Mass riots in Hong Kong crossed the line, separating street protests from uprising. Demonstrators seized the international airport, took a journalist hostage. There are hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets. The situation in this Chinese city is increasingly reminiscent of the Maidan in Ukraine 2013-2014 gg.
Riots have crossed a dangerous line
Starting with rallies and demonstrations, popular unrest in Hong Kong has already taken extremely dangerous forms. Chinese leadership, until recently, who preferred not to interfere in the affairs of the autonomous city and reckoned, that the Hong Kong authorities themselves will be able to calm down the protesters, forced to transfer army units to the city.
From "chants" with anti-government slogans and demands to return Hong Kong under British jurisdiction, the demonstrators turned to direct violence. And this is violence not only against the police, as it was before, but also in relation to the most ordinary people. for example, at the Hong Kong airport, a crowd of protesters attacked a resident of Shenzhen, who saw off a friend. The man was severely beaten and for several hours he was actually held hostage. Only four hours later, the police managed to free the unfortunate man and hand him over to the doctors.
The reporter of the Chinese newspaper "Huangqiu Shibao". For some reason, the heated demonstrators decided, that he is not a journalist, and the disguised security officer, after which they pounced on him, beat and tied. The cops took time again, to save a man from captivity. But the misadventures did not end there - demonstrators attacked a police van., in which the journalist was evacuated from the airport and only pepper gas was able to somewhat cool the ardor of the Hong Kong radicals.
Despite the tension at the airport, the police still managed to detain several protesters. They will be charged for participating in riots, assault on police officers and possession of weapons. But such isolated arrests are unlikely to be able to affect the situation as a whole.. After all, about two million people have already taken to the streets of the city. by the way, two million people - a quarter of the city's total population. So many protesters are a worrying sign for the authorities, showing the level of support for anti-government slogans in society. After all, a quarter of the entire population is actually the entire socially active Hong Kong., able to take to the streets. The rest are children, old men, disabled, passive and uninterested in politics citizens.
Hong Kong chief of staff Carrie Lam worried, that riots will transform this city, tourist and economic center, to a dangerous place, affect its international reputation.
The country's authorities consider, that the protests in Hong Kong have already crossed the line of law and morality. Police are increasingly using tear gas and batons to disperse demonstrators at the airport, but, as it appears, and such measures do little to pacify the protesters. As a result, the administration of the Hong Kong airport has banned access to its territory by outsiders.. Now, for any unauthorized actions at the airport, you can get a large fine or even imprisonment.
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Hong Kong protesters initially opposed amendments to extradition law. The thing is, Hong Kong, attached to China in total 22 years ago, at 1997 year, maintains a very high degree of autonomy in internal affairs, including in the field of justice.
Until recently, Hong Kong prisoners were banned from extradition to mainland China. But the amendments to the extradition law just opened up the possibility of sending Hong Kongers to Chinese prisons.. town, frightened by the multiple reports of torture and human rights violations in mainland China, perceived the amendments to the extradition law as very dangerous, violating their civil rights.
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Besides, Hong Kongers consider the amendments an attempt on the city's original autonomy, which may be followed by other steps to limit the special status of Hong Kong.
spring 2019 years, mass protests began in the city, which reached a special heat closer to the middle of summer. Protesters seized the regional parliament building and forced the Hong Kong authorities to cancel the amendments to the extradition law.
But by then, when the regional parliament went to cancel the amendments, this action no longer mattered. Protesters demanded that police be held accountable, who were too zealous during the dispersal of unrest, and then wished for the resignation of the city government. Now in Hong Kong more and more slogans are raised to disconnect from China.
The flags of British Hong Kong and even the flags of Great Britain and the United States are visible above the protesters.. This circumstance alone allowed Beijing to talk about foreign interference in the country's affairs.. The PRC authorities demanded from the UK and the US not to interfere in the situation in Hong Kong. But, as we know, The West does not respond to such demands, especially if they are contrary to his own political and economic interests.
China did not allow American ships to Hong Kong
Against the background of the aggravation of the political situation in Hong Kong, a visit to the port of the city of two American warships would be completely superfluous.. Request to Arrive at Port of Missile Cruiser Lake Erie and Landing Ship Green Bay, which was sent by the command of the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy to the authorities of the PRC, was rejected.
