Browsing by Subject "boomerang pattern"

This study centres on co-operation between democracy activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It seeks to understand when and how this has developed from occasional connections to more regular and institutionalized collaboration and what has driven this change. It also aims to understand the motivations of activists to work with partners in the other location. Finally, it looks at this co-operation during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement in Hong Kong in 2019 and beyond, using the concept of transnational advocacy networks (TANs) and the boomerang pattern as a theoretical framework. This study builds on previous research, news articles, publicly available statistics, statements by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) (n=47), and 17 interviews with activists and academics. The interviews seek to explain how activist connections have developed over time, what the collaboration has looked like during the Anti-ELAB Movement, and what the motivations have been. The MAC statements have been used to track the Taiwanese authorities’ official reactions to pro-democracy protests or work in Hong Kong. The analysis of the interviews and the statements have sought out thematic patterns or codes that have been used both quantitatively and qualitatively. Democracy activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan began paying more attention to one another during two major social movements in 2012, both relating to China. The co-operation has since intensified during further social movements, and activists on both sides have formed political parties and run for office. During the Anti-ELAB Movement, top politicians and institutions in Taiwan spoke out in support of Hong Kong’s activists, taking the relationship one step further. This study finds that democracy activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan feel they have a lot in common. Key commonalities include a shared opponent in China and an increasing tendency to identify as Hongkongers and Taiwanese, rather than as Chinese. Using the boomerang pattern, this study shows how pro-democracy activists and politicians experience a blockage in Hong Kong. Taiwanese democracy activists have better access to their authorities. They have co-operated with their counterparts in Hong Kong to raise awareness of the Anti-ELAB Movement in Taiwan and to push the Taiwanese authorities to assist Hong Kong protesters and put pressure on Hong Kong’s government. The Taiwanese authorities have offered some assistance to Hong Kong protesters arriving in the country and the MAC has been a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party. While the Hong Kong-Taiwan TANs have been partially successful in their efforts in Taiwan, they have been unsuccessful in Hong Kong.