Escalating tensions between Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protestors and the Chinese authorities have transcended the specific issue of extraditing criminals to the mainland, which was the proximate casus belli for the unrest that began 10 weeks ago. As Beijing sends paramilitary forces from nearby Shenzhen to augment the territory’s garrison troops and cuts international airline links with the island territory, at stake is the nature of the relations between China, and its unique version of authoritarian capitalism, and the semi-democratic capitalism of the former British colony. Signals from the Chinese leadership augur a savage crackdown. This is the biggest internal threat