On September 22, 2014, the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism began protesting<\/a> outside government headquarters against the NPCSC\u2019s decision. This protest took on the name Occupy Central movement which continues to pressure the PRC Government into granting an electoral system that “satisfies the international standards in relation to universal suffrage” in the Hong Kong Chief Executive election in 2017 -as promised according to the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45<\/a>. More citizens joined the protests after the use of heavy-handed police tactics, including the unnecessary use of tear gas, and attacks on protesters by opponents<\/a>. The umbrella was initially used by activists in Hong Kong to shield themselves from police pepper spray. But it has quickly emerged as an unlikely symbol of resistance in ongoing pro-democracy protests there.<\/p>\n Although protest leaders said they had not received any funding<\/a> from the United States government or nonprofit groups affiliated with it, many Chinese officials choose to blame hidden Western forces. \u00a0\u00a0Part of their argument was because they find it difficult to accept that so many everyday-civilians in Hong Kong want democracy. After a commission of U.S. lawmakers and Obama administration officials published a report titled, \u201cIncrease Support for Hong Kong\u2019s Democracy,\u201d accusations against the U.S. from China\u2019s state-run media have increasingly claimed the role of the U.S. in supporting the Hong Kong protests. As Hong Kong is the only other nation that processes U.S. dollar interbank<\/a> payments, it is in the U.S. interest to act on the behalf of Hong Kong. However, any actions undertaken by the U.S. must respect the sovereignty of China and be restricted to democracy-supporting activities.<\/p>\n Protesters<\/i>\u00a0using umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas (Credit\u00a0REUTERS\/TYRONE SIU)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n As pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong continue with no sign of any sort of compromise, a standoff is deepening between China and the U.S. over the protests. Hong Kong\u2019s unique position as a semi-autonomous entity with its own political and economic system separate from China only serves to complicate the issue. China has made it clear to the international community that the Hong Kong protests are a distinctly domestic issue with no room for foreign input<\/a>. However, the U.S. needs to become more vocal on Hong Kong, and make an effort to frame local democracy aspirations as an increasingly important human-rights issue. The U.S. respects China\u2019s sovereignty but stresses a need for the support of free and fair elections under Hong Kong\u2019s Basic Law, which guarantees the territory\u2019s semi autonomy until 2047. \u00a0The U.S. government claims the right to a voice because of its interests in Hong Kong, including numerous businesses that depend on its reliable institutions, like its legal system.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/journalofdiplomacy\/files\/2014\/10\/Danny-Blog.jpg\")
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