In July 1997, as the Union Flag was lowered over Hong Kong for the last time, Chris Patten, the outgoing governor, declared that the people of the former colony would now run the territory themselves. “That is the promise,” he declared in his farewell speech, “and that is the unshakeable destiny.”
Seventeen years on the hopes inspired by that pledge have dimmed and Hong Kong’s political future is uncertain. Under the terms of the handover agreed by Britain and China in 1984, Beijing guaranteed to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and to preserve its capitalist system for 50 years. China also committed to allowing the territory to retain many political freedoms, including the independence of its judiciary. China has until now abided by this agreement. But President Xi Jinping has recently appeared to take a tougher line.
Two issues in particular prey on the nerves of the territory’s inhabitants. The first concerns a disagreement over the way Hong Kong’s chief executive – in effect the mayor of its 7m population – is elected. The office holder is chosen by a mostly pro-Beijing committee of 1,200 people. Hong Kong’s Basic Law, enshrining the 1984 declaration, declares that election by universal suffrage is the “ultimate aim” and Beijing has conceded this will happen in 2017. But, to the fury of pro-democracy activists, the Chinese now insist that they alone will decide who runs for election.