Massive pro-democracy protests broke out in Hong Kong in late September 2014, which began with university and secondary school students boycotting classes. Protesters are demanding the right to democratically elect their next chief executive, Hong Kong’s highest elected position, in response to the Chinese government’s announcement that they will vet and pre-approve all candidates. Pro-democracy activists say that this is not the universal suffrage promised by Beijing in the Hong Kong Basic Law and a further 2007 decision of the National People’s Congress. The Basic Law is the constitutional document of the Hong Kong administrative region. Law professor Michael Davis teaches at the University of Hong Kong and has lived in Hong Kong for thirty years. He has long observed and written about the pro-democracy political movement in the administrative region. He spoke with the Journal about the latest developments in the protests, as of 1 October 2014.
