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Xi Jinping Again Backs Hong Kong Police Use of Force in Stopping Unrest

November 14, 2019

 

 

Is Beijing ready to step in to stop Hong Kong protests?

Despite the escalating chaos this week, observers do not think the central government is ready for such a drastic step One analyst believes that the cost to China’s international reputation is still too high while another questions whether it has an effective plan

Nectar Gan , Echo Xie  

14 November, 2019

As this week’s major escalation of violence shows no sign of abating, a question that has hung over Hong Kong from the start of the protest movement is again weighing heavily on the city: Will Beijing finally lose its patience and decide to intervene?

Traffic and public transport were disrupted across the city, office workers took to the streets during their lunch break every day and university campuses turned into blazing battlegrounds.

A man was set on fire after being doused in flammable liquid and a protester was shot in the abdomen at point-blank range by police.

The central government has issued nothing but dire warnings in response.

On Wednesday, Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong said that the city is “sliding into the abyss of terrorism”, calling for a harsher crackdown to end the unrest by “every necessary means”.

State media also weighed in, warning that the city is running out of time to resolve the situation on its own.

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The same evening, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor convened a late-night meeting with senior ministers, leaving many guessing about the next possible action.

The next day, rumours swirled that the Hong Kong government was about to impose a curfew this weekend, sending the Hang Seng Index – already on a big weekly decline – tumbling further. The Hong Kong government later denied the rumours.

But despite the tensions, analysts said Beijing did not see the situation in Hong Kong as totally spinning out of control and was unlikely to step in at the moment.

“Despite the escalation of violence, we still can’t draw the conclusion that things are really out of control,” said Li Xiaobing, an expert on Beijing's policies for Hong Kong at Nankai University in Tianjin.

“In fact, at this stage, neither Beijing nor Hong Kong has a way to effectively deal with it. So I think Beijing can understand [the difficulty of] the situation in Hong Kong.”

At the ruling Communist Party’s top policy-setting meeting last month, the Central Committee laid out various ways to tighten Beijing’s control over Hong Kong, ranging from pushing for national security legislation and patriotic education to tighter supervision of the city’s key officials and judiciary.

Adam Ni, a China specialist at Macquarie University in Sydney, said Beijing had a comprehensive strategy on how to deal with Hong Kong in the medium to long term, but not a clear solution in the short term to shut down the protests effectively.

“We’ve seen a trajectory of increasing rhetoric and tough line response from Beijing, but I think we’re still some way off from Beijing actually sending in the security forces as it’s threatened on multiple occasions implicitly or explicitly,” he said.

The latest warning came from Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times.

In a social media post on Monday, Hu told the city’s police force: “Behind you there are not only the [patriotic] Hong Kong public and the nation, but also the country’s paramilitary police and the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong garrison, who can enter Hong Kong and offer support in accordance with the Basic Law when needed.”

Under Article 14 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the city can ask the central government for help from the PLA garrison to maintain public order and help with disaster relief.

Article 18 provides that in the event of the standing committee of the National People's Congress declaring a state of war or a state of emergency in Hong Kong, the central government may issue an order applying relevant national laws in Hong Kong.

But Ni said that sending in the paramilitary police or the PLA would not be a solution.

“That’s essentially a concession that [Beijing] has lost Hong Kong. It’s going to have long-term ramifications, especially … for China’s international reputation.”

Ultimately Beijing shares a large part of the blame for the current chaos in Hong Kong Adam Ni, a China specialist at Macquarie University

Ni warned that Beijing’s long term strategy of tightening control could also backfire. Beijing's perceived encroachment on Hong Kong's civic and political freedoms has been fuelling the protests for months, and is at the core of the rising anti-China sentiment among the city's youth.

“Ultimately, Beijing shares a large part of the blame for the current chaos in Hong Kong, and what it is doing today is again making the same mistake, essentially sowing the seeds for future conflicts.

“If I was in Zhongnanhai,” Ni said, referring to the central leadership compound in central Beijing, “I need to be conscious that what I'm doing today is not provoking additional native sentiment, identity issues and resistance.”

But, he warned, Beijing’s policies are “without doubt” going to bring that sort of situation into play.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3037730/citigroup-warns-employees-avoid-dangerous  

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Xi Jinping again backs Hong Kong police use of force in stopping unrest

Laura Zhou,14 Nov, 2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping says the Chinese government is “firmly committed to safeguarding our interests in national sovereignty, security and development”. Photo: Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping has underlined Beijing’s support for Hong Kong police to use force to quell the unrest in the city and called on the judiciary to punish violent lawbreakers.

