Mr. Shangkong | Rumbling PLA carriers in Hong Kong set minds rolling
Moving armoured carriers on the streets of HK could have sent wrong signal to the people
If there is one issue sure to make the business community nervous about the future of Hong Kong, it is the prospect of the leaders in Beijing miscalculating the political situation in the city.
This looms as a larger concern for business figures than the direct impact of the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement.
Against this backdrop, it came as a surprise to many when at least four People's Liberation Army armoured personnel carriers - with guns mounted on turrets - were seen moving through the busy streets of Jordan and Yau Ma Tei on Thursday, according to media reports.
Videos and pictures of the PLA vehicles spread rapidly on the internet, prompting concern and speculation across the region, including from analysts and media in Singapore and Taiwan.
Our pro-Beijing friends may try to counter that such PLA vehicle movements should be considered uneventful, in the realm of basic transport matters for the military. But let's not forget the timing: Hongkongers saw those armoured vehicles on the streets just days before Beijing's announcement of landmark electoral reform for universal suffrage in the 2017 chief executive election. Just what signal is Beijing sending to Hong Kong's seven million residents?
It was completely unnecessary to move armoured vehicles around the city
Here's my advice to Beijing: the role of PLA in Hong Kong should be strictly limited to national defence. It was completely unnecessary to move armoured vehicles around the city at such a politically sensitive time. We all know that such an action can be easily misinterpreted by different stakeholders in the city, including the general public and business community.