Hong Kong

What started off as a protest against extradition to mainland China, has now spread to reflect wider demands for democratic reform - with increasing boldness and the will to use violence as a means of protest. It's gone way past it's intentional purpose.

I'm wondering how long Beijing will sit by and let this continue? I am surprised Xi Jinping hasn't ordered the army in to quell the disorder yet.

I've got a feeling this is going to rumble on and turn into a right fooking mess.

Rapidly escalating into something more sinister. Live ammo now being used. FFS.

It's a mad situation and like you say it will end in more bloodshed the Chinese aren't known for their restraint.
I've just read the Amtiv Goshe trilogy starting with Sea of Poppies, set in India where they produced the opium for the good old Empire to smuggle to China the books follow the lives of several people during several decades from the early eighteen hundreds to the eighteen forties and of course the Opium wars. Fantastic read and all very factual being very well researched and doesn't paint us in a very good light. Anyway towards the end of the book 1840's we have just seized the barley inhabited island known as Hong Kong as all our fine free market traders (opium dealers) were driven out of Canton so we seize the island and protect the dealers with our far superior navy to allow the trade to continue.
The rhetoric employed by us in starting the opium wars is quite nauseating, "A war on free trade is a war on God! God decides what the people need and they create the demand hence free trade can be seen as a holy decree! We should bless these brave men who are after all doing gods work!"
Since those days Hong Kong has boomed but it is and always was Chinese. Sadly after British rule the citizens of Hong Kong have always felt detached from mainland China and it was always way more relaxed under our rule and they don't seem to return to Chinese rule. Whilst I sympathise with them I can't see China giving ground at all. Also once again we seem to have played a dark part in their history. Lest we forget ect. ect.

That female reporter Alex Crawford of Sky News has got some balls bang in the middle of the rioters shows no fear