As tens of thousands of students poured on to Hong Kong’s streets yesterday for another day of protests, Beijing is faced with arguably its most serious crisis since Tiananmen Square. The students leading the democracy push are aware of the parallels, even if most were born years after 1989 when tanks crushed demonstrators in Beijing.
“Both movements were initiated by students, but we hope the ending will be different,” is how one 20-year-old undergraduate pithily put it.
Indeed, it must be hoped that the slow-burn political crisis, which ignited on Sunday night, can be settled peacefully. CY Leung, the city’s leader, faces a dilemma: use force to crush the demonstrators or climb down. Events on Sunday night showed that tear gas is not enough to disperse the demonstrators. To escalate would mean using water cannon, rubber bullets or, in the worst case, calling in the People’s Liberation Army against unarmed, and almost universally peaceful, protesters. If Mr Leung gives in, Beijing may seek his removal. If he opts for a show of force, he could wound Hong Kong’s reputation as a stable financial centre. At the very best, he might wait it out, hoping the students will eventually drift away. That, however, could take days or weeks. It is not clear if he or Beijing have the patience for that.