How Has Hong Kong’s History Shaped Its Geopolitical Importance?
Hong Kong is a city known for its skyscrapers, local cuisine and distinct cultural history.
However, in recent years, it has also been a battlefield in the increasing tensions
between China and the West. The reason behind the tensions surrounding the city
undoubtedly traces its roots back to the 19th century, with the conclusion of the Opium
War. The Treaty of Nanking (1842) ceded Hong Kong Island to the British after the
Empire’s victory in the Opium Wars. To many Chinese people, the Treaty was part of the
‘unequal treaties’ signed by China during its Century of Humiliation with multiple foreign
powers. Thus, the tension began the moment Hong Kong was given away.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, China experienced multiple internal and
external conflicts which took attention away from Hong Kong. Despite this, resentment
towards Western imperialism remained. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the Supreme
Allied Commander of the China Theatre during the Second World War, wrote harshly
about the Western powers despite being allied with the United Kingdom. Within the
local population, many disliked the discrimination they faced and restrictive policies,
such as restrictions preventing Chinese people from living in the Peak area.
However, with the Chinese Civil War raging in the late 1940s, Hong Kong saw an
increasing number of refugees from the mainland. Some who were better connected or
wealthy enough went to the US, UK or Taiwan. However, the majority of the refugees
were poor and included a considerable number of KMT supporters. These people, like
the KMT revolutionaries, despised Western imperialism, but many would see Hong Kong
as a safe haven while the rest of China experienced chaos. As many of these refugees
integrated and settled into local society, they themselves also experienced the Golden
Age of Hong Kong, with post-war economic development that helped form the Four
Asian Tigers.
While the rest of China continued to experience the Cultural Revolution, the children of
these refugees grew up in an increasingly prosperous society and benefited from the
economic growth of the time. As China began to reform under Deng Xiaoping, and with
the approaching handover of Hong Kong, many locals, especially the third generation,
began to fear the Communist takeover. Considering that these people grew up in
households where family members had been forced out of China by the Nationalists, an
anti-CCP sentiment lingered.
Moreover, most locals at the time enjoyed a high standard of living under the capitalist
system of Britain, which made many fear for their livelihoods due to the Marxist ideology
of the CCP and its restrictive policies. Furthermore, Britain quickly introduced
democratic measures before the handover, and, combined with a significant linguistic
difference from mainland China, many saw the CCP as an oppressive foreign regime
that would disrupt the prosperity and freedom of the city. Hong Kong, however, was
never fully democratic under British rule.
With the handover of Hong Kong completed, many locals often aligned themselves with
Western democracy and disliked what they saw as Beijing intervening in the city. Thus,
the attempted introduction of an extradition bill that would have allowed criminal
suspects to be sent to mainland China caused mass protests in Hong Kong. Many
leading figures of the protests contacted Western politicians to seek sanctions against
China. While many Western nations condemned China’s response, there has been a
considerable amount of misinformation, such as the claim that all protests were
peaceful, which, in fact, they were not.
On the other hand, Beijing repeatedly condemned the West for supporting the protests,
suggesting that the West should not interfere in the internal matters of the Chinese
state. Therefore, Hong Kong became a geopolitical battlefield, with both sides accusing
each other of interfering. With the introduction of the National Security Law and COVID19, the protests gradually stopped, with many people leaving Hong Kong and migrating
to the US, UK, Canada and other Western nations.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, suffered damage to its reputation as Asia’s premier
trading hub, while many schools were forced to shut down due to a decreasing number
of pupils, many of whom had followed their families to the West. Hong Kong then
increased patriotic education, with the creation of National Security Day and
mandatory exchange programmes with mainland students.
By 2026, most anti-CCP elements have either been arrested or fled to the West, and
younger generations appear to be more apolitical than those of 2019. In essence,
Beijing has successfully shut down the protests despite heavy criticism from the West.
Thus, from the aftermath of the protests, China has firmly asserted its control over the
region, countering any attempted British influence. Moreover, China’s success in Hong
Kong continues to highlight the CCP’s ability to act despite protest from the West.
Therefore, one must consider what further actions Beijing might take in the South China
Sea and other strategic locations, and whether the West will respond with more than
just rhetoric.
