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Hong Kong Protests Come To An End
Other | Thursday 11th December 2014 | Gareth
Protests in Hong Kong over Beijing’s decision to restrict democratic reforms in the city have concluded, marking an end to more than two months of demonstrations. The so called Umbrella Revolution, supported wholeheartedly by the #OccupyDemocracy movement, saw pro-democracy protesters occupy large sections of Hong Kong’s financial district in opposition to the Chinese government’s decision to disallow civil nominations, effectively giving the Communist Party of China complete control over the outcome of future elections in the region. Through a combination of police suppression, high-profile arrests and zero concessions made by the Chinese, pro-democracy lobbies have been forcefully dismantled.
The recently issued court order demanding streets must be emptied represents the final nail in the coffin for a protest that had long since run out of steam. These demonstrations constitute the most significant opposition to Chinese rule since the 1997 handover. For citizens of Hong-Kong the Umbrella remains a powerful symbol of hope but Beijing’s resistance to change ruthlessly persists.
