Hong Kong puts Beijing in a quandary

There's a duality in the way Beijing views HK. It is both a symbol of the humiliation China has borne at the hands of colonialists and an economic powerhousePolice firing tear gas at protesters during clashes in Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Beijing appears to be confident it won't have to do more than this and send in troops to quell the unrest. It is betting the protests will die down.

Until this week, the scenario that she welcomes with the bravado of youth was, for most people in the former British colony of 7.4 million people, unthinkable. But events over three dramatic days have threatened the long-held assumption that Beijing would never do anything that might jeopardise Hong Kong's status as a leading international financial centre.

Her apparent desperation also suggests that the Chinese government might have no other choice but to intervene if Hong Kong's 30,000-strong police force cannot contain what has become a"flash mob" rebellion, with fleet-footed, lightly-clad protesters routinely running circles around clunkily armoured police in the city's notorious summer heat and humidity.

For almost 180 years, Hong Kong has performed two essential and irreplaceable roles for its Chinese hinterland. It has been an interface between the rest of the world and China, whose economy has been entirely or partially closed since Hong Kong's establishment, and a refuge for millions of Chinese and their money during periods of turmoil.

Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based historian and prominent party critic, said:"Many big families have an interest in Hong Kong so Beijing wants to keep Hong Kong alive."

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