Protests in Hong Kong entered a fourth day today, despite a heavy response by riot police that resulted in over 40 injuries last night. Authorities fired tear gas and charged crowds with batons, but the response only further fueled residents to take part in protests today with thousands remaining at the main protest site. The demonstrations began on Friday near the government headquarters in the Admiralty district, with protesters, mainly students, demanding full democracy for the semi-autonomous territory and the resignation of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung). Students organized the demonstrations to protest an August ruling in Beijing, which allows only pro-Beijing candidates to participate in the 2017 election for Hong Kong’s chief executive. Protesters say officials in China have gone back on their word to allow universal suffrage in Hong Kong, promised to the city when China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. The student-led boycotts have the support of Occupy Central with Love and Peace, which initially called for the shutdown of Hong Kong’s financial district after the August ruling that was set to begin at the start of October. However, the protests at the government headquarters prompted the start of the “occupation” there instead, announced by Occupy Central’s leader Benny Tai on Saturday.
The activity spread to other areas as well, with demonstrators blocking major streets in the Causeway Bay district and in the Mongkok neighborhood in Kowloon. The Chinese government urged demonstrators to end the sit-ins, stating it would not tolerate dissent. CY Leung also opposed the “unlawful occupation actions by Occupy Central” and urged protesters to go home. Officials in Beijing advised foreign governments to stay out of China’s internal affairs, after countries such as the U.S., UK and Taiwan issued statements and travel alerts regarding the situation. The government issued a statement saying is it “resolutely opposed to any country attempting in any way to support such illegal activities like Occupy Central.”
MSA's Research and Intelligence Analysis (RIA) Group has been monitoring this situation closely and has identified the following implications:
The current unrest is the worst to hit Hong Kong since China took control of the territory from Britain in 1997. The Communist government in Beijing has taken steps to censor media coverage of the protests in mainland China. Social media networks have also been censored, with the government blocking terms such as “Occupy Central” from Sina Weibo, similar to Twitter, and blocking access to the image sharing site Instagram after pictures of the demonstrations emerged online.
Many schools were closed, multi-lane roads to Hong Kong’s financial and shopping districts were blocked, and tourist arrivals were down this week as a result of the unrest. Markets in Hong Kong opened as usual on Monday, but the Hong Kong Monetary Authority reported that 44 bank branches, offices or ATMs were temporarily closed due to the protest activity. Several banks urged employees to either work from home or at secondary branches. Experts say the short term effects on business in Hong Kong are limited; however, key budget approvals and large-scale infrastructure projects could be affected in the long term.
Apart from demonstrations in Hong Kong, other countries are planning solidarity actions that will only further fuel anger within China’s government. Wednesday, October 1 marks China’s National Day and protests in Hong Kong are expected to escalate again. Organizers believe the protests will garner an even more significant crowd than witnessed on Sunday, which reportedly hit 80,000 at its peak. The government cancelled its annual fireworks show due to the protest activity. The retreat of riot police today showed signs that the government is strongly considering their next move. If the government reacts too harshly, it may anger residents and fuel prolonged demonstrations. On the other hand, dissent may be encouraged in mainland China if the government reacts too softly. Regardless, there are fears that a heavier crackdown may be coming this week with the October 1 holiday, as the government is vehemently against the occupation.
