UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC) THE SITUATION IN HONG KONG ATA GÜVENDİ - MUNDP
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RESEARCH REPORT
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC)
THE SITUATION IN HONG KONG
ATA GÜVENDİ
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development – Research Report
Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
Basic Overview of the Issue
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.) was designed as a conditional
handover of the United Kingdom’s sharply declining number of overseas territories in the late
1990s. The piece of land, originally given to the United Kingdom as the result of the Opium
War, was set in a 50-year transitionary plan in what’s been known as the Sino-British Joint
Declaration, where Hong Kong would exercise internal autonomy and sustain its own
capitalist economic system, alongside its own political leadership.
This declaration, in effect until 2047, is now in question, as China’s recent moves
which all push for a more ironclad grip on its neighboring territories, both in maritime and
landmass regards, through military, political and economic means. The case for Hong Kong
involves two critical pieces of legislature, the Extradition Bill and the National Security Law.
The Extradition Bill, the precursor to the National Security Law, was famed for being the
stimulus for the Hong Kong protests the world has witnessed, producing a large schism in
politics in the S.A.R., dividing both citizens and bureaucrats alike into two so-called factions
of “pro-China” and “pro-democracy”.
The National Security Law, inciting a second round of protests has been denounced
many times by the international community alongside the Hong Kong protesters for its even
more draconian measures that crack down on the protests and the autonomous internal
affairs of Hong Kong.
An important element of Hong Kong’s political composition that’s been under scrutiny
is the LEGCO, the legislative body of Hong Kong, where its complete democratic ambitions
are doubted, seeing as although a minority, a significant number of seats, more than
sufficient to swing the vote on a bill are not up for public vote.
Explanation of Important Terms
Special Administrative Region
Special Administrative Regions, or S.A.R.s are regions that are semi-autonomous with a high
level of interior autonomy. These regions usually differ in politics and economics from their
mainlands, such has Hong Kong S.A.R. (HKSAR) being a center of capitalism or Macau
S.A.R. being an attraction for casinos.
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 1Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
LEGCO (LegCo)
The Legislative Complex of the HKSAR. This is the primary legislative body and is comprised
of 70 seats, responsible for the passing of the Extradition Bill, and is included in the double-
suffrage demand of the protestors (demand no. 5).
“Pro-Democracy” & “Pro China”
These are the common terms used to delineate the political standpoints of those involved in
the Hong Kong protests and/or the Hong Kong government. The term “pro-Independence” is
also used interchangeably with “pro-Democracy”.
Detailed Background of the Issue
The Opium War and the Sino-British Joint Declaration
Hong Kong’s history dates back to the Opium War, where the British Empire fought
with the then-in power government of China, the Qing Dynasty, to secure its opium exports
into the country. The result of said war was a victory for the British, which accompanied the
surrender of Hong Kong to the empire for the next 99 years, in the year of 1898.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration
Upon the expiry of those 99 years, the Qing Dynasty was history. The new regime in power
was the People’s Republic of China that had overthrown its predecessor, Taiwan, where the
countries became fierce rivals over the South China Sea, even till today. The British Empire
was at that time, shrinking, ever since colonies began to go out of fashion politically after
WW1. The United Kingdom, therefore reached a new agreement with the People’s Republic
of China that Hong Kong would remain as an internally sovereign government, although it
would be represented by the People’s Republic of China over international platforms. At the
time, this was a peaceful handover (minor protests did occur, but these were in no metric
comparable in scale to today’s protests in Hong Kong), where for the next 50 years (until
2047), Hong Kong would serve as a hub for capitalism amidst China, formally a communist
state. The famous saying “one country two systems” originates from this declaration and
captures the spirit of the handover.
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 2Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
The LEGCO and its Composition
The LEGCO is the primary legislative head of the HKSAR, where there are 70 seats
and within the council, all work according to the conventional standards of a democratic
parliament. Majority vote rules, and every vote is equal. Even though the LEGCO is
organized as such, and that the fact remains the “pro-democracy” group of parties have been
winning in Hong Kong’s elections, the passing of the two bills protested by the very same
group remains inexplicable if how the seats are elected in the first place is not looked into.
