The attack on Hong Kong’s democracy has been thwarted, for now

Hong Kong

As it was five years ago during the Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong’s legislature is under siege by angry protestors. The government, itching to get a controversial extradition law on the books has, at least temporarily, been thwarted. This follows an extraordinary demonstration on Sunday when more than a million people flooded the streets here – the biggest demonstration there’s ever been in Hong Kong. Britain’s population is roughly nine times bigger than that of Hong Kong, so for a sense of the scale of it, just imagine if nine million people took to the streets of London. The protest was against government plans to change Hong Kong’s extradition laws so that Beijing will be able to get its hands on suspects who, as matters stand, cannot be rendered across the border. The obvious fear is that opposition figures will be the first to go, but the business world has also been unnerved as the mighty hand of the Chinese state shows no hesitation in swooping down on even prominent corporate titans.