Holed up in Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, about 600 pro-Democracy students watched their hopes vanquish as 62-year-old Beijing-backed Hong Kong Administrator Carrie Lam looked for a peaceful solution. But as demonstrations turned more violent, pro-Democracy activists lost their moral authority, leaving Chinese President Xi Jinping few option other that letting the Red Army clean up the mess. China’s financial capital of Hong Kong has been turned from an engine of prosperity to a hotbed of violent demonstrations. With 400 of the 600 demonstrators arrested, 200 remained in the in the college, looking to escape the long-arm of Chinese justice. Using ladders and descending down ropes, the remaining demonstrators sought to avoid arrest, finding any way out. Carrie made clear that even under-aged teenagers would eventually face Chinese justice.
It’s been over 22 years since Great Britain per its expiring lease turned over Hong Kong to Mainland China July 1, 1997. At that time, Chinese authorities promised to apply a “one nation, two systems” rule, allowing the once British Crown Colony enough autonomy to continue its pro-Western lifestyle. Unlike the Mandarins of Mainland China, Hong Kong’s Cantonese speak a different language, respecting clear differences in the two Chinese cultures. Fearing a loss of autonomy, Hong Kong’s Cantonese go way beyond the historic differences between Chinese Communist and Hong Kong’s pro-Democracy rule. Whatever provisions of the past Hong Kong lease, Mandarins do not relate to the same culture seen in the mainland. It was Mao’s 1949 Communist Revolution that promised China would never again fall prey to the glaring differences between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
Whatever the cultural differences, Hong Kong’s residents have known for over 20 years that Mainland China controlled the once British Crown Colony. Since pro-Democracy protests started March 15, Hong Kong authorities have watched demonstrated turn increasingly violent. Xi has warned demonstrators that Beijing would not sit idly by watching pro-Democracy anarchists destroy property to accomplish political goals. Back in March, demonstrators led by 23-year-old Joseph Wong among others, demanded that that Lam step down for using crowd-suppressing tactics, including firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Protests started when Lam said her government considered an extraction law, allowing Hong Kong authorities to extradite lawbreakers to Mainland China for prosecution. When Lam reneged on the extradition law June 15, activists continued their protests.
Hong Kong activists want nothing short of Mainland China agreeing to give the territory complete independence from Beijing. “We will use whatever means to continue to persuade and arrange for these remaining protesters to leave the campus as soon as possible so that this whole operation could end in a peaceful manner,” Lam said, showing how Hong Kong’s leaders have bent-over-backwards to avoid a violent crackdown. China’s Red Army has been participating in the clean up on Chinese streets but not physically cracking down on activists. Beijing let demonstrators know that the Red Army could just as easily help in crowd control, not just cleanup. Activists called Lam’s actions a “show-of-force,” not admitting that Beijing showed considerable restraint considering what they could do. Activists know what happened in Tiananmen Square April 15-June 4, 1989.
Once the Red Army rolled tank into Tiananmen Square, they killed untold numbers of demonstrators, something that could happen again. Hong Kong activists hope that with the whole-world-watching, China will exercise maximum restraint when it comes to military options. Lam denied that she asked Beijing for help to set down violent demonstrations. But the presence of Red Army troops on the scene, even just for cleanup, shows that China’s ready to act on Lam’s request. Lam wasn’t happy when Hong Kong’s High Court struck down a ban on masks for protestors. Hong Kong’s High Court defies Beijing’s rule, giving residents more protections than their counterparts in Mainland China. Only China’s Beijing-based parliament has a right to make laws that would restrict current freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents, including the right to wear masks in public.
No matter how much Hong Kong protestors appeal to the United States, European Union or United Nations, they know they’re living in a territory of Mainland China. Residents knew when the British Crown Colony was returned to China July 1, 1997, there was nothing the world could do to reverse the changeover. While there’s sympathy in Washington and Brussels, Hong Kong residents knew the consequences to the changeover. Violent demonstrations change nothing when it comes to the basic facts-on-the-ground. No foreign power can meddle in Chinese internal affairs without consequences. It’s up to Hong Kong residents to swallow the bitter pill of Chinese Communist rule in Hong Kong. Lam has bent-over-backwards to accommodate activists seeking more freedom in the once British Crown Colony. No government or international body can change that reality.
