Hong Kong Protesters, the Frontline Fighters

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The origins of the chaos are clear: Earlier this year, Hong Kong’s government proposed an extradition bill that critics feared would have let anyone in the city of 7.4 million residents be swept up in China’s opaque legal system. A leaderless protest movement, organized in online forums, took to the streets for largely peaceful rallies, deploying umbrellas as a shield from police in riot gear.

Although the extradition bill was ultimately withdrawn, the protesters expanded their demands to include greater democratic accountability. And when Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government ruled out further concessions, relentless clashes sent the financial hub into an economic tailspin. The government is forecasting the first annual recession in a decade, with gross domestic product contracting 1.3% from 2018.

Protesters, who now dress in black with yellow hard hats and gas masks, have thrown Molotov cocktails and set up flaming barricades; vandalized large swaths of the subway system; clashed with residents who disagree with their methods (even lighting one on fire); and doxxed police officers by releasing their personal information online. Police, in turn, have fired 10,000 rounds of tear gas, used live bullets, and faced criticism for a range of abuses. The bureaucrats who run Hong Kong and China’s top officials, who have taken an uncompromising approach to the city’s increasingly violent battle for democracy, have yet to see the protests fade—and the impact is being felt near and far. Pro-democracy candidates won the Nov. 24 district council elections in a landslide while U.S. legislation signed by President Trump expressed support for the protesters.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bret Begun at bbegun@bloomberg.net, Joel Weber

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