Picture 1: A visual representation of LEGCO’s composition, where the 40 seats (out of 70) outlined in yellow are elected through
public vote.
As remarked in the captioning above, only 40 of the 70 seats above are directly
elected by the public, which also displays a more even distribution according to political
standpoint. The remaining 30, are represented by large business entities of China, where
there emerges a clear trend of being “pro-China”.
This trend is usually explained by there being economic incentives to agree with
China, especially from a business standpoint, observing the countless doors opened by
gaining the sympathy of the most powerful economy in Asia, and conversely of course, all
the doors closed by opposing Chinese policies.
The Extradition Bill and the Inception of ‘Pro-Democracy’ Protests
The Extradition Bill was the first inciter of the protests that last today. Passed in the first
quarter of 2019, the bill allowed the executives of Hong Kong to extradite its citizens,
meaning send those standing trial to another nation to face trial within the rules of the nation
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 3Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
that they are sent to and face their criminal penalties, if applicable, there. The nations
included in this bill were Taiwan and China, where the latter country is the point of protest.
The implication was that a “pro-Democracy” supporter and protestor if standing trial
(important to realise their conviction status at this stage is irrelevant) could be sent to
mainland China to be judged in Chinese courts, under Chinese laws for protesting the
increasing pressure China had been mounting over the HKSAR citizens and the implications
of the very thing that they now faced.
The Outbreak of the Protests
It did not take long for the public to oppose the product of the “pro-China” view that was
popularly being opposed. People began pouring onto the streets in the millions, in a region
with approximately a population of 7.5 million. The aim was simple: achieve the famous “5
demands not one less”, which will be discussed in later sections. The protestors were within
their rights to assemble in the streets of Hong Kong, per the Article 35 of the Basic Law of
the HKSAR, which writes the following: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall
enjoy freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration,”
(“Full Text of the Constitution and the Basic Law”). Regardless, these protests were viewed
as a riot in the eyes of Hong Kong executives and Chinese leadership, thus allowing an initial
wave of convictions to begin, also handing themselves the authority to both deploy police
forces and to break up large groups of protestors.
Parallels to Chinese History and Bans
During the protests of Hong Kong, the first ban was placed on any items that covered faces,
meaning masks (HKSAR was not neglecting its citizens’ health due to COVID, the outbreak
had not yet erupted), pieces of fabric, alongside other examples. The cause of concern was
the use of facial detection software that China had previously made headlines regarding in
separate contexts, that could be used to mark protestors and identify key individuals for
executives. This ban, alongside the vigil for Tiananmen Square was not adopted by the
protestors. The vigil that was outlawed was for the commemorating those who died or were
injured during the other leading protest the Communist Party’s rule since Mao Zedong first
founded the country. Occurring in 1989, a large body of population assembled in Tiananmen
Square, which is recalled in popular culture through the image of the “Tank Man”, a standoff
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 4Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
between an ordinary citizen and a convoy of military machines deployed by the Communist
Party halting before him. There were clear efforts made in part of the protestors to draw
parallels between the protests in 1989 and theirs, associating the stance against the firm
authority of Beijing.
Picture 2: The picture of the famous “Tank Man”, and ordinary unknown citizen who stood before four tanks, symbolizing a stance against
the Communist Party, 1989.
Instances of Police Brutality in HKSAR
Perhaps the most key realization is the dichotomy of perceptions held by Beijing &
HKSAR executives in contrast to the protestors creates the crux of the police brutality issue.
The very reason that the police forces are actively breaking up assembly groups is that the
protests are riots from Beijing’s standpoint. This implicates that the protests are violent in
their very nature and are an active threat to the security of the ordinary citizens. The problem
with this view not only lays with the fact that over a million people are protesting, but also
with there existing attempts to show the protests are violent through proxies planted amongst
the protestors themselves.
