[ab_c]

The PLA will happily storm HK if the HK govt requests it... but they won't. The reason is money.

If the PLA move in, the wealthy elite in HK will start moving their assets out -- likely to Singapore. Political instability is never good for investments and when a handful of the millionaires/billionaires start migrating their wealth, it'll become a mass exodus.

[jorblumesea]

HK only amounts to a small percentage of China's GDP now. This is also why HK has less free rein in its affairs. The "one state two systems" policy was convenient when HK was a giant in China and they needed the cash. With the economic free zones and growth of China itself, it's just less important compared to other cities in Guangdong. China would absolutely take a 2-3% GDP cut to be ridden of HK problems.

China is far more worried about public image and international condemnation. Especially with all of the other scrutiny on China's affairs (xinjiang concentration camps etc)

[headsupftw]

"HK only amounts to a small percentage of China's GDP now" Echoing this statement, HK accounted for 18% of China's GDP when it became part of China in 1997. Today its neighboring city Shenzhen alone generates more GDP than HK. Nobody saw this coming twenty years ago.

[ethbro]

HK was a backdoor into the rest of the world.

Post-WTO, the Chinese are mostly through the front door without having had to change.

So definitely less dependence on HK now.

The British were still insane to give it back though. Say what you want about colonialism and how it was originally annexed, it was a strategic gem.

They fought a war they could barely win over the Falklands, and then they hand Hong Kong over as a gift.

There's no doubt China could have and probably would have taken it by force, but they also needed world acceptance a lot more at the time.

[mc32]

I don’t think it’s this simple. Ultimately stability is paramount and more important than wealth. Self preservation of the CCP may require intervention.

I’m sure they’d prefer to avoid having to use a heavy hand, but they will if they surmise that they have to.

[immichaelwang]

China does not value the status/wellbeing of their millionaires/billionaires over the control of the CCP in people's minds, which is always the top priority.

[seanmcdirmid]

Even worse: the million and billionaires all value their relationship with mainland China and the CCP more than their working-class HK brethren.