“Hong Kong’s political battleground has expanded. Protesters who in June demanded cancellation of an extradition bill that would make it easier for suspects to be transferred to mainland China are now asking for greater democracy and an investigation of police brutality…China’s leadership has misread the situation from the start…

“The right answer for President Xi Jinping and for Ms. Lam, if she remains in office, is to open serious negotiations with the protesters on their demands, which are quite reasonable. Cinching the noose ever tighter, as the Chinese government has done in recent weeks, is the pathway to a dead end that could harm both Hong Kong and mainland China economically as well as politically. A cliff looms, and China’s leaders should turn back before it is too late.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post

“Beijing has now more than hinted (through various official spokesmen and media outlets) that it could send in PLA troops to quell the unrest, which only pointedly raises the specter of a second ‘June 4 incident,’ as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre is known in China. For the moment, Beijing is likely to hold off… The CCP may be unafraid to practice violent repression in mainland China—including the use of torture, arbitrary mass detention in internment camps, forced disappearances, etc.—but the international community has an expectation that things in Hong Kong are different, and international moral opinion has sanctioning force…

“All that will change as soon as the international community takes its eyes off Hong Kong. That means the international community must send credible signals that it is willing to politically assist Hong Kong dissidents and to diplomatically ostracize and economically sanction China for repression there, including making it clear that Hong Kong’s freedom will not be bargained away for trade concessions or other economic interests.”
Yvonne Chiu, Slate

Unfortunately, “after talking about the prospects of a trade deal with China, Trump made clear that he doesn’t care about what happens in Hong Kong: ‘Somebody said that at some point they are going to want to stop [the riots]. But that’s between Hong Kong and that’s between China, because Hong Kong is a part of China … they don’t need advice.’ The message to Xi Jinping was loud and clear: All Trump cares about is trade, and he won’t lift a finger if Xi violently cracks down on protesters.”
Michael H Fuchs, The Guardian

“Beijing is [also] looking to a seemingly unlikely place for support: Europe. In recent days, Chinese ambassadors across the continent have gone on the offensive to rally Europe behind Hong Kong’s government and against the protestors. As part of their campaign to promote Beijing’s line, China’s ambassadors are publishing op-eds in local papers and publicly criticizing European leaders for failing to denounce what they are trying to frame as violent protests…

“While Washington has been antagonistic, Beijing has been careful to strike all the right chords… [But] to uphold their shared values, both the United States and Europe need to collectively push back against China’s unfair trade and investment practices, its blatant human rights abuses, and the anti-democratic norms and practices it seeks to spread… Europe must realize where its long-term interests lie, and not let [the Trump] administration or the allure of economic gains prevent the right choice. The health of liberal democracy will depend on it.”
Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo, Politico