Fear in Taipei: Violent suppression in Hong Kong could precipitate Chinese attack

FPI / September 5, 2019

By Richard Fisher, Geostrategy-Direct.com

TAIPEI — During a meeting here on Aug. 26, a source close to the leadership of the government of Taiwan told Geostrategy-Direct of fears that a violent Chinese government crackdown on months-long protests in Hong Kong could also lead to a Chinese decision to attack Taiwan.

The basis for this assessment is that a decision to violently suppress the Hong Kong protests would mark the formal conclusion of the Chinese government’s adherence to its longstanding “One Country-Two Systems” strategy for dealing with Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China’s One Country-Two Systems strategy is strategy for co-existing with democratic enclaves within Greater China in a manner that provides time and political space for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led dictatorship in Beijing to pursue stratagems to undermine and impose increasing control.

While this strategy relies heavily on intimidation and coercion, it ultimately seeks to defend the viability of the CCP dictatorship over all of China without recourse to direct military action that would lead to punitive international reactions.

However, the consistent and strong support for Hong Kong’s protest movement proves that Hong Kong citizens reject CCP controls to a point at which they are willing to risk their lives in daily protests that undermine the CCP’s dictatorship over the rest of China.

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