An incident which exemplifies the assertion above was when a “pro-China” legislator
was attacked with a knife by a person suspected to be a fake protestor.
There also lays a problem with aggression on the behalf of some “pro-China” supporter
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 5Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
groups displaying violence as well. The same legislator that was knifed was also sighted
giving encouraging gestures towards a group that then attacked civilians, whom this
legislator remarked were “defending their home and people” (“Pro-Beijing lawmaker stabbed
by 'fake supporter' in Hong Kong”).
The fact remains that there are numerous international parties citing the HKSAR
police’s approach to containing this ‘riot’ as disproportionate and overly reliant on using brute
force against a majority peaceful protest. Of course, the use of force is not circumscribed by
the police or the extreme “pro-China” groups, the reciprocal of those extreme groups exist
with the “pro-Democracy” group as well. However, it is not a fair classification to say all, or
even most, protestors on either view are violent in their nature.
‘Five Demands, Not One Less’
‘Five demands, not one less’ has become a near motto for the protestors ever since the
protests broke out in the Spring of 2019. These five demands had to be met in full for the
protests to disband (or the collective will to wane, which hasn’t happened). The demands are
as follows:
1. The Extradition Bill was to be withdrawn. This is the only demand that has been met
by the executives of Hong Kong, where Chief Executive (highest role of the executive
branch in HKSAR) Carrie Lam formally withdrew the extradition bill following moths of
endless protests.
2. An independent inquiry was to be launched into police brutality. This follows in the
criticisms of disproportionate responses of the Hong Kong Police. It is important to
underline the independence of such a prospective inquiry, as there doesn’t exist a
level of confidence in Beijing’s self-appointed check mechanisms.
3. HKSAR would back down from the classification of the protests as riots. This would be
tantamount to Hong Kong’s executives reclassifying the charges they indicted
hundreds of civilians upon, rioting, which are recognized as crimes while right to
assembly remains law per the Basic Law of HKSAR.
4. The fourth demand goes hand-in-hand with the demand relating to the reclassification
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 6Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
as protests, which are the granting of amnesty to those convicted numbering over five
thousand and rising.
5. The fifth demand calls for a full democratization of Hong Kong’s legislative and
executive. Not only does this demand address the current lack of voters’ power to
decide on the executives of their country, which would be a very commonplace to see
in a fully democratic nation, but it also wishes to address the 40/30 divide within the
LEGCO that is not in line with reflecting public view to the fullest of its potential.
Belt and Road Initiative & Economic Plans for Hong Kong
As China manifests itself as a contender for the world’s largest economy rivalling that
of the U.S., it finds itself in a situation where most world markets are dominated by the
influence of the U.S. Dollar, plainly meaning the world economy is dominated by American
interests, making sanctions from the Treasury Department even more crippling for countries
which have built a reliance over these markets.
Thus, as China seeks to expand its economy and dominate its own markets, it has
began pushing to create alternative markets it could more easily govern. This project is
essentially a 21st century revival of the Silk Road, that spans from China to Europe, with a
serious potential for creating competition over the E.U. markets with the U.S.
China has begun developing its project in its neighbouring countries, investing copious
amounts of money, with the whole project estimated to cost upwards of a trillion dollars when
complete. This cost would include the building of new ports for the maritime route, alongside
the fiduciary requirements in building an infrastructure for a three continent wide land road
that would, at the very least, partially redirect more than half of the world’s trade. In fact,
China has made such economic commitments that it began handing out loans to countries
for its new ports that defaulted (the loans were not repaid), so China accepted the port as
repayment, meaning in result, China bought land offshores to bring its project to fruition.
Hong Kong, as a ready-made port city that already rakes in valuable amounts of
maritime trade. Itself although a small country at best, remains within the top 50 in the world
in GDP rankings, displaying the incentives China may have to be impatient for 2047, where it
can finally call Hong Kong as one of many cities it houses.
