Hong Kongs Political Future After The Umbrella Revolution

Download or read book Hong Kong's Political Future After the "Umbrella Revolution" written by Dylan Loh Ming Hui and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report looks at the political future of Hong Kong after the 2014 protests. Hong Kong's political future is an important and timely issue because its stability and the Mainland's attitude towards Hong Kong will have implications for the region given Hong Kong's close economic and social proximity with regional countries. Through an examination of primary and secondary documents and through 6 personal interviews in Hong Kong, several key observations arise. First, there are increased attempts, post 2014 protests, by the Chinese government to exert greater control in the fields of academia, media, civil society and politics. These have not been completely successful due to (1) an anti-establishment and critical segment of the electorate and (2) institutionalized ideals of transparency, liberty and openness. Additionally, one can draw three key conclusions from the report. First, Hong Kong remains an economically attractive place to do business and to work in. It will also retain its importance to mainland China despite some proclamations to the contrary. Second, while mainland China will no doubt attempt to exert greater control and influence over Hong Kong, it will face some difficulty especially in areas that are traditionally and fiercely independent. Third, there is likely to be greater divisiveness not only between locals and mainland Chinese in Hong Kong but also within Hong Kong society itself. In sum, the political future of Hong Kong looks uncertain and whilst there seem to be no real opening for any sort of compromise between the pro-establishment camp and the pro-democracy campy to be reached, the status quo will more or less remain.