China Briefing | Hong Kong needn’t fear the PLA, even if it is a US-China battleground
- This is no Tiananmen – despite delusional radicals on both left and right itching for a military intervention, Beijing is likely to wait these protests out
- But another type of battle may already be underway – one for political influence
Those fears gnawing at the back of many minds have come to the fore as the violence escalated over the past month, and grew particularly strong on July 21, when protesters defaced the national emblem at the front of the Central Government’s Liaison Office – an act seen as the most blatant provocation of Beijing’s authority.
Three days later, Wu Qian, China’s defence ministry spokesman, dropped an obvious hint that Chinese military forces could be legally deployed to Hong Kong to maintain social order at the request of the city’s government.
On Wednesday night, Chen Daoxiang, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison of about 6,000 troops, warned that “extreme violent attacks” would not be tolerated and that the PLA was determined to protect China’s sovereignty and safeguard Hong Kong’s stability.
Chen issued the warning at an event to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the PLA in front of Hong Kong’s political and business elites, as well as representatives of foreign consulates in the city.