Listen to “High Tension in Hong Kong” on Spreaker.
More than a million people flooded the streets of Hong Kong on multiple occasions this week in an effort to derail legislation that opponents believe is the last chance to save the business hub from the clutches of the communist Chinese regime in Beijing.
Wednesday’s protests turned violent as local authorities lashed out at the demonstrators who succeeded in delaying a vote on extradition legislation.
“The Hong Kong government, at the prodding of Beijing, has proposed an extradition bill which would allow China to take people off the streets of Hong Kong in effect,” said Gordon Chang, an East Asia policy expert and author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”
“Hong Kong right now has extradition agreements with twenty nations, not including China. The extradition bill would broaden that and that would give Beijing the ability really to bring Hong Kong to heel. As Hong Kong democrats say, this is the last stand of the city,” added Chang.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Chang explain what Hong Kong will look like in the coming years if the extradition bill becomes law and which very powerful ally protesters have on their side.
