India’s World – Democracy protests in Hong Kong Summary: Democracy protests are going on in Hong Kong. Hong Kong usually an orderly financial hub is in eruption. Thousands of protesters have deployed umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas leading some to describe this protest as Umbrella revolution. When Britain gave the reigns of HK back to China in 1997, Beijing had given certain assurances. Under what was termed as One Country Two Systems, HK was allowed to keep its common law system and was assured of greater rights than those prevalent in mainland china. The residents of HK had hoped that by 2017 they would be free to elect their own Chief executive to run the HK special administrative region. Now, China is saying that there would be no open nominations and only those names cleared by Chinese Communist party would be able to contest. These demonstrations have been turned into biggest protests in the region since Chinese rule. Under the existing system, political control in HK is vested with china. This protest marks a revision of promises. China had earlier promised to provide universal suffrage in elections. But China is willing to conduct controlled elections rather than free elections. No free choice has been provided to choose candidates in Hong Kong. HK has a chronic capitalism much like Russia where huge wealth is dominated but HK people do not have basic economic rights. There are many groups fighting for the cause. The important feature of this movement is that it is leaderless. Youngsters have been playing a major role. The protest is spread across the classes. The protesters along with demand for universal suffrage are also demanding for direct elections. Faith in the government is all time low. The protests are in the nature of demand for democratization. HK has always been seen as the gateway to china. Hong Kongers feel that there specialness is being eroded due to Chinese mainland suppression. The idea of the protesters is to ensure that their voice is heard. Studies have revealed that majority of the supporters are youngsters. People are divided on this issue. The nature of the movement is complex. China has been quite harsh in dealing with the protesters. It seems that Communist Party is not willing to share its powers.