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2019 was a critical turning point for Hong Kong’s sociopolitical condition. Repeated rounds of protests, initially in response to the proposed introduction of an extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China for prosecution, prompted the Hong Kong Government to tighten its grip on society. These protests began as a peaceful form of demonstration that at their peak saw a turnout of nearly two million residents, yet soon developed into a string of violent clashes due to police brutality and impunity. Political discontent accumulated and its depth was demonstrated in the ballots cast by residents at the next election. The landslide victory of pro-democracy candidates in the Hong Kong District Council (DC) elections held in late 2019 was later undermined by the Beijing Government when it initiated ‘electoral reforms,’ formally establishing a vetting mechanism to screen out candidates deemed insufficiently ‘patriotic’ and/or disloyal to the regime. Following mass arrests and prosecutions of protesters and activists beginning in 2019, the legislation and enactment…
