Chinese military entering Shenzen, just across the border with Hong Kong

This is really bad and definitely triggers memorys of the Tiananmen massacre. I&#x27;m very interested how the rest of the world is going to react to these developments considering the position of China only got stronger since the Tinanmen situation. I recognized that the reaction of e.g. Germany was considerably weaker to the HK protests than e.g. the Arab Spring protests, but I guess we just have to wait and see.<p>Edit: Grammar

As incomes rise in China people will demand other things from the government than food, shelter and a comfortable middle class life. Hong Kong was ahead of the rest of China since they have been living pretty liberal under UK rule and were more prosperous. Whatever they do in Hong Kong now will not stop from things happening all over China at a given point.

Sigh. Hopefully we won&#x27;t get a repeat of the Tiananmen square massacre. I&#x27;ve not seen any nations speak out about the HK protests. Unlike, say, when many expressed support for the Arab Spring.

I might be misinformed but it looks to me like a lot of protests in Hong Kong are state orchestrated.<p>The escalation in protests seemed very sharp. The ransacking of parliament appeared to have been allowed. There was no police presence at all. Almost as if they were being purposefully held back.<p>I might just have my tin foil hat on. I wouldn&#x27;t be surprised though if Chinese groups have escalated mostly peaceful protests while police have been held back to create a situation which requires full Chinese state involvement.

“HKU poll: Only 3.1% of young Hongkongers identify as Chinese, marking 20 year low“<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hongkongfp.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;06&#x2F;21&#x2F;hku-poll-3-1-young-hongkongers-identify-chinese-marking-20-year-low&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hongkongfp.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;06&#x2F;21&#x2F;hku-poll-3-1-young-hon...</a><p>Nationalism will not be tolerated.

Oh man they absolutely cannot come into Hong Kong, it would be a totally stupid move. Honestly in the grand scheme of things they can afford for Hong Kong to just descend into chaos and completely collapse economically or whatever. The minute they send troops over the whole picture changes and everyone loses

We should have applied the same policy of containment to China, that was used against the Soviet Union. But instead we let our greed get in the way, and now we&#x27;ve created an (arguably) evil superpower.

When this guy says &quot;military&quot;, we need some specificity. Is this the People&#x27;s Liberation Army, or the People&#x27;s Armed Police? They may look the same on the surface but they are very very different organizations with different uses and implications. Stuff I&#x27;ve already read suggests the PAP is in Shenzhen on standby, not the PLA.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;diplomacy-defence&#x2F;article&#x2F;2125880&#x2F;china-brings-peoples-armed-police-under-control-top" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;diplomacy-defence&#x2F;article&#x2F;212...</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.zerohedge.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;2019-08-12&#x2F;global-times-shows-dramatic-video-chinese-army-preparing-hong-kong-invasion" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.zerohedge.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;2019-08-12&#x2F;global-times-shows...</a>

Agitators will be sent in to commit acts that justify a military takeover. It&#x27;s a familiar plot.

West wasn&#x27;t ready to die for Danzig in 1939 and isn&#x27;t ready to die for Hong-Kong in 2019.<p>The result could be similar.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Why_Die_for_Danzig%3F" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Why_Die_for_Danzig%3F</a>

Everybody, now is the time to email your local Chinese embassy. Carrie Lam, the top HK politician. Michael Tien and Ronnie Wong, leading pro-establishment politicians.<p>Let them know dialogue &amp; political solutions are needed, violence is not acceptable, and that PEOPLE ARE WATCHING AND CARE.<p>Your voice can make a difference to the political calculus. But time is very short. You must act now.

Cooler heads will say this is a show and a first warning to HK.

I&#x27;m praying for those poor people, it looks like they will have their freedom taken soon.

China got away with it once but escalation is in principle a sign of weak government. Compare a nation like France which mostly waited it out.

The reason to send in the PLA would be to increase the level of violence, but there’s no reason to risk the backlash of sending them in when the HK police can do the job too—even if the Central People’s Government were to suddenly decide that live ammunition is needed, they would still be able to rely on the HK police. The deployment of troops is therefore almost certainly, as was noted in the SCMP, a statement of intent as opposed to a sign that there will be a deployment of troops.

Hong Kong reddit has the top coverage of HK.

I’m an ordinary HK resident, software engineer, living in Kowloon and work in HK island. I see the protesters breaking laws, damaging properties, obstructing traffic, causing the entire society to grind to halt. Their actions are not unlike mobs and they disrupt social order almost everywhere. I don’t know under what circumstances mainland military can get involved, but I hope when they do, law and order can be restored in my city.

