HK is Set for a US-China Showdown
Authoritarian governments deploy a range of strategies to maintain their grip on power. Sometimes, they terrify their citizens into submission. At other times, they take a softer approach, trying to persuade the public that democratic contestation threatens stability and prosperity. A middle way strategy looks to grind people down until they are too tired to resist and give up hope for change.
In semiautonomous Hong Kong, China is rolling out this last playbook. But it is squeezing the territory so hard that it risks overplaying its hand and forcing the United States and other Western governments to intervene.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/13/hong-kong-is-set-for-a-u-s-china-showdown/
Protesters hold placards and shout slogans as they take part in a rally against the extradition law outside the Legislative Council building on May 4, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. (Getty Images)
Category: Hong Kong
