Protest City: The battle for Hong Kong with Ben Bland and Primrose Riordan

Lowy Institute Research Fellow Ben Bland and Financial Times journalist Primrose Riordan talk about the roots of the ongoing political unrest in Hong Kong, and where it might end. The semi-autonomous Chinese territory is being squeezed by an increasingly authoritarian Beijing, putting pressure on its autonomy and rule of law. The city has been convulsed for over two months by mass protests, including violent clashes between police and demonstrators and indiscriminate beatings by organised pro-Beijing mobs. After the peaceful Umbrella movement of 2014 ended without concession from the government, its leaders barred from political office and jailed, where does the cycle of repression and resistance end, and will Beijing step in? Ben Bland is the Director of the Southeast Asia program at the Lowy Institute, and the author of the 2017 book Generation HK: Seeking Identity in China’s Shadow. Primrose Riordan is a Hong Kong based journalist for the Financial Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.