Are Oligarchs Funding The HK Protest?
Observers noted that the pattern of
violence exhibited by the so-called “black blocs” during the Yellow
Vest demonstrations in France mirrored Hong Kong protesters’ strategy.
Protesters started to flock the
street in June to block the law allowing criminal extraditions to Taiwan, Macau
and China.
The law has been retracted and the
massive number of protesters has gone down.
What are left on the streets are a few thousand students who intend to
provoke responding police with “marginal violence” in order to draw attention.
On June 12 their tactic worked, when
police gave in and used unnecessary force.
The result, protesters earned public sympathy.
According to blogger Moon of Alabama,
this was all by design:
“The protesters thoughtfully
escalated nonviolence to confrontation and resorted to mild force in order to
push the government to the edge. That has been the goal of many people who
surrounded and barricaded police headquarters for hours on June 21.”
The blogger also pointed out the
stark similarities in violent methods used in the Maidan protests in Ukraine
fueling speculations that the US is looking forward to China’s intervention
that would lead to a Tiananmen square repeat – an effective way to increase
public’s hostility against Beijing.
Although China may step in, a repeat
of Tiananmen scene in Hong Kong is highly unlikely.
Analysts believe that
Beijing will not fall for U.S bait.
Recently, Zhang Xiaoming, the head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
office stated that Beijing remains confident in the Hong Kong government and
local police.
There are also rumors that some Hong Kong oligarchs funded the first wave of protests to avoid extradition, due to shady deals they made in China. Hong Kong has become a target of China’s President Xi Jingpin’s campaign against corruption. Asia’s business hub has been run by oligarchs who have monopolized utilities, real estate, trade and transport. The fear of losing their stronghold in the country may have been the reason for backing the anti-extradition movement. Although the extradition protests maybe linked to oligarchs, China has accused the US of inciting violent chaos and strongly warned against interference.