updated 3:00 GMT 10.08.14
Hong Kong in crisis: Role of the UK
By Tim Summers, Special for CNN
Hong Kong in crisis: Role of the UK
By Tim Summers, Special for CNN
A pro-democracy protester sleeps on an occupied road in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong early on October 8. Demonstrators are angry at China's decision to allow only Beijing-vetted candidates to run in the city's elections for chief executive in 2017. Demonstration crowds have begun to shrink as the protest progresses into its second week.
Protesters walk up an empty street inside the protest site near Hong Kong's government complex on Tuesday, October 7.
A pro-democracy protester reads a newspaper in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district on October 7 as a police officer stands nearby.
Joshua Wong, a 17-year-old student protest leader, is interviewed at the protest site near government headquarters on Monday, October 6.
A man walks to work as pro-democracy demonstrators sleep on the road in the occupied areas surrounding the government complex in Hong Kong on October 6.
A ray of sunlight bathes sleeping protesters as they occupy a major highway in Hong Kong on October 6. Protesters say Beijing has gone back on its pledge to allow universal suffrage in Hong Kong, which was promised "a high degree of autonomy" when it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.
People take an escalator to work as protesters sleep on October 6.
The statue "Umbrella Man," by the Hong Kong artist known as Milk, stands at a pro-democracy protest site in the Admiralty district on October 6.
People walk to work on a main road in the occupied areas of Hong Kong on October 6.
Police officers remove barriers outside government offices in Hong Kong on Sunday, October 5.
Student protesters carry a barrier to block a street leading to the protest site on October 5.
Pro-democracy demonstrators occupy the streets near government headquarters on October 5.
Pro-democracy demonstrators surround police October 5 in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong.
A pro-democracy protester holds on to a barrier as he and others defend a barricade from attacks by rival protest groups in the Mong Kok district on Saturday, October 4.
Pro-democracy student protesters pin a man to the ground after an assault during a scuffle with local residents in Mong Kok on October 4.
Pro-democracy protesters raise their arms in a sign of nonviolence as they protect a barricade from rival protest groups in the Mong Kok district on October 4.
A pro-Beijing activist holds up blue ribbons for anti-Occupy Central protestors to collect as pro-government speeches are made in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong on October 4.
A man sits in front of a barricade built by pro-democracy protesters on October 4 in the Kowloon district.
Thousands of pro-democracy activists attend a rally on the streets near government headquarters on October 4 in Hong Kong.
A group of men in masks fight with a man who tried to stop them from removing barricades from a pro-democracy protest area in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong on Friday, October 3.
Police raise hands against protesters as an ambulance tries to leave the compound of the chief executive office in Hong Kong on October 3.
A protester tries to negotiate with angry residents trying to remove barricades blocking streets in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay on October 3. Large crowds opposed to the pro-democracy movement gathered to clear the area.
Pro-democracy demonstrators protect a barricade from "anti-Occupy" crowds in Hong Kong on October 3.
A man shouts at a pro-democracy demonstrator on October 3.
Police try to pry a man from a fence guarded by pro-democracy demonstrators on October 3.
Pro-democracy demonstrators sleep on the street outside a government complex in Hong Kong on Thursday, October 2.
As the sun rises, a protester reads during a sit-in blocking the entrance to the chief executive's office on October 2.
Yellow ribbons, a symbol of the protests in Hong Kong, are tied to a fence as police and security officers stand guard at the government headquarters on October 2.
Protesters confront police outside the government complex in Hong Kong on October 2.
Protesters camp out in a street in Hong Kong on Wednesday, October 1.
Founder of the student pro-democracy group Scholarism, Joshua Wong, center, stands in silent protest with supporters at the flag-raising ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong on October 1.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive C.Y. Leung attends a flag raising ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of Communist China on October 1.
A pro-democracy activist shouts slogans on a street near the government headquarters on Wednesday, October 1.