Politics on HN... well, was hoping to see here discussion of protesters gadgets or government tools or some sophisticated communication protocols &#x2F; equipment &#x2F; organisation. Something about protesters use of lasers in an attempt to block riot police at Hong Kong airport

What&#x27;s with the apologists in here saying the US is behind it all and copying other Chinese talking points?

Actual news: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;society&#x2F;article&#x2F;3022479&#x2F;chinese-armed-police-truck-convoy-rolls-city-near-hong-kong" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;society&#x2F;article&#x2F;3022479&#x2F;chin...</a>

The title makes it sound like Shenzen is not part of China. You don&#x27;t &quot;enter&quot; part of your own country.

What I don&#x27;t understand is the sentiment that if the people of Hong Kong&#x27;s rights are suppressed, they should just protest in a way that&#x27;s tidy, quiet and convenient for the government. That&#x27;s not how Sun Yat Sen rolled, for example.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Xinhai_Revolution" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Xinhai_Revolution</a>

Extremely disturbing

Trump just blinked this morning on his China tariffs; if that&#x27;s not a green light for the Chinese military to act on Hong Kong, I don&#x27;t know what is.

It&#x27;s on

I&#x27;m currently in Hong Kong and have been here since before the protests began. This saber-rattling has been ongoing. This is an escalation, certainly, but it is not a new message being sent to Hong Kong and it falls mostly on deaf ears. Over the past approximately two months:<p>- July 2019: With the pretense of preparation for the Chinese 70th anniversary celebrations, there were reportedly 190,000 police officers in Zhanjiang. [1]<p>- July 31, 2019: PLA releases a propaganda video showing military practicing riot drills. Notably it has English subtitles implying its target audience. [2]<p>- August 1, 2019: Approximately 12,000 police participated in anti-riot drills in Shenzhen. [3]<p>- August 13, 2019: Military hardware shown moving into Shenzhen. [4]<p>Everybody in Hong Kong already knows that their way of life is lost in the event that China gets involved. The Hongkonger&#x27;s daily press conference said as much. [5] If either of the PLA or Shenzhen police become involved the outcome is predetermined, thus the relatively nihilistic mood. A local Hongkonger wrote this article for Dissent Magazine which also adds additional color. [6]<p>Responding to other comments, the fears of a Tiananmen Square type incident are likely unfounded given the prevalence of video from all of the ongoing protests. State Media Propaganda does not work when presented to a global audience. Any event of that nature would presumably be one economic gamble too far for the CCP.<p><i></i>*<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;military&#x2F;article&#x2F;3020784&#x2F;china-mobilises-190000-police-officers-70th-anniversary" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;military&#x2F;article&#x2F;3020784&#x2F;chi...</a> [2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;video&#x2F;hong-kong&#x2F;3020985&#x2F;chinese-armys-hong-kong-garrison-releases-video-showing-anti-riot-drills" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;video&#x2F;hong-kong&#x2F;3020985&#x2F;chinese-armys-h...</a> [3] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;military&#x2F;article&#x2F;3021597&#x2F;chinese-police-mass-12000-anti-riot-officers-shenzhen-drill" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;military&#x2F;article&#x2F;3021597&#x2F;chi...</a> [4] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;society&#x2F;article&#x2F;3022479&#x2F;chinese-armed-police-truck-convoy-rolls-city-near-hong-kong" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scmp.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;china&#x2F;society&#x2F;article&#x2F;3022479&#x2F;chin...</a> [5] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;anti_elab&#x2F;status&#x2F;1161064639515389952" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;anti_elab&#x2F;status&#x2F;1161064639515389952</a> [6] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dissentmagazine.org&#x2F;online_articles&#x2F;hong-kongs-fight-for-life" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dissentmagazine.org&#x2F;online_articles&#x2F;hong-kongs-f...</a>

looks like censorship.

Strange how putrid governments find members of society happy to oppress other members of the society. Such as those soldiers happily waiting to execute orders against the freedoms of their fellow citizens.

How can I get involved?

The only thing worse for an authoritarian regime than making a show of force and following up on it is to make the show of force and not follow up on it.

Sadly the Chinese govt plays no games. See Tienanmen, Tibet or million+ Muslims in concentration camps.<p>Here they are &quot;just restoring law and order&quot; against vandals, a critical role of any government, so very few critics will be heard.

