City Beat | Does Hong Kong need a deadline to end its protest crisis?

Beijing is giving up a self-imposed deadline, but opting for the ‘let the bullets fly’ approach

Can ‘one country, two systems’ be salvaged with painful self-examination of Hong Kong’s problems?

Reading Time:3 minutes

Beijing is not yet ready to settle Hong Kong’s political crisis, even as the street violence escalates. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 5:00pm, 25 Aug 2019Updated: 10:15pm, 25 Aug 2019

It’s getting clearer that Beijing is no longer eager to settle Hong Kong’s unprecedented political crisis before October 1.

There were assumptions earlier that Beijing would be too embarrassed to allow the massive protests to ruin its grand, 70th-anniversary celebrations for China’s national day, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Practically speaking, there is no sign whatsoever that the social unrest is going to end any time soon.

After another troubled weekend, a massive rally is expected this coming Saturday, which marks the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s stringent decision on Hong Kong’s electoral arrangement that triggered the Occupy movement of 2014.

As Beijing ponders its next move, Carrie Lam’s plan to open discussions with stakeholders has been rejected by protesters. Photo: Sam Tsang

Meanwhile protesters have poured cold water on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s idea of setting up a dialogue platform with different stakeholders, with citywide class boycotts in the pipeline as the new school term is approaching.

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}City Beat | Does Hong Kong need a deadline to end its protest crisis?

City Beat | Does Hong Kong need a deadline to end its protest crisis?