China Toughens Stand On Hong Kong, Says It Can Impose Emergency Rule

China is still refusing to rule out deployment of its military to stem the unrest that began 13 weeks ago in Hong Kong. Xu Luying, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macau Central Office that answers to Beijing, referred to Article 18 of Hong Kong Law when she said, “Hong Kong’s Basic Law allows for Hong Kong to request help or for the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to declare a state of emergency.”

She continued, “If the situation in Hong Kong continues to worsen and it becomes turmoil that cannot be controlled by the SAR [China refers to Hong Kong as a special administrative region or SAR] government and endangers the country's sovereignty and security, the central government will not sit idly by.”

Beijing is hoping that Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s government and the Hong Kong Police Force can resolve the strife and return to the “one country, two systems” system.

The unrest began over an extradition bill that Hong Kong citizens believe would allow China to arrest political enemies on trumped-up charges and return them to the mainland where they would be subject to human rights abuses. The protesters' demands have now grown to include the resignation of Carrie Lam and universal suffrage, a carryover from the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

This is the first time Beijing has suggested using its military might to intervene without any clear request from the current Hong Kong government. This points to a dearth of autonomy and that China is prepared to take control of Hong Kong if it is convinced that the local authorities can’t quell the unrest.

Xu went on to claim that China could deploy its military in the city while maintaining the agreement that mandates unique freedoms for the city until 2047.

“It’s a wrong notion that the deployment of the People’s Liberation Army in Hong Kong would be the end of one country, two systems,” Xu said at a briefing in Beijing.

Over 1,100 arrests have been made since June and the unrest has, at times, paralyzed the city as protesters gather at train stations and at the Hong Kong airport. There was a school strike this past weekend as students marched under banners that read “Save Hong Kong” and “Boycott for Freedom. One student group formed a human chain of about 500 people.

The Central Office comments were made at about the same time that Carrie Lam claimed she could handle the unrest. She denied comments made in a leaked recording where she expressed a desire to resign if she could. Lam later said, “I have not even contemplated discussing a resignation with the central people's government. The choice of resigning, it's my own choice.”

Nevertheless, Chinese officials on Tuesday made clear they were ready to seize emergency powers if the chaos spirals much further out of control.