The past few months have seen protests of unprecedented scale in Hong Kong. The protests began in June over plans - later put on hold, and finally withdrawn in September - that would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China. Since then, the protests have evolved overtime into a movement that reflects demands for democratic reforms.
However, this massive uprising is not a sudden or unexpected movement. There's a lot of important context - some of it stretching back decades - that helps explain what is going on.
HongKongers enjoy special status
Hong Kong is significantly different from other Chinese cities. To understand this, how Hong Kong came into being must be understood.
It was a British colony for more than 150 years - part of it, Hong Kong island, was annexed to the UK after a war in 1842. Later, China also leased the rest of Hong Kong - the New Territories - to the British for 99 years.
It became a busy trading port, and its economy took off in the 1950s as it became a manufacturing hub. The territory was also popular with migrants and dissidents fleeing instability, poverty or persecution in mainland China.
Then, in the early 1980s, as the deadline for the 99-year-lease approached, Britain and China began talks on the future of Hong Kong - with the communist government in China arguing that all of Hong Kong should be returned to Chinese rule.
The two sides reached a deal in 1984 that would see Hong Kong return to China in 1997, under the principle of "one country, two systems". This meant that while becoming part of a single country with China, Hong Kong would enjoy "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs" for 50 years.
As a result, Hong Kong has its own legal system and borders, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech are protected.
Things are changing
Hong Kong still enjoys freedoms not seen on mainland China - but critics say they are on the decline.
Rights groups have accused China of meddling in Hong Kong, citing examples such as legal rulings that have disqualified pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong. Mass media and artists are under increased pressure for censorship aligning with the Chinese communist government’s restrictions.
Another sticking point has been the Hong Kong parliament.
Hong Kong's leader, the chief executive, is currently elected by a 1,200-member election committee - a mostly pro-Beijing body chosen by just 6% of eligible voters.
Not all the 70 members of the territory's lawmaking body, the Legislative Council, are directly chosen by Hong Kong's voters either. Most seats are selectively occupied by pro-Beijing lawmakers.
In 28 years' time in 2047, Hong Kong’s mini constitution, the Basic Law expires - and what happens to Hong Kong's autonomy after that is unclear.
Most people in Hong Kong don't see themselves as Chinese
While most people in Hong Kong are ethnic Chinese, and although Hong Kong is part of China, most people there don't identify as Chinese.
Surveys from the University of Hong Kong show that most people identify themselves as “HongKongers” The difference is particularly pronounced amongst the young. "The younger the respondents, the less likely they feel proud of becoming a national citizen of China, and also the more negative they are toward the Central Government's policies on Hong Kong," the university's public opinion program says.
HongKongers have described legal, social and cultural differences - and the fact Hong Kong was a separate colony for 150 years - as reasons for why they don't identify with their compatriots in mainland China.
There has also been a rise in anti-mainland Chinese sentiment in Hong Kong in recent years, with people complaining about rude tourists disregarding local norms or driving up the cost of living. Some young activists have even called for Hong Kong's independence from China, something that alarms the Beijing government.
Protesters feel the extradition bill, if passed, would bring the territory closer under China's control. "Hong Kong will just become another Chinese city if this bill is passed,” one protester was reported saying to a Financial Times correspondent.
Jabir Mahmood Chowdhury
Editor-in-chief