Turmoil in Hong Kong and its impact on China

It is unlikely that Hong Kong will go back to what it was before the latest unrest erupted

The political unrest in Hong Kong grinds on, taking on an increasingly violent and anti-China character. The prospect of a brutal and bloody crack-down of the mounting protests by Chinese troops is becoming more proximate. The recent march by protesters holding US flags, to the American consulate, openly urging intervention in their favour, is a provocation that, unanswered, will be a huge loss of face for Beijing and President Xi Jinping. China is now confronted with a choice among equally unpleasant alternatives. The lesser evil in China’s playbook will be violent suppression followed by fully incorporating Hong Kong as an