Kong is pro-democratic. 

For many in Hong Kong, the protests are not just a fight against the extradition bill but also a struggle for democracy and, ultimately, their freedom. 

So what’s the problem with the protests? I agree that Hong Kong has not been given the true sovereignty it was promised, so I was all for the protests when they were peaceful. Unfortunately, protesters have shifted from chants and signs to chaotic battles with police. Some have even attacked Chinese citizens. As a result, daily life has been put on hold for locals and visitors to Hong Kong, including numerous flight cancelations. Even the young generation of Hong Kong, who constitute a majority of the protesters, are becoming uneasy. Derek Hu, a Hong Kong resident, said, “I think the protest was for a good cause but it is getting messy.” The riots and shutting down of infrastructure, compounded with the government’s inability to maintain normalcy, lower Hong Kong’s reputation as an important financial business hub in the eyes of other countries. 

It is clear that Hong Kong needs help, but there seems to be no easy solution. They have already done much to spread awareness of the issue, but it is simply impossible for them to take on China alone. Due to frustration, many are losing patience and want the issue to be solved overnight, an unreasonable wish. I believe it is time to take a step back because the protesters have achieved forestalling the bill and spreading awareness of the issue. However, it is time to fix the chaotic mess that the protests have become. What started as a fight for democracy should now become a fight to maintain peace in Hong Kong.