Hong Kong independence

How China's paranoia put global spotlight on Hong Kong activist Andy Chan
By Andreas Illmer

Andy Chan says China's pressure proves that Hong Kong should go it alone
A lunchtime talk by a little-known Hong Kong politician has drawn global attention to China's influence on free speech in the territory.
Andy Chan is the head of the nationalist party calling for Hong Kong's independence from China. The Hong Kong National Party is already facing a ban over its separatist stance.
When the 27-year-old politician was invited to talk at the city's Foreign Correspondent Club (FCC) this Tuesday, it sparked stern criticism from communist authorities, who asked for the event to be axed altogether.
The FCC defended the talk and will push ahead with it -- with global media attention now focused on what otherwise likely would have received little or no attention at all.

Why does Hong Kong care?
A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. 

But it enjoys considerably more freedoms due to the "one country, two systems" formula, under which Beijing agreed to give the region a great deal of autonomy and to preserve its economic and social systems for 50 years.
There are widespread concerns in the city that those freedoms are gradually being eroded and the extent of China's influence over Hong Kong is a sensitive issue.Hong Kong and China - one country, two systems ?

Student protests, calling for more democracy, paralysed the city for several weeks in 2014. 

Several of the protest leaders were convicted and even faced jail terms. 

Those demonstrations, however, were merely about a more democratic election process -- nowhere near as contentious as the issue of independence.

Why is China so touchy about this?
China is extremely sensitive about what it says are questions of national "sovereignty".
The two main focal points of that sensitivity are Hong Kong and the self-ruling island of Taiwan. 

In Taiwan's case, Beijing's position is crystal clear: China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that rightfully belongs to China.
In the case of Hong Kong, the situation is more blurry. 

Hong Kong is part of China but its special status and the liberties granted to its citizens can be seen as indirectly undermining Beijing's tough hand on the mainland.

Every July, students protest for more democracy in Hong Kong

China's ministry of foreign affairs has urged the FCC to cancel the event and Hong Kong's top official, Carrie Lam, has criticised it as "regrettable and inappropriate".

What do the FCC and Mr Chan say?
Freedom of speech and press freedom are among the key liberties that set Hong Kong apart from the mainland. 

So supporters of the event argue that a talk given at a press club primarily to the members of that club should not be contentious.
The FCC has defended its decision to invite Mr Chan, arguing that "Hong Kong rightly prides itself on its reputation as a place where the rule of law applies and where there is freedom of speech".
"We believe that in free societies such as Hong Kong it is vitally important to allow people to speak and debate freely, even if one does not agree with their particular views."
As for Andy Chan, the attempts to ban him from speaking didn't come as a surprise, and instead bolstered his belief that "China is treating Hong Kong as a colony".
"It proves our point that it is China who is destroying Hong Kong's rights," he told the BBC. 

"The Hong Kong authorities acted out of obedience, the Beijing authorities out of hubris."