The Hong Kong issue is affecting the whole of China and Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet are closely watching the situation, said Muraleedharan Nair, former Indian consul in Hong Kong and senior fellow with Kochi thinktank Centre for Public Policy Research in Kochi on Thursday.

Speaking at a CPPR Talk Series on ‘Hong Kong Protests and its implications’, Nair said China will not hesitate to use armed force to protect its national interest.

He said Hong Kong has been witnessing protests from 1960s. “The current wave of protests is fundamentally different from the previous ones. The present protests lack an umbrella organization or a leader and it has been a factor that contributed to violence and chaos. Earlier, protests were sit-ins whereas the current ones are mostly mobile with widespread use of social media.”

Nair said destruction of public property has also been rampant. Though the protests are mostly in weekends, the businesses have been affected. The employee contracts have been suspended for two months. Sales are low and people are buying only essential items, he added.

This news article was published in The Times of India on 11 October 2019

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