The two democracies in Beijing's shadow - Hong Kong and Taiwan - have a recent history of impacting the other's civil society.

On June 9, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens filled the streets of the city's business and administrative centers at Central and Admiralty to protest an extradition bill that would add China, Taiwan, and Macau to the 20 extradition treaties Hong Kong already has. The bill and its main proponent, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, have created controversy in the territory as critics worry it may effectively end the city's independent judiciary and criminal justice process, and hand too much control over criminal justice to Beijing.

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