Every day, Didier François deals with an international topic.
In the face of a growing democratic movement in Hong Kong, China is beginning to worry. The communist authorities have seriously set the tone on Tuesday, threatening protesters with military intervention.
The situation was very tense with a particularly strong intervention by the spokesperson of the Hong Kong and Macao Business Office. A sibylline name that actually hides the government agency charged by Beijing with controlling these two special administrative regions. And the least we can say is that he did not mince his words. "We can not leave Hong Kong longer in chaos," he warned. "China will not be weak with those who break the law, never underestimate the strong determination and power of the central government, and those who play with fire will die by fire." If this was not a threat of direct military intervention from Beijing to bring the democratic protest movement to a standstill, it was very similar. Especially since this brutal warning Communist leaders comes after the broadcast of a short video of three minutes showing a gigantic exercise riot, led by military with armored and water cannons in a city crisscrossed by barbed wire. Images put online by the People's Liberation Army which, in the commentary, reaffirms its ability to maintain the sovereignty of China over its entire territory. Suffice to say that the assumption of a new Tiananmen is now seriously considered by Beijing who exasperated at the inability of the regional authorities of Hong Kong and his police to break the revolt.
But the special status granted to Hong Kong when it was surrendered to China by Britain in 1997 prevented Beijing from intervening militarily in that territory?
Indeed, unless requested by the Hong Kong government. However, we know that the margin of maneuver of the local executive is extremely small, especially if Beijing puts all its weight in the balance. But that's what we're seeing in place. So far, the Chinese Communist Party has shown some patience that it would never have shown on the continent, perhaps because it thought that the mobilization would eventually run out of steam. This was the case during the umbrella movement of 2014, the first democratic youth revolt in Hong Kong. But this time, it is far from the case. The protest continues to grow, especially since Monday when several hundred thousand people took to the streets and launched a general strike. Professional sectors that had never shown their lives as officials have now joined the students. It is a catastrophe for Beijing who fears the contagion of such a challenge on the continent. Especially since the Chinese Communist Party refuses any reform, or even the smallest gesture of conciliation, and that is what makes yesterday's statements so disturbing. There is certainly a desire for intimidation in the highly asserted violence of the words, but the reality is that Chinese leaders are starting to tragically miss out on an option outside military intervention.