Hong Kong police stand guard outside the flag-raising ceremony October 1.
Pro-democracy demonstrators gather for a third night in Hong Kong on Tuesday, September 30.
Protesters sing songs and wave their cell phones in the air after a massive thunderstorm passed over the Hong Kong Government Complex on September 30.
Protesters take part in a rally on a street outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on September 30.
Student activists rest on a road in Hong Kong on September 30, near the government headquarters where pro-democracy activists have gathered.
A pro-democracy demonstrator guards a bus covered with messages of support in Hong Kong on September 30.
Protesters sleep on the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex at sunrise on September 30.
Protesters hold up their cell phones in a display of solidarity during a protest outside the Legislative Council headquarters in Hong Kong on Monday, September 29.
Protesters put on goggles and wrap themselves in plastic on September 29 after hearing a rumor that police were coming with tear gas.
Police officers stand off with protesters next to the Hong Kong police headquarters on September 29.
A man helps protesters use a makeshift ladder to climb over concrete street barricades on September 29.
Riot police fire tear gas on student protesters occupying streets around government buildings in Hong Kong on September 29.
Police officers rest after protests on September 29.
Pro-democracy protesters argue with a man, left, who opposes the occupation of Nathan Road in Hong Kong on September 29.
Pro-democracy protesters sit in a road as they face off with local police on September 29.
Pro-democracy protesters rest around empty buses as they block Nathan Road in Hong Kong on September 29. Multiple bus routes have been suspended or diverted.
Police walk down a stairwell as demonstrators gather outside government buildings in Hong Kong on September 29.
Stacks of umbrellas are ready for protesters to use as shields against pepper spray on September 29.
Protesters turn the Chinese flag upside-down on September 29 outside a commercial building near the main Occupy Central protest area in Hong Kong.
Protesters occupy a main road in the Central district of Hong Kong after riot police used tear gas against them on Sunday, September 28.
Demonstrators disperse as tear gas is fired during a protest on September 28. There is an "optimal amount of police officers dispersed" around the scene, a Hong Kong police representative said.
Police use pepper spray and tear gas against demonstrators September 28. The protests, which have seen thousands of students in their teens and 20s take to the streets, swelled in size over the weekend.
Riot police clash with protesters on September 28.
Police and protesters clash during a tense standoff with thousands of student demonstrators, recently joined by the like-minded Occupy Central movement, on September 28.
Benny Tai, center, founder of the Occupy Central movement, raises a fist after announcing the group would join the students during a demonstration outside government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28.
Pro-democracy activist and former legislator Martin Lee wears goggles and a mask to protect against pepper spray on September 28.
A pro-democracy activist shouts at police officers behind a fence with yellow ribbons on September 28.
A sign for the Hong Kong central government offices has been crossed out with red tape by democracy activists on September 28.
Pro-democracy protesters gather near government headquarters on September 29.
Protesters gather during a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Legislative Counsel on September 28 as calls for Beijing to grant the city universal suffrage grow louder and more fractious.
Protesters tie up barricades on September 28 during a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong.
An injured protester is tended to after clashing with riot police outside Hong Kong government complex on Saturday, September 27.
Riot police use pepper spray on pro-democracy activists who forced their way into the Hong Kong government headquarters during a demonstration on September 27.
People watch from on high as pro-democracy demonstrators are surrounded by police after storming a courtyard outside Hong Kong's legislative headquarters on Friday, September 26.
Students march to Government House in Hong Kong on Thursday, September 25.
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Editor's Note: Tim Summers is a senior consulting fellow on the Asia program at Chatham House. He lives in Hong Kong and teaches at the Centre for China Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is the author of a recent Chatham House paper, China's Global Personality. The views expressed here are solely those of the author.
London (CNN) - The world has been watching events unfold in Hong Kong in recent weeks, after tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets to occupy key locations in the heart of this financial hub.
