Today Hong Kong Tomorrow Taiwan

Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan is a slogan that was used during Taiwan's Sunflower Student Movement in April 2014. It expressed concerns over Taiwan's future relationship with China, drawing parallels to the developments in Hong Kong after its handover to China. The slogan emphasized the need for Taiwan to be cautious about the potential negative impacts of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA), including the risk of Taiwan becoming more economically dependent on China, like Hong Kong. The movement highlighted issues in Hong Kong such as suppressed wages, the property bubble, worsening wealth inequality, the influence of Chinese capital on Hong Kong's policies, and conflicts between mainland China and Hong Kong across various sectors. Eventually, this slogan became a symbol of the shared destiny between Hong Kong and Taiwan.

, the founder of The , reflected on the 30-year evolution of the phrase "Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan." He compared Hong Kong's 17 years post-handover to Taiwan. He noted that while Taiwan's political democracy seemed unimpressive and its economic development lagged behind mainland China and Hong Kong, Taiwan's civil society was progressively maturing, with a strengthened sense of autonomy. This was in stark contrast to the regression seen in Hong Kong's civil society and government institutions under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and mainland Chinese interests. The Sunflower Movement resonated with many Hongkongers, who shared messages of support and sympathy for the movement through Facebook. The movement was also heavily covered in Hong Kong's news, further amplifying Hongkongers' identification with the Taiwanese struggle.

In response to the 2014 Sunflower Movement, another slogan emerged: "Today Taiwan, Tomorrow Hong Kong." The president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Student Union, Tommy Cheung Sau-yin, suggested that after Taiwan's experience of using Hong Kong's situation as a warning, it was highly likely that Hong Kong would experience its own social movement, potentially following the model of Taiwan's Sunflower Movement. He predicted that Hong Kong could eventually use similar protest tactics to prepare for the occupation of Central, with Taiwan's protests serving as a template for Hong Kong. The Sunflower Movement, sparked by the CSSTA, reminded Hongkongers of the negative feelings they had towards the Mainland and Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), making Hong Kong a cautionary tale for Taiwan.

According to Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong opposition groups threatened to adopt the methods of Taiwan's Sunflower Movement to occupy the Hong Kong Legislative Council, under the slogan "Today's Taiwan, Tomorrow's Hong Kong". Commentator metaphorically described Hong Kong as a "demonstration unit" where, after being reclaimed by its mainland landlords, human rights, freedoms, and the rule of law were replaced by the slogan "Love Socialist China." He hoped that Taiwan would, in turn, become a model for Hongkongers to emulate in their own struggle, flipping the narrative to "Today's Taiwan, Tomorrow's Hong Kong".

In the same year, Hong Kong experienced the .

In Japan, a new slogan has been created from this: 'Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan, Day After Tomorrow Okinawa".

See also

*Sunflower Student Movement
*Umbrella Movement
*Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan, Day After Tomorrow Okinawa

References

Citations

{{Reflist, 30em

Anti-Chinese sentiment in Taiwan
Chinese imperialism
Chinese irredentism
Cross-strait relations
Politics of Taiwan
Hong Kong–Taiwan relations