92% of Hong Kongers Vote for Return to British Rule

An informal poll in Hong Kong has revealed many would prefer to again be a colony under British sovereignty.
92% of Hong Kongers Vote for Return to British Rule
3/18/2013
Updated:
5/23/2017
A screenshot of South China Morning Post's website on March 14 shows 92 percent of online voters say 'yes' to returning to a British overseas territory. (The Epoch Times)
A screenshot of South China Morning Post's website on March 14 shows 92 percent of online voters say 'yes' to returning to a British overseas territory. (The Epoch Times)

 

A recent online survey by a Hong Kong newspaper showed that the majority of participants would prefer to be controlled by Britain again, rather than the Chinese Communist Party.

The poll was carried out by the South China Morning Post, with 92 percent of voters answering yes to the question “Would Hong Kongers vote to return to a British overseas territory, given the option?” as of 6 p.m. local time on March 14.

In an interview with New Tang Dynasty Television, Zhang Weiguo, chief editor of Hong Kong Trend Magazine, compared the situation in Hong Kong with that of Tibet, where the Chinese regime has severely repressed Tibetan religion and culture.

“The people of Hong Kong have realized that their status, political rights, and everyday lives have changed drastically,” he said. “They’ve woken up to the fact that today’s Tibet is tomorrow’s Hong Kong. I don’t think the Hong Kong people could tolerate the massive, brutal persecution that Tibet has gone through.”

Meanwhile, the premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, seemed to be unaware of public opinion in Hong Kong.

Speaking at an international press conference after the 12th National People’s Congress, Li answered a question regarding Hong Kong’s future. “When I visited Hong Kong, I felt it to be vibrant under the ‘one country, two systems’ policy,” he said, adding that the central government would do whatever is conducive to the wellbeing of Hong Kong.

Since its handover to the mainland in 1997, Hong Kong’s constitution has supposedly guaranteed residents the continuation of existing freedoms under the one country, two systems doctrine.

However, many observers point out that in reality the regime has exerted increasing political pressure on the former British colony, particularly under the chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who recently attempted to introduce mainland China’s curriculum into Hong Kong schools, which many Hong Kongers described as a form of brainwashing.

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Jenny Li has contributed to The Epoch Times since 2010. She has reported on Chinese politics, economics, human rights issues, and U.S.-China relations. She has extensively interviewed Chinese scholars, economists, lawyers, and rights activists in China and overseas.