Horror in Hong Kong: Why we should do more to help protesters

Protests have ravaged Hong Kong for five months, yet the government has refused to listen to the demands of the protesters, its own citizens. Instead they are being paid out by China’s central government.

The “One country, two systems” policy of the central Chinese government essentially strips Hong Kong citizens of their autonomy. Therefore, it shouldn’t be hard to see why so many citizens have an appetite for a more democratic society. Why is it that we, a democracy, are not doing more to help those suffering under the tyranny of their own government? After all, are they not members of the Commonwealth? Do we not owe it to them to help peacefully ensure that the voices of the people are heard by their own government?

I believe that we, as university students and citizens of a democracy, should try to do more to help. We should hold fund-raisers and participate in other shows of solidarity, especially after the recent police storming of a Hong Kong university. Those that are supposed to protect the public are instead being used as a sort of inquisitor army under the dominion of the government, attacking those that speak out against it, or its Chinese counterpart in Beijing.

The Hong Kong government has already instructed the outside world not to interfere with its internal affairs, but democracy is under threat. With so much at stake, can we really afford to be indifferent to the plight of citizens in Hong Kong? Can we really just sit here and watch as democracy is undermined by a tyrannical regime? As students, we are the next generation of lawyers, politicians and campaigners: we owe it to the generations that come after us to try to halt the spread of corruption.

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Last modified: 28th November 2019