Umbrella Revolution: Hong Kong for Hong Kongers?
Author
MASTRONE, MOIRA
Term
2. Term (Master)
Education
Publication year
2015
Submitted on
2015-07-26
Pages
66
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger Umbrella-bevægelsen under protesterne i Hongkong i 2014 og ser også på begivenheder frem til juni 2015 i lyset af Hongkongs historiske baggrund. Hongkong var en britisk koloni i omkring 150 år og kom i 1997 tilbage under kinesisk suverænitet. I dag er Hongkong en særlig administrativ region under rammeprincippet 'Ét land, to systemer'. Studiet anvender udvalgte teorier til at forklare, hvorfor aktivisterne protesterede. Hovedspørgsmålet er: Hvorfor protesterer aktivisterne? For at besvare det undersøger afhandlingen, hvad det demokratiske underskud i Hongkong består i—særligt regionens grad af selvstyre. Analysen gennemgår grundlaget for HKSAR og nogle centrale bestemmelser i Hongkongs mini-forfatning. Resultaterne peger på, at et centralt demokratisk problem er det politiske system, som forbliver under kinesisk kontrol sammen med udenrigsanliggender. En vigtig drivkraft bag protesterne var utilfredshed med dette underskud, herunder krav om ægte almindelig stemmeret. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at aktivisterne i Umbrella-bevægelsen i 2014 især protesterede mod den valgreformpakke, som Hongkongs regering fremlagde for den lovgivende forsamling (LegCo), blandt andre grunde.
This thesis examines the Umbrella Movement during Hong Kong’s 2014 protests and related developments up to June 2015, set against Hong Kong’s historical context. Hong Kong was a British colony for about 150 years and returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Today it is a Special Administrative Region under the 'One country, Two systems' framework. The study draws on selected theories to explain why activists protested. Its core question is: Why are the activists protesting? To answer this, the thesis explores Hong Kong’s democratic deficit—especially the territory’s degree of autonomy. The analysis reviews the foundation of the Hong Kong SAR and key provisions of its mini-constitution. The findings indicate that a central democratic shortcoming lies in the political system, which remains under Chinese control along with foreign affairs. A major driver of the 2014 protests was dissatisfaction with this deficit, including demands for genuine universal suffrage. The thesis concludes that, in 2014, the Umbrella Movement mainly protested against the electoral reform package the Hong Kong government submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo), among other reasons.
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