Social Changes in Hong Kong - Research Paper Example

Hong Kong Occupy Central Movement A social problem refers to a situation that is undesirable to some people in a given society. Some of these problems are undesirable to a majority of the society, while others affect just a minority group of the society. The criteria employed to tackle such these problems determine the trend that the problem will follow. Other methods further aggravate the situation by making the problem more disastrous, while other techniques solve the problems amicably. Social problems are found in three different levels. These levels are international or global level, national or state level and the local or village level. The community consists of schools, towns, cities, and the county at large. At the school level, social problems include vandalism of school property by students, poor academic performance, low student morale, high absenteeism and dropout rates (Wong, 2012). The problems that may affect the community include drugs, violent crime, environmental pollution, poor waste disposal, increased traffic fatalities, and poor sanitation. Social change refers to the civic and social outcomes that arise from the societal increased awareness to the need for policy changes. These reactions range from increased civic participation, to vast changes in the society’s attitude, to the increase of public will. The term social change affects the whole community, but the reactions begin at personal levels then rolls out to groups, institutions and the community (Zheng, 2014). Hong Kong is a small island that is situated on the South Eastern Coast of China. It is bordered by the South China Sea exclusively, but to its north is the Guangdong Province’s city of Shenzhen. The Hong Kong territory consists of Kowloon Peninsula, Lantau Island, Hong Kong Island, and the new territories inclusive of some 260 smaller islands. The most populated area of the Hong Kong territory is the Hong Kong Island, but the largest part of the territory is the Lantau Island. The geographical location of Hong Kong makes it a major sea station as well as a tourism hub because of the deep waters and wide harbors. Hong Kong is a region that sits on about 400 square miles. The region has a chronology of protests that shape the freedoms and rights enjoyed by the people living on that small area. The Occupy Central Hong Kong Movement is just but a part of the political past of Hong Kong that has been subject to controversy over the past century (Wong, 2012). In the year 1967, there was an up rise staged by the communists in the British Colony. At the time, the region was known as the British Colony of Hong Kong, and the protestors supported a revolution to sweep the cultural beliefs of China. The British refer to Hong Kong as a barren island in the year 1842 when it took control of the area after the Opium war. There are major differences in the cultural practices between the people of Hong Kong and their counterparts on the Chinese mainland. These differences were the cause of a major 1967 Revolt by the Hong Kong protestors. This led to bitter relationships between China and Hong Kong, but the two built their relationship over the decade that followed. These skirmishes were accompanied by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that shaped the independence of the political parties of Hong Kong. In 1984, the Hong Kong community enjoyed economic interdependence with China. In the year 2003, the return of pro-democracy protests was experienced when the last British governor, Chris Patten, vouched for a more democratized Hong Kong government. A controversial security law sparked these protests. The Occupy Central Movement is a protest that happened in Hong Kong in 2014 to root for democracy. The main aim of the protest is to push for reforms in the political system by demanding for democratically conducted elections that match the standards of other advanced democracies internationally. The protest focuses on the occupation of the central business district in a non-violent manner. This is after the Chinese government declined to heed to calls for a democratic and open electioneering process in 2017. The plan was to mobilize at least 10, 000 people on the first phase of the protest (Sharp, 2013). The name Occupy Hong Kong originates from the US Occupy Wall Street Movement of the year 2011 that was a protest against social injustices and inequalities. The Hong Kong is under the Chinese governance and the protests are unlikely to hinder the operations of the Chinese government. It is separate geographically from China, as the latter sits on mainland. The genesis of the Occupy Hong Kong Movement traces back to the period before Hong Kong became part of China (State News Service, 2014). The economic nature of Hong Kong made it an economic hub by the year 1997 when it was handed over to the Chinese government. This economic strength meant that it would operate as a separate country but within the Chinese political realms. Hong Kong has a different currency from the Chinese, and the people of Hong Kong enjoy such liberties as the freedom of speech that is not accessible in the larger Chinese government. China agreed to grant Hong Kong the civic rights to vote its leaders in 2017. As it is, only 1500 individuals have the right to determine who the chief executive of Hong Kong will be. The people were comfortable with this system, until when the Beijing government released a statement that stated the Hong Kong public would vote in their leaders from a list of contenders that is predetermined by the Beijing government. This implied that the leaders from Hong Kong had to befriend the Beijing administration and were open to manipulation by the Beijing Government. This had adverse effect on the Hong Kong population, with many people viewing this move by the Beijing government as a way to deprive the Hong Kong public of their traditional rights (State News Service, 2014). The major reason why the public resorts to public protests is that the protests have healthy results