The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations Lettre du Centre Asie, No. 66, November 2014
In this article, Willy Lam argues that the events of recent weeks represent a turning point in China-Hong Kong relations. The author analyses the multiple facets of the movement in Hong Kong and Beijing's response.
The unprecedented civil-disobedience movement in Hong Kong – known as Occupy Central or the “Umbrella Revolution” – has lasted more than five weeks with no inkling of an endgame. The Beijing leadership under conservative President and Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping, however, has given clear-cut signals that there are limits to its tolerance of what it considers a frontal challenge to the Chinese Communist Party’s authority.
This is a modified version of an article that originally appeared in the China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation (23 October 2014).