Hong Kong stares into the abyss amid growing violence
A generation shapes its identity on the anvil of Xi Jinping’s intolerance
SINCE THE middle of November, Hong Kong has been staring into the abyss. The violence attending its nearly six-month-old protest movement—both its participants, approvingly, and China’s central government, furiously, brand it a revolution—has stepped up a gear. Police have increased their use of tear-gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. Protesters who once carried nothing more offensive than an umbrella now wield bows and specialise in petrol bombs. Vigilante violence has flourished. The first deaths—a student who fell running from the police and a street-cleaner hit by a brick apparently thrown by a protester—have been recorded.
On November 17th, in the most dramatic stand-off yet, the police began moving against protesters at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) who were mass-producing Molotov cocktails. The protesters barricaded themselves in. Riot police tasked with getting them out threatened to use lethal force in doing so.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Borrowed time"
From the November 23rd 2019 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Briefing
The world’s economic order is breaking down
Critics will miss globalisation when it is gone
America’s fiscal outlook is disastrous, but forgotten
On the campaign trail, both main candidates largely ignore the problem
America’s $61bn aid package buys Ukraine time
It must use it wisely