for the Hong Kong public. This was the case in 2002 when the Chinese government passed a security law that had controversial clauses that sparked widespread public protests (Lagerkvist, 2010). The law was dropped afterwards. The demands of the Hong Kong Occupy Central Movement are sensitive. The protests were majorly peaceful, as there had been several protests of that nature before. The face of Hong politics has changed over the years, and frequent confrontations have plagued the highly polarized Hong Kong political scene. The confrontations are between the pro Beijing demonstrators and their pro democracy counterparts (Sharp, 2013). The protests have adverse effects on the economical status of Hong Kong. Many residents believe that the main aim of the Hong Kong protest was to vouch for democracy, and the rebellious protestors were paid by the Beijing government to appear as if there were pro government activists as well. The business minded nature of the Hong Kong city makes many people reluctant to join in the protests, as they fear it could affect the economy. Despite this, many legal minds view the Beijing option as an ultimate solution. The major organizers of the protests are Benny Tai, a law professor, Chu Yiu-ming who is a radical church minister, and Chan Kin-man, a professor in sociology. Students, political parties, and pro democratic Non Governmental Organisations also support the protest. The groups derive their unity from the impoverished Chinese method of ruling, which does not consider democracy as acceptable (Lagerkvist, 2010). The demonstrators who support the Beijing government are against the Occupy Central Movement. The other groups that are against the movement are business fraternity. The government of China is worried that the movement will undermine the authority of the Chinese Communist Party. This causes the government to react harder to dissenting voices. The Beijing government is concerned about the growing Hong Kong sentiments. This has increased the political tension and further aid the thoughts that the Hong Kong activists are using external forces to influence the separation from Beijing. Such sentiments have led to speculation on the possibilities of the involvement of the Chinese government in a crackdown to hunt the inciters of the protests (Lo, 2010). The pro democratic Hong Kong lawmakers have voted against any proposals that make Hong Kong adhere to the restrictions put by the Chinese government. The effects of the protests are felt over the entire Hong Kong community. Students boycott their classes, hence shutting down of schools. The Beijing government hop that this protest would fizzle on its own, but the determination of the protestors prove otherwise. The impact of the protests is felt by the Hong Kong retail economic sector. The rents on the stores that stock the Hong Kong retail sector are high, and a weeklong protest hurts the already critical nature of these sectors. The Chinese government also stopped packaged tours that involve Hong Kong. The Occupy Central has also catalyses the situation that the retail sector finds itself in. the Savills Research & Consultancy report indicates that the rising rent rates begun to stabilize. The retailers enjoy profits before the Occupy Central (Lagerkvist, 2010). The unemployment rate of China is affected adversely by the amount of time that the Occupy Central takes to subside. The restrictions put in place against the mainland tourism also aggravate unemployment. The unemployment rate shot up by 1.8% due to similar protests experienced in 2002. Contrary to this, the Hong Kong unemployment rate is a paltry 3.3% at the time of the Occupy Central protests, so the protests seem to have insignificant effect on the unemployment level of Hong Kong (State News Service, 2014). The movement is temporary; hence, the risks of underemployment may arise as employees are asked to stay home during the course of the demonstrations. The geographical scope of the protests spans over few districts. The unaffected areas attract more people. The retail sector has a high mobility of labor (Sharp, 2013). The impact of the protests on the GDP is less severe as the protests affect only a small geographical location of the Chinese government. The fall in GDP is dependent on how long the protests last, and the decision to lift the travel advisories imposed on Hong Kong. These two effects on the employment and GDP set to explain that the impact of the protests do not affect the economy in the long run. Civic dialogue involves the engagement of people in dialogues that touch on issues of civic magnitude. Dialogue is the engagement of two groups that have differing or dissenting opinions to work together towards a neutral understanding (Zheng, 2014). The dialogue must be open minded, face to face, and moderated. Civic dialogue sets out to promote empathy and understanding amongst the conflicting members. The Occupy Central Hong Kong Movement is a way that social problems concerning democracy were addressed. The society employed massive protest as their civic engagement tool to voice their need for dialogue (Lo, 2010). The right to vote is a fundamental component of any advanced democracy, and any attempts to discredit the election process are treated with contempt as in the case of The Occupy Central Hong Kong Movement (Zheng, 2014). References   Lagerkvist, J. (2010). After the internet, before democracy competing norms in Chinese media and society. Bern: Peter Lang. Lo, S. (2010). Competing Chinese political visions: Hong Kong vs. Beijing on democracy. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger Security International. Sharp, J. (2013). The China Renaissance the rise of Xi Jinping and the 18th Communist party congress. Singapore: SCMP Books. Thousands Occupy Hong Kong for a Second Night in a Row. (2014, September 29). States News Service. Wong, K. (2012). Policing in Hong Kong. Farnham: Ash gate Pub. Zheng, Y. (2014). New trends of political participation in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press. Read More