Hong Kong legislature invasion pits business against protesters

Demonstrators' tactics in Hong Kong have 'gotten out of hand', industry leaders say. Photo / Getty Images

When 1m people took to the streets of Hong Kong in early June to protest against a law that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China to stand trial, Roy Lim marched with them. A business executive who frequently travels across the border, the proposed law was of deep concern.

A wave of mostly peaceful protests against the bill garnered massive public support in Hong Kong. But as young protesters adopted ever more radical tactics — including a sit-in that shut down Hong Kong's tax department on June 24 followed by the brief occupation and vandalisation of the territory's legislature last week — Mr Lim says they went too far.

"I totally don't agree with what the people did, it's not necessary, especially when the government has already backed down," he said, referring to chief executive Carrie Lam's decision to in effect shelve the bill.

"It has really gotten out of hand," he added. "We want things to calm down because if people keep surrounding government buildings, it will affect [the business community]."
Mr Lim, whose company Tung Hing Automation is the largest distributor of Mitsubishi automation equipment in China, was at the tax department's headquarters when it was suddenly surrounded by protesters last month.

His comments reflect growing concerns that the more radical tactics risk alienating those who support both greater autonomy for Hong Kong and the continued development of deeper economic and financial links with China.

Organisers said the movement's biggest rally on June 17, held the day after Ms Lam caved in to public pressure and suspended the bill, attracted almost 2m people or about 30 per cent of Hong Kong's total population, with police putting the number at 338,000.

Regardless, it was a clear demonstration of the unpopularity of the extradition bill.

But Professor Steve Tsang, a China expert at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, believes the storming of the Legislative Council was "counterproductive and damaging" for the movement. "It divides the people in Hong Kong and thus weakens the previous clarion call for Carrie Lam to [completely] withdraw the bill and resign," said Prof Tsang.

Others say the chaotic scenes from inside the legislature undermined the very thing many of the protesters say they are fighting to preserve — the rule of law.

"You can't say you want the rule of law and then undermine the rule of law. If we cannot protect [our core values], we will lose our unique competitive advantage in the region," said David Lie, chairman of a large Hong Kong trading company and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a Beijing advisory body.

Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, worries that the protests could erode the city's economic prosperity, given the importance of its commercial linkages to the Chinese mainland. "Last week when I was in Europe meeting my customers they raised concerns" about the situation in the city, he said.

The land and ferry crossings between Hong Kong and Chinese cities in the Pearl River Delta are some of the busiest in the world. According to Hong Kong's last interim census, conducted in 2016, more than 82,000 Hong Kong residents work in China.

Hundreds of thousands more Hong Kongers, from shopkeepers and truck drivers to factory owners and investment bankers, profit from and support ever closer cross-border linkages.

V-Nee Yeh, the former chairman of a large Hong Kong construction group, thinks the protesters who want less integration with China, either economically or politically, might as well try to stop the flow of the Pearl River. "Politics is the art of compromise and [is] about what is practical and achievable," said Mr Yeh, an establishment figure and former member of the cabinet that advises Hong Kong's chief executive. "Sometimes you have to accept reality."

Protesters hold umbrellas to defend themselves during a stand-off with the police in the Mong Kok district. Photo / Getty Images

International business has joined the chorus of condemnation against the use of violence protests, with the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong saying they "do not reflect how the majority of people in this dynamic and advanced economy would choose to be heard".

The protesters and some of their sympathisers, however, argue that using extreme tactics is the only way to force Ms Lam's hand given that she does not have a democratic mandate. The chief executive is selected by a 1,200-member "election committee" dominated by pro-Beijing interest groups.

Her critics point out that after more than 1m people marched against the extradition bill on June 9, Ms Lam continued to press ahead with it. It was only after protesters fought pitched battles with police three days later that she decided to suspend the bill, citing the violence.

This has convinced many demonstrators that even more aggressive tactics are necessary to force Ms Lam to formally withdraw the bill or step down. As one graffiti artist wrote on the walls of the Legislative Council on Monday night: "You ask[ed] for it."

"I'm not condoning violence but I think the Hong Kong government would do well to ask itself what has led to these youngsters taking such action because it's quite out of character," said Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong's second-highest official under both its last British governor and first Chinese chief executive. "Generally they are a peaceful lot."

Mr Lie counters that the majority of people in Hong Kong feel uneasy about the risks protesters are taking as they continue their movement. These, he argues, include the possible intervention by the Hong Kong garrison of the People's Liberation Army if Beijing feels Ms Lam's administration is losing control of the situation. The PLA Daily, a military newspaper, published a report on Hong Kong's garrison carrying out a drill last week with photos showing soldiers standing vigil over the city on the prow of a warship.

"If you attack government offices and the [Hong Kong] police are no longer able to handle the situation, the PLA must and will march in because that's what they are supposed to do," he said. "Is that the kind of result you want for Hong Kong?"

Additional reporting by Nicolle Liu in Hong Kong

Written by: Sue-Lin Wong and Tom Mitchell in Beijing

© Financial Times