Is the Mainland Chinese Army invading Hong Kong?

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I received a cryptic email this morning. It was a twitter posts. It showed a major border crossing. All the cars were pulled over and stopped along the roadway and a massive military truck convey was headed into a major city. Not much to go on since it was all in Chinese. I used google translate to try and make some sense of the video.

https://twitter.com/sszyz1758/status/1160307728767758341

The title of the thread when translated read "Powerful domineering side leakage"

I infer this is an invasion of Chinese troops from the mainland into Hong Kong. By that the title might mean (Powerful Domineering) = China Massive Military, (Side Leakage) = crushing democratic movement. But that is only a guess.

The signature of the poster which is more like a core statement of the poster reads:

Strive for a free and democratic China for life! ! ! 8964 depth input! China's rebirth! Born with the corner of fate, the royal blood mission is passed down! Only constitutional democracy can achieve more difficulties in China's rebirth! Respect for dissent, learn from each other's strengths, and pull black manure.

Which I would interpret as say that a free and democratic Hong Kong will lead to China’s rebirth. Respect the dissent, learn from each others strengths and grow. I interpret “pull black manure” as a reference to how black cow manure is the best fertilizer for a garden to allow it to grow.

8964 refers to the Tiananmen Square protest.

The Tiananmen Square protests, commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident(Chinese: 六四事件, liùsì shìjiàn), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijingduring 1989. The popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests is sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement.

Outside mainland China, and among circles critical of the crackdown within mainland China, it is commonly referred to in Chinese as June Fourth Massacre (Chinese: 六四屠杀, liù-sì túshā) and June Fourth Crackdown (Chinese: 六四镇压, liù-sì zhènyā). To bypass internet censorship in China, which uniformly considers all the above-mentioned names too 'Sensitive' for search engines and public forums, alternative names have sprung up to describe the events on the Internet, such as May 35th, VIIV (Roman numerals for 6 and 4), Eight Squared and 8964.

In a quick search of the internet, I came across an article about the Hong Kong protest. Here is an excerpt:

As Hong Kong enters its third month of mass anti-government protests, across the border in China, people are seeing a very different version of events.

On Saturday, as protests entered their tenth weekend and demonstrators and police clashed in Hong Kong, the People’s Daily posted an article on the Chinese WeChat webchat service saying members from “all parts of Hong Kong society” were calling for the “violence to stop”. As peaceful rallies at the Hong Kong airport continued over the weekend, Chinese state media posted videos on Weibo of a tussle between demonstrators and an angry resident yelling: “We just want Hong Kong to be safe”.

Other special reports include letters between the Chinese and Hong Kong police applauding “the great bravery” of the Hong Kong police – a main target of the protests. Last week, a journalist with state news agency Xinhua travelled to Hong Kong and described the city as “shrouded in black terror”.

Over the past two months, Chinese state media outlets have gone from near silence on the protests and blanket censorship of footage of the demonstrations to actively pushing news, editorials, videos and online discussions.

“The mainland media can’t be seen as journalism. It’s purely propaganda… It is intercepting a small part of the information, distorting it and magnifying it,” said Fang Kecheng, a professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong, specialising in communications.

In Chinese state media the demonstrations, most of which have been peaceful, are routinely described as “riots”. Daily coverage show footage of protesters hurling bricks, jeering at police, and surrounding police stations. The protesters are described as “radicals” and “thugs” seeking to topple the entire system through independence for the city, a former British colony now under Chinese sovereignty.

This is a link to the article: Beijing’s new weapon to muffle Hong Kong protests: fake news

One of the tactics of Communist Regimes in the past in crushing protest in exterior regions is the use of disguises. They will move into a country, don the clothing of the invaded country, in this case the police of Hong Kong and treat the protestors with merciless pain and death. Essentially crushing a revolt.

If the PRC is trying to crush HK’s capitalist system, then why is Macao being left alone? Don’t they have a similar system?

There have been threats.....but no major invasion...yet.

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which set the stage for Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, promised the city a high degree of autonomy and a system based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The 1991 Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, provides for the “ultimate aim” of “universal suffrage” in the selection of the chief executive and the Legislative Council.

The Hong Kong government had described some of the early protests there as a “riots.” On Wednesday, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said the protests have taken on “color revolution characteristics,” warning that “the central government will not sit back and do nothing.”