US Deputy Pacific Fleet Spokesman Nate Christensen said, that American ships have always visited the Hong Kong port before and he expects to resume this practice. The question of journalists about, why this time the US Navy ships were not allowed to enter the port, Christensen forwarded to Chinese authorities. Although the reasons for the refusal are already clear - in the conditions, when the city is in riots, the presence of American ships will be an unnecessary destabilizing factor. Especially, what protesters might even think, that the US Navy ships in the city's port will become a guarantee against harsh police actions and will further intensify their performances.
Besides, the Chinese authorities have every reason to be offended by the Americans. At first, the trade war between the US and the PRC does not contribute to the growth of trust between the countries. Especially, that it is accompanied by attacks on Chinese business, various provocations like the detention of Huawei's CFO in Canada.
Secondly, after, how American diplomats met with the leaders of the Hong Kong mass protests, Chinese authorities warned the United States about the inadmissibility of interference in the country's internal affairs. And the USA, as is known, constantly show a tendency to interfere in the Chinese political situation, support Tibetan and Uyghur national movements, and now the Hong Kong protesters.
Economic and political consequences of the Hong Kong riot
Of course, considering all the power of the Chinese state and its power bloc, then it should be noted: protests in Hong Kong will sooner or later be suppressed. It is no coincidence that Beijing, according to western media, is already deploying additional security forces and army units to the city. But even if the protests are suppressed, their economic and political consequences will be very serious.. properly, they are felt now.
If we talk about the economy, then Hong Kong and Hong Kong business suffer colossal losses. The richest families in Hong Kong are already poorer by 19 billion dollars and this amount is far from the limit of losses, incurred by entrepreneurs. Hong Kong market for the first time since 1997 the year has dropped so seriously. But a blow to business is a blow to the positions of the city's business elites, who are not at all interested in further destabilizing the situation. It turns out, that the richest Hong Kongers, willy-nilly, are guarding the interests of "communist" China, because they are interested in peace and stability.
Until recently, the city authorities, closely related to the business elite, made all kinds of concessions to the protesters. Even amendments to the extradition law were canceled. It is not excluded, that the protesters might try to "calm down", dismissing police chiefs and the most notorious representatives of the regional administration. Now the chair is swinging very seriously under Carrie Lam, the head of the Hong Kong administration..
Recall, that 62-year-old Carrie Lam has been heading the Hong Kong administration since 2017 of the year. Lam's life story is an example, how ability and hard work can elevate a person to the highest positions. Carrie Lam, born and raised in a very poor family, made an impressive career - graduated from university, worked in social and financial services of the city, ten years (from 2007 by 2017 city) was the secretary for development of Hong Kong. maybe, be in place carrie lam man, and even less intelligent, or with a military background, he would have already decided on a harsh suppression of protests. But Lam counted to the last, that it will be possible to agree with the protesters peacefully.
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The political consequences of the events in Hong Kong are no less significant. "One country - two systems": in accordance with this principle, two former colonies were integrated into the PRC - British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau. Now this principle has cracked. As it turned out, Hong Kong residents also perceive additional rights and freedoms as a foundation for protests against any actions of the central and regional governments, which could be considered an attack on the autonomy of the region.
But, on the other hand, it is the principle of "One country - two systems" that is a kind of protection of the Hong Kong protesters from the harsh suppression by the forces of the Chinese army. Something similar happened in Tibetan Lhasa or Uyghur Urumqi, Beijing would not hesitate to send tank and motorized rifle units there and in a matter of hours would end the protests. But Hong Kong is a special situation. Until recently, the Chinese authorities could not afford to do this in one of the recognized financial capitals of East Asia..
Moreover, the principle "One country - two systems" is considered by the Chinese authorities as a potential opportunity to return the island of Taiwan to the Celestial Empire.. But if they see in Taiwan, that Hong Kongers are being crushed with tanks and shot with machine guns, the desire to integrate with China will disappear even from the most staunch supporters of the unity of the Chinese nation.
Therefore, the Chinese authorities are showing the utmost leniency towards the Hong Kong protesters., do not send troops to the city, do not use firearms. But there is a limit to everything. And when Molotov cocktails flew from the ranks of the demonstrators to the police, and at the airport they beat up civilians and took them hostage, Chinese officials have already talked about the risk of terrorism spreading in Hong Kong.
Terrorism is the ideal "scarecrow" of modern society, and the fight against terrorism is a wonderful way of justifying and tough police measures, and restrictions on civil rights and freedoms. Finally, even in the USA, claiming to be the citadel of world democracy, after the events 11 September, there was a massive attack on civil rights and freedoms and no one really objected: everyone understood, that the fight against terrorism, for the safety of citizens is a much more important task, than respect for abstract human rights.
Ilya Polonsky