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 7Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
National Security Law
Going into effect just hours before the 30th anniversary of the Sino-British Joint
Declaration, the National Security Law is the newer addition to the arsenals of Hong Kong’s
prosecutors. It not only allows for a great number of people to be brought under the threat of
prosecution for assembling, but it also instates measures increasing surveillance and the
authority of executives, justified by the continuation of the protests by the “pro-China” camp.
This new piece of legislature paints an alarming picture for the next 20 years of
HKSAR, as it contradicts directly with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provisions in
Article 3 Sub-2 that “the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will enjoy a high degree of
autonomy, except in foreign and defen[s]e affairs,” (“Joint Declaration of the Government of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the
People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong”). Seeing as this is not a case of
foreign intervention nor a military attack on China, the ‘high degree of autonomy’ is therefore
thrown into question.
The major provisions that relate to reasons for prosecution can be boiled down to
secession, terrorism, subversion, and collusion (punishable by life in prison). These four
definitions, much like the ‘freer’ definition of riots, are very open ended and are currently
being used for prosecutions. Terrorism, for example, is defined in the law as “[an act]
intended to cause grave harm to the society with a view to coercing the Central People’s
Government, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or an
international organization or intimidating the public in order to pursue political agenda,” which
could very easily be used to argue protestors are terrorists seeing as they have an agenda of
coercing the two governments through intimidation.
Regarding the expansion of power of Beijing and the corresponding HKSAR
executives, this new bill allows the HKSAR Chief Executive the authority to appoint judges,
have suspected criminals wiretapped, have trials not be open to public. Beijing also gains a
lot in this bill, by establishing its own law enforcement operating in HKSAR, and also most
critically, China is the sole authority in the implementation of this bill.
The introduction of such a bill has prompted a new wave of mass protests in Hong
Kong, and numerous individuals, some activists in the protests, some UK dual citizens who
criticize Beijing on the regular (the bill also can be used to prosecute non-permanent citizen
inhabitants of Hong Kong).
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 8Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
Major Parties Involved
People’s Republic of China (PRC)
China has documented its politics of stifling any opposition it faces in its pursuit of
consolidating its political and economic power around its borders, and Hong Kong is no
exception. With the introduction of the National Security Law, China gained an even more
hands-on role with the governance of Hong Kong, where they get to operate both a police
force and a council in which the National Security Law’s execution is decided.
These trends show a clear trajectory in which Hong Kong could be subject to more
legislatures that increase China’s say in the matters of Hong Kong.
United States of America
The United States of America, under President Trump’s administration, ended all ‘preferential
treatment’ towards Hong Kong, extending its trade war policies against China to Hong Kong.
There are also sanctions in effect that target individuals in Hong Kong, such as the Chief
Executive Carrie Lam, who recently complained that “[she] had to keep piles of cash at home
because [she] had no bank account” (“Carrie Lam: Hong Kong's leader says she has to keep
piles of cash at home”). These sanctions also include the freezing of U.S. based assets of
dignitaries of the HKSAR and Beijing, alongside the potential seizure of said assets.
United Kingdom
Starting with the 31st of January, the UK has announced that it would begin granting
residency status to the people of Hong Kong, seeking asylum from the ever so pressuring
Chinese government.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also recently made remarks regarding the arrest of
Jimmy Lai, a UK dual citizen who was a billionaire in Hong Kong, saying that the UK was
“deeply concerned about the Hong Kong authorities' focus on pursuing legal cases against
pro-democracy figures like Jimmy Lai", testifying that there is a trend of a crackdown on
opposition figures in HKSAR (“Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai charged under
security law”).
The UK is also the other party in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, meaning that it is
the country that could most fittingly demand the terms of the agreement be upheld, as the
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 9Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
U.S. likewise has been asking for the SC and the PRC to do so.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has previously expressed
concern over mounting violence, and called for peaceful expression of views to take place.
