ANALYSIS: As a 10th consecutive weekend of protests continues in Hong Kong and with Beijing’s terse and threatening warning that the protesters are 'pushing [the city] into a dangerous abyss.' It is unclear where the seemingly indefinite unrest is heading.
As a 10th consecutive weekend of protests continues in Hong Kong and with Beijing’s terse and threatening warning that the protesters are"pushing [the city] into a dangerous abyss," it is not clear where the seemingly indefinite unrest is heading.
"The central government is highly concerned about the situation in Hong Kong, and have been making plans from a strategic level and with the full picture in mind," Zhang reportedly told the gathering. The protests themselves have taken on a much more violent and confrontational tinge since their massive, peaceful beginnings in early June, when hundreds of thousands marched against a now-suspended extradition bill. The protest demands have broadened to include universal suffrage and reached new levels last Monday as the seemingly leaderless movement led Hong Kong on a city-wide strike, disrupting traffic and hundreds of flights.
The rhetoric coming out of Beijing has become so forceful that it would not rule out the eventuality of sending the People Liberation Army onto streets of one of the world’s financial capitals. The government even released a video of a PLA drill where a soldier shouted,"All consequence are at your own risk," in Cantonese -- the Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong -- while rounding up a group of protesters.
Lam appeared in public for the first time in two weeks before the city-wide strike to preview Beijing’s line that the protests were no longer a peaceful popular movement against the bill or even her government, but a direct challenge to"one country, two systems" -- the principle that allows Hong Kong’s semi-autonomy and Chinese national sovereignty.
According to Dapiran, Beijing is strongly pushing the Hong Kong police to take charge of the situation.The police have significantly stepped up arrests in the past week. There were 148 arrests on Aug. 5 alone, whereas previously police were more focused on dispersing the protesters from the scene. Dapiran said this is intentional and will likely increase."Rioting" carries the potential of a 10-year sentence if convicted.
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