Hong Kong Democracy Activists Gains Success in Election; China Throws Warning
Young activists and now politicians made their way from pro-democracy public declarations in 2014 to a seat in the Hong Kong lawmaking body, Legislative Council (LegCo).
Six young Anti-China candidates won the first election in the territory. This is the first time members of the youth stand up against the Mainland. One of them is 23 year old Nathan Law who participated in the Umbrella Protests in 2014. He is also co-founder of Demosisto Party together with the youngest lawmaker in the country, Joshua Wong. Law stressed that the country should be awarded with a referendum so that it will not turn into "just another Chinese city." He added that "young people have a sense of urgency when it comes to the future."
Approximately 2.2 million voters participated in the historical legislative election.
After the elections, the Chinese government expressed its strong opposition against the political activities of democracy activists and issued warning to anyone supporting the independence of Hong Kong. In a report released through Xinhua, China stated that "we firmly support the Hong Kong SAR (special administrative region) government to mete out penalties according to law." Further, a daily newspaper in China said that the results of the recent election may induce separatist ideas, BBC cited.
However, majority of the seats in the council are taken by special interest groups that are mostly in support of Beijing.
Many Hong Kong citizens are worried about the intervention of China on the country's politics, media and education. Recently, five book authors who released titles about Chinese politicians suddenly disappeared and reappeared under the custody of China, Inquirer reported.
Despite of the presence of Chinese SAR, Hong Kong has a principle of running as "one country, two systems." In 1997, Britain returned the country to China but remains autonomous in preserving its social and economic systems until the year 2047.
