Editing One country, two systems (section)

=== Degree of autonomy ===
As a British colony, Hong Kong was neither democratic nor autonomous.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=177}} After Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised that Hong Kong citizens would be free to elect their local government. However, the Basic Law does not have a clear timetable for when universal suffrage is to be achieved, ultimately stating that a full vote by the populace and universal suffrage must be reached before the end of the 50-year transition according to Article 45.<ref name="mobile.abc.net.au">{{Cite web |date=16 December 2014 |title=Fact check: Was Hong Kong ever promised democracy? – Fact Check |url=https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-16/was-hong-kong-ever-promised-democracy-fact-check/5809964 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103144602/https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-16/was-hong-kong-ever-promised-democracy-fact-check/5809964 |archive-date=3 November 2019 |access-date=19 November 2019 |website=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Koo |first=George |date=2 October 2019 |title=An alternative view of HK protests {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/10/opinion/an-alternative-view-of-hong-kong/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012003920/https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/10/opinion/an-alternative-view-of-hong-kong/ |archive-date=12 October 2019 |access-date=19 November 2019 |website=Asia Times |language=en}}</ref>

In the year after the handover, surveys showed high levels of satisfaction with Beijing's hands-off relationship with the former colony.<ref name="Concise">{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=John Mark |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/184965072?oclcNum=184965072 |title=A Concise History of Hong Kong |date=2007 |publisher=[[Hong Kong University Press]] |isbn=978-962-209-878-7 |pages=221–228 |oclc=184965072}}</ref>

The year before, the Provisional Legislative Council passed laws restricting the [[right of abode]], leading to a case brought against the government, which ended in a loss for the government in the [[Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal]] in 1999. The government then took its case to the National People's Congress. The legal establishment expressed its disapproval of the act Martin Lee described as "giving away" Hong Kong's autonomy with a silent march. Polls showed the events had depressed the public's confidence in the government, despite the fact that most were in favour of the government's stance over that of the court's.<ref name="Concise" />

On 10 June 2014, China's central government released a [[The Practice of the 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region|white paper]]<ref name="Full text">{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-06/10/c_133396891.htm|title=Full Text: The Practice of the "One Country, Two Systems" Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region|agency=Xinhua News Agency|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008210149/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-06/10/c_133396891.htm|archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> describing its view of comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=180}} The white paper stated that Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy is not an inherent power, but rather one which exists solely through the authorization of the central government.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=180}} The white paper's release ignited criticism from many people in Hong Kong, who said that the Communist leadership was reneging on its pledges to abide by the "one country, two systems" policy that allows for a democratic, autonomous Hong Kong under Beijing's rule.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/sinosphere/2014/06/11/beijings-white-paper-sets-off-a-firestorm-in-hong-kong/ | title = Beijing's "White Paper" Sets Off a Firestorm in Hong Kong | work = The New York Times | date = 11 June 2014 | access-date = 23 June 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140618000943/http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/sinosphere/2014/06/11/beijings-white-paper-sets-off-a-firestorm-in-hong-kong/ |author-last1=Wong|author-first1=Alan| archive-date = 18 June 2014 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

During the [[2014 Hong Kong protests]], students demanded more political freedom in direct response to the [[2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong|"831 decision" of the NPCSC]]. The participants demanded freedom of choice, electoral freedom, democracy and, in particular, they wanted to participate in the elections of the [[Chief Executive of Hong Kong|head of the administration of Hong Kong]]. The name "[[Umbrella Movement|umbrella movement]]" originated because the students protected themselves with umbrellas from the pepper spray of the police. Thus, umbrellas became the symbol of this movement.<ref name="refa1" /> In 2016, [[Joshua Wong]], [[Alex Chow]] and [[Nathan Law]], student leaders of the protests, were charged for their roles in the protests and found guilty. https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20160721/c21hongkong/