41
the Hong Kong government, which by de-
sign is Beijing- approved, can call on the
People’s Liberation Army to help main-
tain “public order”; China has as many
as 10,000 troops permanently garrisoned
on Hong Kong Island, while satellite im-
agery appears to show military vehicles
amassed at a sports complex in Shenzhen.
Rumors of police speaking Mandarin, in-
stead of the Cantonese more common in
Hong Kong, fuel speculation that the dam
has already been breached.
The crisis has become a test of Xi’s
willingness to show restraint and abide
by global norms. What is unfolding
in Hong Kong is the largest, most vis-
ible repudiation of Beijing since the
pro- democracy rallies at Tiananmen
Square in 1989, which ended in a state-
sanctioned massacre of unarmed activ-
ists. Few believe a repeat of that event
is likely; slow economic growth and a
bruising trade war could give Beijing
pause before creating a similar spectacle
that, even amid a fractured global order,
might launch it back into pariah status.
But a less bloody crackdown might
still be an option. Xi will have weighed
the limp international response to Chi-
na’s treatment of Uighur and other Mus-
lim minorities in the western province
of Xinjiang, where more than a million
are believed to be detained in concentra-
tion camps. U.S. officials say they would
not expect a strong response from the
White House in the event of a violent
confrontation. Sources close to the Ad-
ministration say the risk of interventionby Chinese paramilitary police, possibly
even the army, has risen significantly in
recent days, but there has been no sub-
stantive discussion about how Washing-
ton might respond.
Trump has so far taken a hands-off
approach, refusing to criticize Beijing
while in the midst of trade negotiations.
“I hope it works out for everybody in-
cluding China,” he told reporters on
Aug. 13. “I hope it works out peacefully,
nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed.”
Lawmakers across the political spec-
trum, including Democratic presidential
hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren and
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, have
more vocally backed the protesters, in
keeping with the long- standing tradition
of U.S. support for democratic move-
ments and autonomy in the territory.
The city’s attempt to resist Xi’s proj-
ect should sound a bellwether for the
wider world, pro- democracy figures
say. “Hong Kong is the only place in
China that is still capable of speak-
ing out against Beijing, and the world
should really think about our value as
a check on China’s power,” says Bon-
nie Leung Wing-man, a district council-
lor who, as a leader of a pro- democratic
coalition called the Civil Human Rights
Front, has been at the forefront of the
protests since they began. “When you
do business with China, when you sign
a contract with them, can you trust their
terms?”
For Hong Kong’s youth, in particu-
lar, trust seems more distant than ever
before. Lam’s stubborn retreat from the
public has pushed her deeper into Bei-
jing’s corner. Each new confrontation
drives the wedge further between the
government and its critics, and there’s
a growing sense the gap is now too wide
to bridge. “This is our last resort,” says
Sav, 24, by day a student pilot and by
night a masked activist. The airport is
her home away from home, but she sup-
ports the occupation of the transit hub.
“If the government doesn’t want to
protect Hong Kong, then why are they
even here?” she asks, rattling off a list
of officials she wants to see resign. “I
don’t think this will end easily.” —With
reporting by amy gunia/hong kong,
charlie campbell/shanghai,
madeline roache/ london and john
walcoTT/ washingTon •^
An antigovernment protester
is arrested near Tsim Sha Tsui
police station