BIG IDEA | ‘The scale of the protests really shook Beijing. All the previous protest movements had lasted a few months, at most. This time, there was huge support, and it wasn’t dying down on its own.’
‘Officials in Beijing also hated that foreign politicians, like those in the U.S., were so vocal in support of the protesters. Beijing is really worried that Hong Kong could be a base for foreign powers to try to topple the Chinese government.’
‘In many ways, it has absolutely worked. There are no more street protests. There’s extensive self-censorship. Virtually every prominent pro-democracy activist is in exile, in jail, awaiting trial or has disappeared from public life.’
‘But there’s a lot of simmering anger among Hong Kongers, even if they don’t dare express it publicly anymore. That’s why we see Beijing continuing to apply pressure. It clearly doesn’t think the threat is past.’
‘As far as consequences, the crackdown has brought international condemnation, and the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials. The question is how much China cares. At the moment, it seems to think that it is ascendant enough to weather this.’