Greetings from Hong Kong.
I’ve been receiving instant messages and emails from friends and family all over asking if my husband Bob and I are OK. I just wanted to let everyone know that, yes, we are fine. We tend not to get involved in pro-democracy demonstrations in countries where we are guests and not actual residents or natives.
I would be lying if I didn’t say that the tone of the city has changed in recent weeks. It’s a slow, ballooning tension, commiserate with the heat and humidity that is summer in the subtropics.
The demonstrations in recent days have taken a decidedly darker turn, and, yes, China has prepared the People’s Armed Police and moved them closer to the Shenzhen, Hong Kong border. (The People’s Armed Police are a domestic militia, kind of like the ATF meets the FBI). So, any reports saying China is massing its army at Hong Kong’s border are exaggerating, a lot: China already has a garrison of 6000 troops in Hong Kong, on the island, and in the New Territories.
We love Hong Kong, it’s a city that has been wonderful and generous and welcoming. We also are fond of greater China, to not acknowledge that, would be dishonest. The lack of real dialogue between the demonstrators and the Hong Kong government does not bode well and I’m afraid it will end badly for all involved.