While attending the BRICS summit in Brasilia, Xi said that putting an end to the violence and restoring order remained Hong Kong’s most urgent priority.

“We continue to firmly support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region led by the chief executive to execute its functions in accordance with the law,” state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying. “We sternly support the Hong Kong police to take forceful actions in enforcing the law, and the Hong Kong judiciary to punish in accordance with the law those who have committed violent crimes.”

He said the Chinese government was “firmly committed to safeguarding our interests in national sovereignty, security and development”.

“Our commitment to fully implement ‘one country, two systems’ has not changed, and we resolutely oppose any foreign forces seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong,” he said, referring to constitutional principle under which the city has its own political, legal, economic and financial systems.

Xi said the unrest in Hong Kong was unacceptable and jeopardised its prosperity and stability.

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“The continued radical and violent crimes that have happened in Hong Kong have seriously trampled over [Hong Kong’s] rule of law and social order, severely undermined Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and amount to a blatant challenge to the bottom line of one country, two systems,” he said.

The comments were Xi’s first public remarks on the city at an international summit, although he did discuss the crisis in a meeting earlier this month in Shanghai with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

On Tuesday, the central government liaison office in Hong Kong issued a statement warning that Hong Kong was “sliding into the abyss of terrorism” and a harsher crackdown was needed to restore law and order.

The warnings by Xi and the liaison office come as the financial hub reels from some of the worst violence since massive anti-government protests started five months ago.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3037811/xi-jinping-again-backs-hong-kong-police-use-force-stopping

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The Hong Kong protests explained in 100 and 500 words

BBC,12 November 2019

Anti-government protests have rocked Hong Kong for months and the situation shows no sign of dying down.

Here's all the background you need to know in 100 or 500 words - you can read each individually or in turn.

Hong Kong's protests started in June against plans to allow extradition to mainland China.

Critics feared this could undermine judicial independence and endanger dissidents.

Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony but then returned to China. Under the "one country, two systems" arrangement, it has more autonomy than the mainland, and its people more rights.

The bill was withdrawn in September but demonstrations continue and now demand full democracy and an inquiry into police actions.

Clashes between police and activists have become increasingly violent, with police firing live bullets and protesters attacking officers and throwing petrol bombs.

The extradition bill which triggered the first protest was introduced in April. It would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China under certain circumstances.

Opponents said this risked exposing Hong Kongers to unfair trials and violent treatment. They also argued the bill would give China greater influence over Hong Kong and could be used to target activists and journalists.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. After weeks of protests, leader Carrie Lam eventually said the bill would be suspended indefinitely.

How did the protests escalate?

Protesters feared the bill could be revived, so demonstrations continued, calling for it to be withdrawn completely.

By then clashes between police and protesters had become more frequent and violent.

In July, protesters stormed parliament, defacing parts of it. In August, one protester was injured in the eye, leading to demonstrators wearing red-coloured eye patches to show their solidarity.

Protest action at Hong Kong international airport in August also saw renewed clashes and led to hundreds of flights being cancelled.

In September, the bill was finally withdrawn, but protesters said this was "too little, too late".

Demonstrations continued, marked by an increasing level of violence.

On 1 October, while China was celebrating 70 years of Communist Party rule, Hong Kong experienced one of its most "violent and chaotic days".

An 18-year-old was shot in the chest with a live bullet as protesters fought officers with poles, petrol bombs and other projectiles.

The government in response banned protesters wearing face masks - a ban that many activists continue to defy.

In early November, a pro-Beijing lawmaker was stabbed in the street by a man pretending to be a supporter.

One week later, a policeman shot one protester at close range when activists were trying to set up a road block and later that day another man was set on fire by anti-government protesters. Both had to be treated in hospital.

What do the protesters want?

Some protesters have adopted the motto: "Five demands, not one less!" These are:

For the protests not to be characterised as a "riot" Amnesty for arrested protesters An independent inquiry into alleged police brutality Implementation of complete universal suffrage

The fifth demand, the withdrawal of the bill, has already been met.

Some also want the resignation of Carrie Lam, whom they view as Beijing's puppet.

Protests supporting the Hong Kong movement have spread across the globe, with rallies taking place in the UK, France, US, Canada and Australia.

In many cases, people supporting the demonstrators were confronted by pro-Beijing rallies.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has warned against separatism, saying any attempt to divide China would end in "bodies smashed and bones ground to powder".

What is Hong Kong's status?

Hong Kong is a former British colony handed back to China in 1997.

It has its own judiciary and a separate legal system from mainland China. Those rights include freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

But those freedoms - the Basic Law - expire in 2047 and it is not clear what Hong Kong's status will then be.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49317695

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