As Hong Kong descends into chaos, China mulls its options

A sharp escalation of violence in Hong Kong is once again raising question of how China’s central government will respond: Will it deploy its armed forces, or allow chaos and destruction to continue? Protests persisted Tuesday at university campuses and central business district following a day of violence that left two people in critical condition after a police officer shot a protester and a man was set on fire during an argument with demonstrators. Rioters again disrupted traffic and vandalized shops in multiple neighborhoods. Subways were partially shut down, and passengers on one train were forced to get off and walk along tracks.

unabating tumult, w in its sixth month, may give ruling Communist Party justification it needs to intervene, analysts said. “Beijing is hoping that Hong Kong community will start blaming protesters and support restoration of order,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. While movement began peacefully in June to oppose a w-withdrawn extrition bill, it has been increasingly defined by smaller groups of hard-core demonstrators bent on sowing chaos. ir actions, which have included setting cars on fire and smashing storefronts, have alienated many residents.

central government must wait for right moment to step in, Cabestan said, ding that if China acts before public opinion is fully on its side, it could just d fuel to fire. A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under framework of “one country, two systems,” a policy which promises semi-automous territory certain democratic rights t granted to mainland. But arrests of pro-democracy activists and booksellers in recent years have raised fears among Hong Kong residents that Beijing is encroaching on city’s freedoms.

During a key meeting of party’s Central Committee at end of October, Chinese leers proposed establishing and strengning “legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security” in special ministrative regions like Hong Kong and Macao. A meeting summary from Xinhua state news ncy did t elaborate on what this would entail, but Chinese officials have variously pointed to Article 14, Article 18 and Article 23 of Basic Law, Hong Kong’s de facto constitution.

Article 14 allows Hong Kong-based garrison of Chinese military to help with public order maintenance at request of local government. Article 18 states that national laws may be applied in Hong Kong if China’s ceremonial parliament decides that region is in a “state of emergency” that endangers national unity or security. “When necessary, People’s Armed Police Force and People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison will back you up,” nationalistic Global Times said in an editorial Monday, dressing Hong Kong police.

Zhang Xiaoming, he of Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said over weekend that Hong Kong has yet to fulfill Article 23, which stipulates that city will “enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion” against central government. se laws should also ban ft of state secrets and prevent foreign political organizations from conducting political activities in Hong Kong. Beijing has repeatedly accused foreign forces of fomenting unrest. Proposing new national security legislation is likely to furr inflame protests, though China may t be opposed to that, said Joseph Cheng, a pro-democracy vocate and retired City University of Hong Kong political scientist.

China has me it clear that it intends to maintain a hard line politically, refusing to make any concessions to protesters while pushing ahe with unpopular security legislation, Cheng said. A furr concern is that Beijing might order postponement of Hong Kong’s local assembly elections scheduled for v. 24, freezing in place current pro-China makeup of body and avoiding possible embarrassment for ministration of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Although Lam has been criticized for a lack of leership and her inflexibility, she has faithfully carried out Beijing’s will. During meetings last week in Shanghai and Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support for her work. As protesters’ tactics have become increasingly extreme, crippling regular operations in city and plunging various districts into mayhem, government has shifted its focus toward violence and away from democratic reforms movement intended to vocate. “We all feel very depressed because we don’t see light at end of tunnel,” Cheng said.