Alice Wu

In Hong Kong, neither Beijing nor pro-establishment politicians are even pretending Carrie Lam is still in charge

Beijing insists on loyalty to Carrie Lam but issues direct messages to the Hong Kong police and pro-Beijing politicians. Add Lam’s public absences, and the demise of ‘one country, two systems’ may be unfolding differently than expected

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Why you can trust SCMP

Maria Tam, of the Basic Law Committee, speaks to reporters in Shenzhen on recent events in Hong Kong. Tam’s remarks, explaining what the Hong Kong government will do to address public concerns, may have only underscored Carrie Lam’s impotence. Photo: Winson Wong

Alice Wu

Published: 9:00am, 12 Aug 2019Updated: 9:03am, 12 Aug 2019

Over the past two weeks, it is obvious that Beijing has gone from quiet observer to assertive commander. The question, of course, is whether that actually helps in defusing “the most serious situation” since Hong Kong’s handover, in the words of Zhang Xiaoming, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council.

The two HKMAO press conferences and last week’s seminar, in which 500 business and political elites crossed the border en mass to meet in Shenzhen, reveal that Beijing’s support comes at a hefty price.

On the same day as the HKMAO’s second press conference on Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill protests, more than 12,000 mainland police officers assembled in Shenzhen for a drill that included anti-riot measures and re-enacting scenes recently seen on our streets.

It’s the second time that a show of force has accompanied Beijing’s message of support for the chief executive and the city’s police force. The release of the video of the drill that made a spectacle out of Hong Kong’s turmoil is, of course, no coincidence. It was done in the same fashion as the promotional video, complete with a segment on anti-terrorism and anti-riot drills, unveiled by the People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison the previous week.

And so, while Beijing makes statements about its support for the Hong Kong Police Force, those videos can hardly be seen as morale boosters for the city’s officers.

Beijing has spared no effort in making sure everyone knows it backs embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. In fact, that’s one of the reasons for the high-powered, high-profile seminar last week, designed to quash dissent within the pro-establishment camp.