How the Hong Kong Protests Started?

Hong Kong is a special administrative region under the People’s Republic of China since 1997.

In 1842, after the end of the First Opium War, Hong Kong became a part of the British colony. After the end of the Second Opium War in 1860, the British colony was further expanded up to the Kowloon Peninsula (Southernmost part of the present-day Hong Kong main landmass).

In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the Hong Kong region, alongside the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island (all these 3 regions form 86.2% of Hong Kong’s territory).

In 1997, as the 99-year lease expired, entire Hong Kong region was returned to People’s Republic of China as a special administrative region with sperate governing and economic systems that from China, also China agreed and guaranteed in 1997 that it will preserve the freedoms, its systems and way of life for the people of Hong Kong for at least next 50 years starting from 1997.

In 2019, Hong Kong Extradition Bill, known as The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 was the founding cause of the protest. The bill proposed by the Hong Kong government in February 2019 to establish an extradition/transfer mechanism of fugitives for Taiwan, Macau, and China.
The bill would have allowed criminal suspects from Hong Kong to be extradited to China.

The proposal to allow extradition to China caused fear of losing rights and freedom among the citizens of Hong Kong.The citizens of Hong Kong felt this would suppress their freedom of autonomy and will lead to unfair trials and violent treatment.
The first protests started on 15th March 2019.