Wang Zhimin, head of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, added that the crisis has evolved into a “battle of life and death.” An anti-riot drill across the border in Shenzhen and earlier troop drills by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong suggest that Beijing has a close eye on Hong Kong.

The shift in rhetoric suggests Beijing sees the ongoing protests as an existential threat. The Basic Law clearly states that PLA troops stationed in Hong Kong are for defense only and “shall not interfere in local affairs.” When reporters asked about PLA deployment, Beijing spokesman Yang Guang replied on July 28 that “The Basic Law has clear statements on that question, and I have nothing to add.”

But Article 14 also states that the Hong Kong government may ask for “assistance from the garrison in the maintenance of public order and in disaster relief.” With a chief executive chosen by a 1,200-person selection committee that generally defers to Beijing, the central government in China can easily direct the local government to request PLA assistance.

Article 18 of the Basic Law provides a bypass option. During war or “by reason of turmoil within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region which endangers national unity or security and is beyond the control of the Region,” the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress can declare an emergency and apply “the relevant national laws.”

Labeling the protest a “color revolution” gives Beijing a route to stage a military intervention.

Source: In Hong Kong, what happens now that Beijing has called the protests a ‘color revolution’?

Is Macao protesting?

Hong Kong International Airport — one of the busiest such facilities in the world — canceled all flights Monday after a swarm of pro-democracy demonstrators occupied the main terminal. Chinese authorities likened the protest to "terrorism."

Hong Kong is a former British colony that's been part of China since 1997, but which benefits from autonomy, crediting a "one country, two systems" approach. The structure allows the city certain democratic rights that are not afforded to people on the mainland — but, in recent years, some people have accused the Communist Party-ruled central government of slowly stripping their freedoms.

Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese University of Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post heavy-handed tactics from police have alienated people.

The city's government, which is supposed to be separate from communist China's influence, introduced an extradition bill that critics say would threaten the liberties awarded to the city and would allow people to be extradited to face the law in mainland China.

The bill was temporarily suspended following protests. The demonstrations, however, morphed from an uproar over the specific extradition proposal into a more general demand for greater freedoms and a check on the perceived use of excessive force by the authorities.

China on Monday used the strongest language yet to vilify the participants, with the Cabinet's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Beijing saying the protests are "beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism" and constitute an "existential threat" to the population of Hong Kong.

"One must take resolute action toward this violent criminality, showing no leniency or mercy," said a statement from spokesperson Yang Guang. "Hong Kong has reached an inflection point where all those who are concerned about Hong Kong's future must say 'no,' to lawbreakers and 'no' to those engaged in violence."

Source: Hong Kong International Airport cancels all flights, China compares protest to 'terrorism'

I would have guessed the PRC would have made some sort of "warning" gesture. But I fully support both HK and Macao's current systems. I also support a two-China policy regarding Taiwan.

Veteran war correspondent Michael Yon is reporting continuously from Hong Kong with original news on his Facebook site:

https://www.facebook.com/MichaelYonFanPage/

"Hong Kong: this situation is No Longer just Protest -- we have entered into General Civil Unrest"

US flags have become a symbol of protest in Hong Kong against the Chinese Communist government.

Hong Kong protestors singing the US national anthem:

For starters, the continuing protests speak volumes about China’s commitment to “one country two systems.” When the British transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing agreed to this arrangement. It guaranteed that Hong Kong would be allowed to maintain its own governance and economic system.

The Hong Kong system—one of great economic freedom--has produced tremendous economic success. But economic freedom is no more popular than political freedom among the Chinese Communist Party. And in recent years, Chinese authorities have been encroaching on the rights supposedly guaranteed to Hong Kongers under the “one country, two systems” agreement.

There is no question that Beijing is waging a war on nerves. Last month, it assembled troops and equipment along the border with Hong Kong. They’ve also begun airing footage of troops training for suppressing riots in urban settings.

As long as “pro-democracy” demonstrations don’t spread to the mainland cities, Beijing might not be too concerned to see Hong Kong’s stature as a stable and dependable place to do business diminished. Hong Kong just doesn’t mean near as much to the Chinese economy as it did 20 years ago. Besides, the Chinese would rather see investment flow to mainland cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai that are more firmly under the regime’s control. As for the welfare and future of the people of Hong Kong, that is the last thing Beijing cares about.