Much of the international reaction has been supportive of the protesters' aims. Foreign governments, meanwhile, have been working out what to say publicly.
They should comment. Hong Kong is a global city, whose political development has wider implications, not least for international economic and commercial interests in Asia and beyond.
But comments by some politicians and media commentators in recent weeks demonstrated a worrying lack of understanding of the relevant historical agreements and Hong Kong's status as a Chinese territory -- albeit with significant autonomy. This is unhelpful to the rebuilding of trust that is needed if any progress is to be made in Hong Kong.
For the UK, as the former colonial power until it handed control to China in 1997, the diplomatic challenges presented by the protests are that much sharper. The shadow of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration hangs over policy makers -- this is the agreement under which Hong Kong maintains its own system as part of China, a "one country, two systems" concept fleshed out in the Chinese Basic Law of 1990, Hong Kong's mini constitution.
The protests were fueled by dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong government, but the catalyst was the August 31 decision of China's national legislature -- the National People's Congress Standing Committee -- on Hong Kong's constitutional development.
The key issue of contention is not whether Hong Kong people should have a say in the choice of their next chief executive (head of government) in 2017 -- Beijing has already agreed to allow a popular vote. The controversy is over how candidates should be nominated.
The central authorities see a role for themselves as being in line with the Basic Law, one of the few manifestations of "one country" when it comes to a political structure which is otherwise formed locally in Hong Kong. As a result, the August 31 decision provides for a 1,200-strong nominating committee, half of whose members must approve candidates to appear on the subsequent popular ballot. The committee's constitution means that it is a broadly pro-establishment body, and this is where Beijing (and Hong Kong's elites) can effectively screen out candidates.
Divided city
Views in Hong Kong are divided. But a sizable proportion of people want more, effectively demanding greater autonomy by rejecting any way for Beijing to influence nominations, or by seeking to dilute the nominating committee's role. These aspirations are understandable given the nature of Hong Kong society and a desire for better governance.
The problem is that they are not easily attainable within the framework of the Basic Law. Without compromise, Hong Kong could be facing something of a constitutional crisis.
How does this debate match up to those historical agreements?
Contrary to what some are saying, the proposals on the table do not contravene what was agreed between China and the UK. All the Joint Declaration said is that the chief executive will be "appointed by the central people's government on the basis of the results of elections or consultations to be held locally [in Hong Kong]." Britain's role as co-signatory of that agreement gives it no legal basis for complaint on this particular point, and the lack of democracy for the executive branch before 1997 leaves it little moral high ground either.
It is the Basic Law that introduces "the ultimate aim [of] the selection of the chief executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures." This is the basis for what is on offer from Beijing today. China didn't promise anything different.
Comment by politicians and the media should not distort these historical agreements, which are the foundation for Hong Kong's status as a sub-national region with a high degree of autonomy, not a country or sovereign territory.
Post-colonial guilt
Perhaps part of the issue for some in the UK is an underlying feeling of post-colonial guilt, the idea that the British government didn't put proper protection in place for the people of Hong Kong.
But as the demonstrations have once again showed, Hong Kong people are quite capable of standing up for themselves. The idea -- which some in Hong Kong encourage -- that the UK is somehow still responsible for their wellbeing sounds outdated.
Furthermore, we should not forget the substantial achievements in the UK's negotiations with China over the future of Hong Kong. To engineer a smooth transition of sovereignty in 1997, followed by the maintenance of Hong Kong's legal, judicial, financial, social and economic systems, was no small achievement. It has provided the basis for a vibrant and passionate society in Hong Kong. Implementation was never going to be easy, but "one country two systems" remains the best option by far.
Those outside Hong Kong have a legitimate right to comment. But they also have a responsibility to base those comments on accurate and historically-informed analysis of the complex and emotive issues currently disputed in Hong Kong.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/07/opinion/hong-kong-britain-china-summers/index.html?c=&page=0
