Metamorphosis in the Struggles of China's Reneging: Hong Kong Christians’ Voices in the Anti-Extradition Amendment Bill Movement

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of Hong Kong (HK) Christians’ voices in the Anti-Extradition Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) movement in 2019. Since the “one country, two systems” (OCTS) policy has been the subject of prior protests and the Anti-ELAB movement, it requires further attention. Through the lens of history, this research investigates the development of HK Christians’ participation in the Anti-ELAB movement through their participation in preceding major movements, under China’s changing attitude and actions towards the OCTS policy promised to HK citizens. This author argues that HK Christians, notably those who did not engage in socio-political affairs previously, participated in this movement in 2019. They commonly expressed their concerns about China’s promise and the HK core values, which implied HK’s identity. These concerns and values were already defended, and HK identity was understood in preceding movements against the political institutions, especially in 2003 and 2014. HK Christians’ initial involvement in political affairs, specifically defending the OCTS policy, was caused by anxiety over the transfer of sovereignty to China, and eventually China’s mounting violation of the OCTS policy, by reinterpreting the city’s political system and its judicial system in 2019.