Socialism & The Democracy Struggle In China and Hong Kong (PDF version only)

Socialism & The Democracy Struggle

Hong Kong is experiencing an unprecedented crackdown on democratic rights and political freedoms. Under China’s “emperor” Xi Jinping, seemingly set to rule indefinitely, the dictatorship’s control of nominally autonomous Hong Kong has become more intrusive, repressive and blatant with each passing month. China itself is experiencing the most severe crackdown on dissent since the end of the Tiananmen Square mass protests in 1989.

As the book explains, Xi’s push for more control over Hong Kong stems from his fear the city’s democracy struggle could spill into China, igniting mass unrest that could ultimately topple the Chinese dictatorship. Hong Kong’s democracy struggle now finds itself at a crossroads. The struggle for democratic rights cannot be won in Hong Kong alone – more powerful social and political forces are needed to overcome a dictatorial regime like China’s.

This book outlines what socialists have to say about this struggle. It contains selected articles form chinaworker.info and activist group Socialist Action over several years dealing with the fight against dictatorship, the Umbrella Revolution, and the fight for universal suffrage. It argues that the democracy struggle can  only fo forward with a radically different approach.

These pages present a left wing critique of the political position of the main pro-democracy politicians, the pan-democrats. Their wariness towards mass protest, blind hope in reaching compromises with an uncompromising regime, and their failure to link the democracy struggle to fighting Hong Kong’s corrupt capitalist system, are a brake on the movement. A fighting leadership and a strategy to link up with mass struggles in China is the way forward.