How Hong Kong Protests Impact U.S. Strategy

ByPerry Gershon – Warrior Maven Contributor

Hong Kong Protests – America and Allies Need to Set Clear Expectations

(Washington, D.C.) Hong Kong – long a cosmopolitan and international city open to global travel, trade, and commerce – saw a new round of demonstrations this week, where police used tear gas and water cannons to suppress protestors engaged in an “unauthorized” march. In fact, as of mid-September, Hong Kong had endured 15 consecutive weeks of unrest. Hong Kong – a “Special Administrative Region” of China, subject to “one country, two systems,” is what you might call the eye of the hurricane – but not just because of chaos in the streets.

In fact, the most important thing to recognize about these protests are the roles they are playing in the context of a number of much larger geostrategic issues – from the trade war between the U.S. and China and the weakening Chinese economy to wider regional implications, including China’s future role as the dominant power in Asia.

History is critical in helping understand geopolitical stakes and what the future may hold. More to the point, what happens in China now will affect all Americans.

In 2014, Hong Kong’s non-violent protests were suppressed by China. At that time, the protestors simply sought universal suffrage in electing Hong Kong’s chief executive. They lost. They got no debate, prosecution of non-violent protestor leaders, banning of a democratic party, and then China began kidnapping pro-democracy booksellers.

Since 2014, something has changed. Many in Hong Kong now see the struggle as existential, worth high risk. They believe Hong Kong is at a tipping point. They are watching the terms and conditions surrounding Hong Kong’s relative independence slip away. Promises made during Deng Xiaoping’s rule are vanishing, and President Xi has no term limits.

To China, the protests represent a different kind of threat. In the context of China’s deepening economic woes, the U.S.-China trade impasse, China’s outsize global ambitions, and an absence of priority on human rights, democracy in Hong Kong is taken by China as a security challenge.