Some major news networks are covering the event as well:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.businessinsider.com&#x2F;videos-chinese-military-vehicles-gather-in-shenzen-hong-kong-protests-2019-8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.businessinsider.com&#x2F;videos-chinese-military-vehi...</a><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnbc.com&#x2F;2019&#x2F;08&#x2F;13&#x2F;hong-kong-protests-china-media-says-military-assembles-nearby.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnbc.com&#x2F;2019&#x2F;08&#x2F;13&#x2F;hong-kong-protests-china-med...</a><p>P.S.: On a side note, it&#x27;s quite sickening to see how much American society is divided, that even the original Twitter thread became flooded with people talking about Trump and blaming him for what is happening in Hong Kong. It is absolutely ridiculous to an outsider to see this behavior.

~~This is basically fake news, or a hoax, a very popular one. The videos are not current.~~<p>EDIT: It is true China is doing some military performance in SZ to scare off the protesters. But the PLA has not entered HK as that would seem unwise.<p>What is happening instead is Chinese police or army likely working inside the HK police force.

Just a side note:<p>1. Hong Kong, at least on paper, is ruled by a governing entity elected by Hong Kong people. Mainland party hasn’t acted yet because, again, on paper, this is a Hong Kong issue. But things could get messy when Hong Kong government cries for help<p>2. The protest started when a bill that many feared could be used to target and deport anti-China citizens. Hong Kong government was quick to withdrawn and eventually kill that bill but the protest got bigger regardless as they see the government is too pro-China<p>3. Many protesters are now actively attacking police force even if unprovoked. Some even send threats to police officer’s families whilst some caught getting cash handed to them for taking part in protests by foreigners<p>4. Sentiment in mainland China is mostly against these protests as they see Hong Kong benefits financially a lot from China since its return, and Hong Kong’s real issue is its ever increasing wealth gap<p>Getting back to the news itself, this is indeed very alarming.

Whoever is behind the current protests in Hong Kong. (possibly US possibly China, perhaps it has changed). is forcing China to act in a brutal manner.<p>They cannot have this form of anarchy and disturbance.<p>Actually, the US would have acted harshly already if it was on US soil. I can&#x27;t think of any protesters invading congress and not getting shot at. Stopping traffic at an airport? Yeah that is not going to happen for very long.<p>China must act. Any nation would act at this point.<p>It will come with much suffering and it is almost completely unnecessary. The protesters took it way too far. It will also make China look bad on the international stage, especially with the Us controlling the western narrative.<p>Perhaps still China can find an alternative approach. I hope so.

Why aren&#x27;t we talking more about the history of HK&#x27;s creation, namely the Opium wars? I suspect that the majority of people that feel strongly about China&#x27;s behaviour don&#x27;t actually have any idea what the British did to China in the middle of the 19th century, namely: in the style of a mafia get 10s of millions of Chinese addicted to Opium and then go to war with them when China tried to put an end to the trade. It is by all today&#x27;s measures what I&#x27;m sure the majority of people would call evil.<p>I am of course not at all advocating today&#x27;s Chinese violence. I just don&#x27;t understand how any of us have a leg to stand on in feeling outraged. This is the world, the so-called modern world, that, by using mobile phones and modern medicine, we&#x27;ve implicitly signed up for. HK is but one example of the price of modernity. What if native Americans or indigenous Australians rose up in the same way, asking for their land back? Or Indians and Africans rose up asking for their natural resources and slave labour back?<p>The real &quot;crime&quot; here is that we&#x27;re so morally bankrupt and out of touch with history that all we can do is watch and tweet hashtags. Globalisation is here to stay. The quality of Western life is fundamentally dependent on Chinese labour, manufacturing and technology. We don&#x27;t get to reap the benefits of that and at the same time arrogantly and unreflectively denounce their political policies. And to repeat, this is not a justification of China&#x27;s recent stance on HK or any of its other foreign or domestic policies.<p>Perhaps we should boycott everything Chinese? Of course that is never going to happen. But we can at least help each other remember how exactly the West came to be. Though of course we don&#x27;t because we&#x27;re the top dogs and no one is forcing us to. Which I might argue is the true source of the outrage that most of us feel in hearing the news from HK: outrage that something is actually forcing us to reflect on our own circumstances. And what better scapegoat to deflect those difficult emotions than a quintessentially foreign, little understood far far-away culture.