When the Hong Kong Protests first started and I commented on it, I didn’t think it would have escalated to the size of this. And now that police have fired the first shot, things may get worse fast. The fact of the matter is that people are willing to be a martyr to the situation and that can’t be good for anyone.

Two Sides of the Coin

Now I am sure the cop who fired his gun felt threatened and maybe justified, after all, it was a warning shot. Things have escalated to a whole lot of crude weapons used by protestors, there are weapons everywhere, and that cop may have been put in a situation where he felt threatened. At least he kept his cool and didn’t kill anyone.

I think the Hong Kong police are showing great composure and restraint as best as they can, these are extreme times. I am sure a lot of these cops are keeping their wits about them because they are still patriotic to their city. and shooting a Hong Kong citizen is the last thing they want to do.

I feel for people of Hong Kong, who generally wanted “democracy” and wanted the best or Hong Kong. There a lot of people caught in the crossfire that is ripping Hong Kong apart.  I feel for the cops, some of the politicians. first responders and just knowing that families are being threatened or now torn apart because they are trying to do what they believe in, It can’t be easy to watch a city you love and grew up in go to hell.

It is crazy to see how some of the protestors are organizing; motorcycle gear for armour, tools for weapons, social media, communications, crude flammable weapons, climbing helmets, working in “cell” groups and trying to remember that some of these protestors taking up the cause are students. It’s a blurred line between freedom fighters and terrorists.

The Big Picture

With international tensions on the rise, mostly to do with trade tariff increases, missile testing, peace negotiations went wrong and executives accused of spying and being detained, things could get worse as Hong Kong is now a focal point. Now if China takes control of the situation and intervenes in Hong Kong things could get worse in a hurry. The Chinese army may not show such much “restraint” against Hong Kong citizens and may have a different agenda than the Hong Kong authorities. For the last couple of weeks, the Chinese army has been moved into the Bay Sports Stadium in Shenzhen, a border town close to Hong Kong,  as a way of flexing its muscle.

Hong Kong is still a financial jumping point for most multinationals companies, for example its estimated that there are over 85,000 American ex-pats there, so China has to be delicate in how they handle this matter as all international eyes  will be on them.  At the same time China also wants to make an example of this situation and show the world that they can handle things in their own backyard their way.

Now it’s up to China on whether they intervene or not, in the event they do enter Hong Kong, it probably may not end well, as Communist troops may not show the same restraint for the protestors as the Hong Kong authorities have. I think China has a few options, they can let Hong Kong deal with it, which would probably be the best option. Options B and C, enter Hong Kong in a traditional communist way or show the world that they can handle this in a diplomatic manner.

This could be the turning point if China can show some restraint and political savvy, hopefully, cooler heads will prevail.