"China cannot afford to let Hong Kong turn into a catalyst for pressure and revolt, in the name of true democracy." Father Bernardo Cervellera, PIME missionary (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), director of the Asia-News specialist agency, a deep knowledge of the Chinese world (the Asia News website has a Mandarin edition that represents a point of reference for the Christians of the giant Asian) analyzes in an interview with "Libero Quotidiano" the increasingly difficult situation of the former British colony and the unsettling prospects for what could happen, especially if China decides to intervene officially. The chronicle records a new weekend of protests, with thousands of professors who have opened the demonstrations in a climate of very high tension, yesterday even one million people took to the streets, while hundreds and hundreds of armored vehicles and Chinese paramilitary units are gathered in Shenzhen, a few miles from Hong Kong. Beijing's irritation with what is happening is now palpable.
At this point the next moves of the Chinese regime are evaluated. "For more than two months in Hong Kong the demonstrations have been ever larger, they have come to involve at least two million people, young, in majority, but not only. Every social sphere feels called into question: teachers, employees, lawyers, entrepreneurs, even policemen. It was the request to cancel the extradition law to start the protests, because it was interpreted as the decisive step to transform Hong Kong into one of the many other Chinese cities, losing its specificity forever. At first the protest was considered tolerable, it was believed that it could be kept under control. But, from week to week, the violence in repressing it has undergone a worrying escalation, while the requests by the protesters have become more pressing, stronger ”. "Of course, the truth is that the democratic future of the former British colony is at stake. This future had to be realized since the 2007, according to the agreements between Great Britain and China, but the full implementation of a democratic government has slipped up to the 2017 and still remains a dead letter. This has created great expectations, then great frustrations and fear, uncertainty, anger. On the other hand, Beijing is well aware that if Hong Kong becomes truly democratic it becomes a thorn in the side of the regime. He must therefore try to stifle any attempt to make this perspective concrete ”.
Officially we do not see forceful actions. But China does not seem to want to stay and watch. "The signals - explains the director - are unfortunately clear. First, the tens of thousands of riot forces massed in Shenzhen, under the guise of various drills. Just a way to show off your muscles? It is probable, however, that those forces will be used, should the pressure of protests increase. And then the accusations against the protesters grow from day to day, from terrorism to collusion with 'foreign forces' that manipulate them. The disinformation campaign works at full capacity, fake news is multiplying, relying on Chinese nationalism. And the censorship is increasingly ironic, and those who try to pass on "alternative" news risk really big ". Allegations of infiltration by Chinese policemen in Hong Kong law enforcement agencies are confirmed. "Chinese policemen are sent from Shenzhen, who go into action wearing the uniform of the local police. This could also justify the fact that the latter, famous for its fair play, has become more aggressive and violent. This is why among the protesters' demands there is also that of starting an independent investigation to shed light on these infiltrations. And then 'thugs' have already come into action, attacking the people in procession without mercy, who may belong to mafia groups. Moreover, the Chinese regime normally prefers to delegate to the thugs and mobsters the most dirty actions, such as intimidation, beatings, kidnappings ... ".
The fears that bloody repression may be unleashed, that there may be a new Tiananmen are well founded. "Undoubtedly, China is no longer as isolated as it was in the 1980s, and is experiencing difficulties in international relations, so this would suggest the use of greater prudence. The signals, however, are not encouraging. The Global Times, a tabloid produced by the regime's newspaper, in a two-day editorial just mentioned Tienanmen, without explicitly mentioning it - it's a taboo subject - but referring to the 'facts of 4 June 1989' explained that they won't be repeated. "It is still disturbing - he continues - that this reference has been made. In China there is a strong pressure, even if it is hidden, towards social, economic, political changes, and if the Communist Party really felt threatened I don't think it would hesitate to react as happened in that fatal 4 June 1989 ". "And there is another disturbing parallel - concludes Cervellera - with those tragic events and what is happening today. Carri Lam, the highly disputed governor of Hong Kong, has refused to meet the protesters for two months. The same thing happened with the students of Tienanmen, who from the 15 April until the day of the tragic epilogue were not received by any government authority, "concluded Cervellera.