Beijing Loses Friends in Hong Kong

Beijing Loses Friends in Hong Kong

From tycoons to pols, the united front begins to crack.

From the Wall Street Journal

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy sit-ins have lasted more than a month, a milestone that protesters marked Tuesday with an 87-second moment of silence to recall the 87 volleys of tear gas fired by police on Sept. 28. But the real news is that Beijing’s united front has begun to crack.

First tycoon James Tien —leader of the pro-Beijing Liberal Party and former chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce—called for the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Mr. Leung has approval ratings near the single digits but is backed by Beijing, which didn’t take kindly to Mr. Tien’s suggestion.

On Wednesday Beijing booted Mr. Tien from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, the central government’s top advisory body. The official Xinhua news agency cited his “improper remarks” as the reason.

Heightening this drama was a Xinhua commentary that appeared online Saturday—only to disappear some seven hours later. It slammed Hong Kong tycoons for showing disloyalty to Beijing by remaining “mute” about their city’s protests. With only one exception, it said, “none of the tycoons” recently hosted in Beijing by President Xi Jinping “has expressed support to the police’s handling of the demonstrations and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s government.”

As it happens, several tycoons had spoken out, which might be why Xinhua threw the article down the memory hole. But the point was made: Beijing’s rulers, or at least some factions among them, are growing distrustful of their erstwhile allies in Hong Kong’s nicest boardrooms.

Rounding out the week’s disharmony was Jasper Tsang, former leader of Hong Kong’s main pro-Beijing party and now the president of the Legislative Council. In an interview Wednesday he disputed the government’s claim that foreigners are driving Hong Kong’s democracy demonstrations.

“I can’t see it happening,” he said. “Unless you treat foreign diplomats expressing concerns as an intervention by external forces. I think their concerns, raised objectively, were not intended to influence, dominate or instigate any side.” Mr. Tsang thus rebuked the local Chief Executive and Beijing officials as senior as Vice Premier Wang Yang , who claimed this month that “some Western nations” are trying to foment a “color revolution” in Hong Kong.

Beijing and its Hong Kong allies aren’t gathering in a circular firing squad, but tensions are rising. Beijing’s more honest loyalists, such as Mr. Tsang, have long warned that the territory will become ungovernable if the government refuses to compromise with democrats.

Many in the pro-Beijing camp opposed the selection of Mr. Leung as Chief Executive in 2012 because they knew his hardline approach would further polarize Hong Kong society. Their predictions have come true, but Beijing still doesn’t want to listen.

China’s leaders could spare themselves much trouble if they find a way to compromise with the Hong Kong people. As Mr. Tien put it, “Citizens are ignoring court injunctions and pan-democrats are staging their non-cooperation movement” in the legislature, including a campaign to block non-essential spending. “How is [Mr. Leung] going to govern in the remaining three years of his term?”