In Hong Kong, a “special administrative region” of the People’s Republic of China, mass protests have been occurring since March 2019.

The movement started with a proposal for the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill, which would have given Hong Kong the right to etradite criminals to mainland China for sentencing. In response to this proposal, mass protests began in March and continue to this day. The protests now are about much more than the extradition bill.

Hong Kong was a former territory of the United Kingdom until 1997, when the territory was transferred to China. The Chinese government has been increasingly strict on many basic rights like freedom of the press, freedom of speech, etc.

On mainland China, the government controls almost all aspects of people’s lives, and media is frequently censored by the state. Essentially, the Chinese government operates like the Empire in Star Wars.

For example, Xi Jinping, the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and essentially the head of state, has amended the constitution to abolish term limits.

In Hong Kong, where citizens are accustomed to much more freedom than their Chinese neighbors, they are fed up with Chinese attempts to control the daily lives of Hong Kongers.

I believe that the protestors are doing what is right. They are defending their rights against the Chinese government, who treat their citizens like garbage.

Hong Kong does not want to become like mainland China, where media is censored, citizens who speak against the government are put into re-education camps, and they don’t have any voting rights.

The Hong Kong citizens are in the right, and they should let their voices be heard until something is done about it.