Hong Kong protest organisers expect million-person march on Saturday
Over a million people are expected to demonstrate outside China’s liaison office in Hong Kong today.
The protests, which began in June over a bill that proposed extraditing people to mainland China to face trial, have morphed into a broader anti-Beijing movement. With China scheduled to take full control of Hong Kong in 2047, this step is a sign for Beijing’s plans to destruct Hong Kong’s independence as a city-state.
While the turnout for the protests remain sizeable, support from the general public is starting to waver as residents feel the economic pinch. Last quarter saw the territory’s retail sales fall by 6.7% and its GDP contract by 0.3%. Though the US-China trade war is likely the primary causal factor for this trend, ongoing protests have no-doubt compounded the situation.
If Hong Kongers continue to become disillusioned with the protest movement and its economic impacts, expect Beijing to adopt an approach of patience by attempting to wait out the protests. Given the influence China has already exerted over businesses in Hong Kong—such as the territory carrier Cathay Pacific—analysts can also expect the city-state’s economic autonomy to further decline over the long-term.
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