She called for more open dialogue on behalf of HKSAR’s bureaucrats, alongside upholding
one of the demands of the protestors, the investigation into the actions of the law
enforcement.
Chronology of Important Events
June 9, 1898 The Qing Dynasty leases Hong Kong and neighboring territories for
the next 99 years to the British Empire.
October 1, 1949 Under Mao Zedong’s leadership, the People’s Republic of China is
established.
July 1, 1997 Hong Kong S.A.R. begins its 50 years transitionary period.
2013 Xi Jinping, China’s head of state, announces the Belt and Road
Initiative.
March 29, 2019 The Extradition Bill is first published, triggering the mass protests.
July 15, 2019 President Trump ends Hong Kong’s ‘preferential treatment’.
October 23, 2019 Chief Executive Carrie Lam formerly withdraws the Extradition Bill.
July 29, 2020 China passes the National Security Law, inciting yet again another
mass rally of protestors.
December 11, 2020 UK citizen Jimmy Lai is charged under the National Security Law,
the highest profile person in history to be indicted under this law.
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 10Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
Relevant International Documents
- The Sino-British Joint Declaration, December 19th, 1984, (effective on July 1st, 1997)
- Call for UN Security Council Meeting on Hong Kong, May 27th, 2020 (rejected by China and
Russia)
- Fourth periodic report submitted by Hong Kong, China under article 40 of the Covenant,
due in 2018, February 14th, 2020 (CCPR/C/CHN-HKG/4)
Past Attempts to Resolve the Issue
As it would be apparent from the lack of resolutions passed, both in GA and SC
forums, there is a real lack of diplomatic arrangements between China and the international
community. The status of the international relations is so heavily reliant on sanctions that,
there isn’t any dialogue to begin with, but rather condemnations made by nations which go
unnoticed.
There are UN bodies such as the OHCHR and other independent organizations that
call for an investigation into the police force of Hong Kong, but challenging China’s
internationally recognized land, however self-autonomous Hong Kong might be, proves to be
a struggle.
Attempts made by China to solve the problem internally have been through projecting
its authority against the riots, as they perceive them, by doubling down on the use of police
networks and surveillance under the new authorities they granted themselves under the
National Security Law.
Solution Alternatives
The demands of both sides are very clear in this issue, and such a solution should
consider both sides’ demands accordingly. If an investigation is to be proposed, or another
UNSC mandate is to be passed regarding the political or economic affairs of HKSAR, then
the solution should at the very least be respectful towards HKSAR’s executives’ authority so
that the UNSC does not become a party that domestically intervenes in China.
There were previous attempts at brokering a solution from organizations such as the
EU, which called for China to honor its commitments in the 1984 declaration, alongside the
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 11Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
UK and the US. In order to compel further dialogue and settlements in international dialogue,
a decrease in hostile trade policies in reciprocation would be welcome step in achieving a
prospective solution.
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MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 13Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
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MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 14Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
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MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 15Committee Name: United Nations Security Council
Agenda Item: The situation in Hong Kong
Student Officer & Role: Ata Güvendi, Vice President
"U.N. calls for probe into violence related to Hong Kong protests." Reuters, 5 Oct. 2019,
www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-un/u-n-calls-for-probe-into-violence-
related-to-hong-kong-protests-idUSKCN1WK07G.
"UN experts call for decisive measures to protect fundamental freedoms in China." United
Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, OHCHR, 26 June 2020,
www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26006.
"Vital Belt-Road role for HK." News.gov.hk, 11 Sept. 2019,
www.news.gov.hk/eng/2019/09/20190911/20190911_123326_267.html?type=ticker.
Widener, Jeff. Tank Man. 5 June 1989. TIME 100 Photos, TIME,
100photos.time.com/photos/jeff-widener-tank-man.
Useful Links
1. BBC’s Hong Kong News Category:
https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cp7r8vglne2t/hong-kong
2. OHCHR’s Country Profile for China:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/CNIndex.aspx
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