2. Contesting Identities: Hong Kong’s Protests, Taiwan’s Concerns, and China’s Challenges

Hong Kong government's proposed Extradition Bill in 2019 generated multiple responses locally and internationally. This study examines the historical momentum, political complexity, protest mobilization, and the Hong Kong government's reluctant conciliation measures and forceful police responses that gave demonstrators ample causes to persist. The protests generated spillover effects on Taiwan's electoral dynamics and cross-Strait relations and led to China's predicament in deliberating its response options. In the end, China's enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020 was worse than the Extradition Bill protesters had vehemently opposed. The Taiwanese government surely gained benefits from the protest by boosting its electoral support in the 2020 presidential elections, though cross-Strait relations would continue to stall without any sign of reconciliation.