PLA troops or not, what really matters is Hong Kong’s post-protests relationship with mainland China
- Even Beijing claims that if army is called in to quell unrest it does not necessarily mean end of ‘one country, two systems’
- Beijing has woken up to deep social and economic divisions in Hong Kong society
As Hong Kong’s massive anti-government protests enter their 14th consecutive week, violent clashes between radicals and police have kept escalating, as witnessed over the weekend.
Beijing has also come up with new rhetoric: if ever People’s Liberation Army troops from the Hong Kong garrison, or armed police from across the border, have to be called in to quell the unrest, it does not necessarily mean the end of “one country, two systems”.
But how so?
Without doubt, it will be a disaster and a nightmare for both Beijing and Hong Kong if this well-received, unique governing formula ever has to come to an abrupt end.
Hypothetical or not, the crux of the issue is, can broken pieces of a mirror be put together for everyone to pretend that it is as beautiful as ever?