Most mainland Chinese seem indifferent about the protests. Many are jealous of the privileges long enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong. Rather than press for similar freedoms, they are happy to see the islanders brought down a notch. This is yet more evidence that the hope that opening up China to the world would encourage Beijing to integrate smoothly into an equitable and liberal rules-based order is little more than magical thinking.

Finally, there are lessons for the rest of us. China’s encroachment on Hong Kong represents yet another in a long string of promises broken by the communist regime. They have violated their commitments to U.N. Convention on the Law Seas, violated U.N. sanctions (which they voted for) against North Korea and delivered debt and corruption (rather than the promised prosperity) through their vaunted Belt and Road economic “initiative.”

Source: James Carafano: What Hong Kong unrest tells us about China's plans for the rest of the world

The communist rulers of China will certainly don't like this.

U.S. officials warned Wednesday that China could be preparing for a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown in response to Hong Kong protests, as footage captures the menacing movement of military convoys near the border and Beijing ratchets up its rhetoric toward the demonstrators.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Ranking Member Michael McCaul, R-Texas, issued a statement Wednesday urging Beijing to not repeat history with another brutal crackdown.

“30 years after the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal massacre of peaceful democratic protesters in Tiananmen Square, we are concerned that China would consider again brutally putting down peaceful protests,” they said. “We urge China to avoid making such a mistake, which would be met with universal condemnation and swift consequences.”

The lawmakers pointedly referenced the bloody 1989 massacre, where student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square were put down by the ruling Communist Party, leaving hundreds dead.

Satellite images on Tuesday showed that Chinese military forces were gathering near the Hong Kong border, as Trump stated. Footage showed a convoy of trucks in nearby Shenzhen rolling through the streets and amassing at a stadium, though the government reportedly described the movement as part of a drill.

Hong Kong protests: US lawmakers warn China may be preparing Tiananmen Square-style crackdown

Satellite images this week apparently captured more than 500 Chinese military vehicles in and around a soccer stadium near the border with Hong Kong in what many believe was a response to several days of violent protests that disrupted operations at one of the world’s busiest international airports.

The images, taken by Maxar’s WorldView Monday, appear to show hundreds of military vehicles lined up at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center just across the harbor from Hong Kong, where months of protesting reached a pinnacle this week after thousands of demonstrators shut down all flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

Chinese military vehicles stashed across Hong Kong border in soccer stadium, satellite images appear to show

The article contains photographs of the military vehicles in the sports stadium.

Today's Hong Kong "protest" estimated at 1.7 million according to veteran war reporter Michael Yon. City is in open rebellion against the CCP.

https://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Hard to see how this will end peacefully.

As protesters began congregating at Victoria Park on Sunday morning, Chinese paramilitary police were staging by the thousands in a sports stadium just outside Hong Kong in the neighboring town of Shenzhen.

The riot-ready troops conducted drills with tanks in what many protesters said they suspect was a thinly-veiled threat.

Hong Kong government officials issued a statement Sunday night saying that while the protest was generally peaceful, the demonstrators managed to block a number of thoroughfares on Hong Kong Island, "seriously affecting traffic and causing much inconvenience to the community."

"The Transport Department and the Police have actively coordinated with concerned parties to minimize the impact," the statement reads.

By 3 p.m. local time, an area designated for the protest was overflowing with demonstrators, who formed a sea of umbrellas that stretched into neighboring streets. Organizers of the demonstration claimed that 1.7 million people participated in the protest.

Source with video: Largest pro-democracy protest yet in Hong Kong fills major park, spills into streets

Twitter and Facebook suspended almost 1,000 accounts that were tied to a Chinese disinformation campaign that targeted pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

On Monday, Twitter announced that it had suspended 936 accounts that were related to the disinformation efforts. In a blog post, the company said the "coordinated state-backed campaign" was intended to "sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground."

Facebook conducted its own investigation, based on a tip from Twitter, and removed seven pages, three groups and five accounts involved in "coordinated inauthentic behavior" that originated in China and also targeted Hong Kong.

"They frequently posted about local political news and issues including topics like the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese government," Facebook said in a blog post.

Source: Facebook, Twitter accuse China of disinformation campaign against Hong Kong protesters