enforcement. That is until this past week, when police showed up in military gear and

used tear gas on a protest group called Occupy Central. A move that is being seen by some

as a clear sign that China and Hong Kong's pro-China chief executive are changing their

tune on civil unrest. So, why is the Chinese government more aggressively cracking down

now and what is really happening in Hong Kong?

Well, Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, when the city was handed back over to

the Chinese. That came with some caveats designed to establish Hong Kong as a “Special Administrative

Region” of China with more self-representation, democracy and freedom than other regions under

Chinese control. The exact level of these freedoms was not explicitly laid out in the

original deal and now there is some concern that China could assert more control over

Hong Kong than expected. That is the central issue of this conflict.

The Occupy Central movement wants a high level of autonomy including full democratic elections

by 2017, something that has been promised to Hong Kong since 1997. The Chinese Government

wants a less autonomous Hong Kong and more control over elections. China will most likely

allow the 2017 general elections, but they also recently announced that the nominees

will be selected by the Chinese Government. So, Hong Kong would get the vote, but they’d

only be able to elect the leaders that China wants. This is what the Occupy Central movement

was protesting and why this whole thing is coming to a head now. But that isn’t the

only issue.

In 1989, the Chinese Military killed approximately 2,600 peaceful pro-democracy protesters in

Beijing and other cities in China. It’s known as the Tiananmen Square protests and

massacre and it looms over the current situation. The people of Hong Kong have seen how authoritative

and anti-democratic the Chinese Government can be in some instances. Many are worried

that losing the freedom to control their own elections could lead to their losing Special

Administrative Status. A possibility that the Chinese Central Government has already

hinted at. According to a recent report put out by the Chinese Government "the high degree

of autonomy of [Hong Kong] is not an inherent power, but one that comes solely from the

authorization by the central leadership."

The Chinese Government is cracking down now because the people of Hong Kong are split

on this issue. Some, like the Occupy Central Movement, want to press the issue and maintain

autonomy, while others are willing to make concessions to China in order to avoid conflict.

China’s aggression may be designed to force the general public to pick a side, but it

is also a not so subtle reminder of what could happen if they decide to go against China.

To find out more about China and their domestic policies, check out our video on Tibet and

the conflict there. Or click on our other box to see how Powerful China actually is

on the world stage.