Hong Kong’s student-led “umbrella revolution” erupted nearly two years ago as demonstrators took to the streets to call for the right to vote for their “chief executive” in accordance with the limited democracy guaranteed the former British colony when it was handed back to China in 1997.
The occupation of parts of central Hong Kong lasted about three months but in the end the protesters were left empty-handed as Beijing refused to compromise. Yet then even the most radical among them did not advocate full independence from the mainland.
Today, thanks largely to China’s recalcitrance and its moves to “punish” the city in the wake of those protests, support for independence has entered mainstream politics. On Sunday, six candidates who openly support self-determination were elected to Hong Kong’s legislative council in the first such elections held since the 2014 protests. They account for 15 per cent of the 40 seats chosen by the public in direct elections; the other 30 are chosen by “functional constituencies” composed of establishment groups with close ties to Beijing.