What began as protests over a now-suspended extradition bill have broadened to cover a host of demands, including calls for greater democracy and more government accountability, that many feel they are running out of time to achieve.
Even as democratic values have increasingly come under threat around the world, and many voters in democracies are increasingly expressing apathy or despair, young Hong Kongers are determined to continue a fight for freedom which began decades ago under British rule, before time runs out and Hong Kong becomes just another Chinese city.
This would be achieved by the"one country, two systems" principle, suggested by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, by which Hong Kong would be both part of China and separate, retaining the limited democratic freedoms its citizens had fought for under British rule. Xi has expanded the size of the military and cracked down heavily on any signs of separatism or even non-Chinese identity in places such as Xinjiang or Tibet. He's also advanced a much harder line on Hong Kong.
For those who identify as Hong Kongers, and may support Hong Kong independence, the idea of being fully absorbed by what they view as a foreign country is terrifying, let alone a country as authoritarian as Xi Jinping's China. In 2014, student led street protests, known locally as the Umbrella Movement, sought to change how the city's leader was chosen. The movement failed, and in intervening years, the legislature has become a less effective place to push for change. Pro-democracy lawmakers have been expelled and more radical candidates barred from standing for office.
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