Shutting down Hong Kong International Airport, pro-Democracy protesters pushed the envelope, daring Beijing to intervene. Protests have raged in Hong Kong since June 9, when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest an extradition law, allowing local authorities, loyal to Beijing, to extradite lawbreakers to the mainland for punishment. Since the once British Crown Colony was handed back to Beijing after a 99-year-lease June 30, 1997, Hong Kong residents have been grown uneasy with Red China’s growing influence, home to the international banking community. Hong Kong activists want more, not less, autonomy for the once British Crown Colony, whose rich history has ties to Britain’s rich colonial history in the orient. Hong Kong residents want Beijing to apply “one country, two systems” policy. Red China runs tight totalitarian control over the mainland.
With over 7.392 million residents, Hong Kong is one of the busiest cities in the world, with its international airport scheduling the most flights in Asia. Shutting down the airport is a provocative threat to the status quo of Beijing’s “one government, two-systems” rule. Pro-Democracy activists demanded that Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam resign after she introduced extradition legislation. After thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, Lam withdrew the legislation. Protesters stormed-and-trashed government buildings, prompting Hong Kong police to fire rubber bullets and pepper spray. “The police have told a lot of lies to Hong Kong people,” said Flight attendant “Lau,” surname withheld, who said demonstrators responded to brutal police tactics. “We cannot believe them anymore. We have to come here to protest,” Lau said refusing to stand down.
Hong Kong protesters have pushed the limits, daring Beijing to crack down, much like they did in the April 15, 1989 to July 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, where the Chinese Red Army rolled over hundreds, maybe thousands, of demonstrators. Lam didn’t respond to activists’ demands for her to step down. Beijing’s Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said “beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism,” serving notice to protesters that Beijing’s patience was not unlimited. Calling the protests
An “existential threat,” the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office warned protesters. Activist leader Joshua Wong demanded that the U.S. not send Hong Kong police rubber bullets and other crowd control equipment. Wong cited a protester whose eye was split open by a rubber bullet, never to see again. “I am not sure whether her right eye will turn blind or not but it is totally insane and terrible,” Wong tweeted.
Protesters chanted at the airport “an eye for an eye,” reported by the South China Morning Post. “U.S. should not export tear gas and rubber bullets to HK Police anymore,”hoping President Donald Trump would heed the call. Stuck in a stubborn trade war with China, it’s doubtful Trump would intervene on behalf of Hong Kong’s demonstrators. Canceling over 100 flights today, the protests can’t go on much longer without serious damage to Hong Kong’s economy. It’s not clear at this point what protesters want, other than for Beijing to stand down. Since June 9, Beijing has taken a wait-and-see approach, not certain when to crack down. If and when the crack down comes, it won’t be pretty, much like things turned ugly at Tiananmen Square in 1989. International travelers find themselves stuck for now at the Hong Kong airport, waiting to see what happens.
Like the June 9 protests, Hong Kong’s airport protests began to settle down, leaving less travelers stranded at the airport. Weighing today on global markets, today’s Hong Kong protest sent Wall Street into a freefall. Given the China trade war, Hong Kong’s airport protests was enough to send Wall Street—and other foreign stock exchanges—tumbling. Markets don’t like uncertainty, especially when it comes to disruptive geopolitical events. Fear of war recently with Iran sent markets plummeting, until tensions subsided, realizing it’s not in Trump’s plans. Hong Kong’s protests are likely to subside, when protesters get tired to living on the streets. Hong Kong’s airport has already seen protesters dwindle in number to the hundreds, no longer filling the terminals up with thousands of activists. South China Morning Post reported that flights would resume tomorrow at 6 AM local time.
With Hong Kong protests dying down and the airport resuming normal flight operations, Wall Street should react tomorrow positively, to the extent that that today’s global markets rebound. Whether or not pro-Democracy protests will resume soon is anyone’s guess. What’s known today is that demonstrators have left the airport, allowing for normal flight operations. Beijing has shown great restraint watching protests get out-of-hand. Protesters haven’t said what they want, other than seeing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam resign. Killing the extradition bill wasn’t enough to reassure pro-Democracy activists, looking to Beijing to commit to staying out of Hong Kong. There’s not much Lam can do to placate activists other than requesting that Beijing enforce its “one country, two systems,” policy, reassuring residents that Beijing will stay out Hong Kong for the long haul..
