Recently, the CEO of Cathay Pacific resigned after the company's employees took part in the protests in Hong Kong. According to analysts, the company should have been pressured by the Chinese state.

Finnair airline is the latest in the line of Western companies that do not want employees to take a stand in the protests, in a way that can be linked to the company. Hong Kong cabin crew working for Finnair have been urged not to attend the demonstrations in a way that can be linked to the airline, reports the South China Morning Post.

It can be risky for a company if it is perceived as taking a stand for the protesters, says Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of Foreign Policy.

- The Chinese state can limit Finnair's ability to operate in or around China, says Charly Salonius-Pasternak to SVT.

Finnair: "Was contacted by customers"

Finnair's Press Manager Päivyt Tallqvist tells SVT News that their employees have full freedom of expression, but that some of the cabin crew had rewrote the protests in social media in a way that could be linked to the airline, which violates employee policy.

- We were contacted by customers who perceived it as Finnair's position. Then we had to remind our employees that they must not use Finnair's brand for political, religious or commercial purposes, says Päivyt Tallqvist.

She says that the company has not been subjected to pressure from the Chinese side, but there are rules that apply to Finnair's employees in all parts of the world.

Paramilitaries near the border

Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents have demonstrated during the summer. The protests were triggered by a bill that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China, but have since been expanded to deal with general dissatisfaction and concern over Beijing's increasing influence over Hong Kong.

Many have feared an imminent intervention from the Chinese side after the gathering of paramilitary forces in the city of Shenzhen, near the Hong Kong border.