BEIJING — China’s Communist Party has long pursued its agenda in Hong Kong by working through loyalists among the city’s top officials, lawmakers and tycoons. Now, as the party prepares to grab more power in Hong Kong after months of sometimes violent unrest last year, it has pushed aside even its own allies in the city. The party’s strategy sends a clear message to Hong Kong: In quashing challenges to its authority, Beijing won’t hesitate to upend the delicate political balance at the core of the city’s identity. Party-appointed lawmakers in Beijing are expected to pass a sweeping security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday. Bernard Chan, a Hong Kong cabinet official and a member of the Chinese legislature, said that he had not even expected Beijing to act this spring.

Source: New York Times June 27, 2020 03:56 UTC