>Using the military on an backwater province is different from deploying troops to a dense city filled with millions of people. Not saying they might not still do it, just pointing out that a PLA invasion of HK would command significant attention and sympathy worldwide.

And, sadly, like in Tienanmen Square, little would change.

The "international community" may condemn the violence and human rights abuses but, well, the "international community" still does business in Saudi Arabia, so the chance of the condemnation changing anything seems minimal.

Tienanmen and how little the West leaned on China for that is the original sin that led us to the current situation. It's essentially the West' fault for not cutting ties and putting sanctions on China immediately after that. We're paying the price for our cheap electronics.

Agreed. Not because it would have helped much, but at least we wouldn't have gotten into this dependency mess.

Pretty apt "Where was Gondor" case.

HK-ers are alone. No one will help them.

> a PLA invasion of HK would command significant attention and sympathy worldwide

Which probably doesn't matter one iota, given Tibet, BUT: it's going to be hard to hide that invasion from mainland Chinese who live in big cities, and may just start asking some difficult questions. If you live in Shanghai -- or I guess more to the point in Shenzen -- you'll have to work quite hard to see why you might not be next

If you live in Shenzhen or Shanghai, aren't you already fully under PRC control?

China invading HK would certainly make peaceful reunification with Taiwan impossible though.

Yes, you are, as were the demonstrators in Tiananmen. I think my point is: it’s one thing to watch your government put down the “other” — Turkic Muslims, kinda-Indian Buddhists — but when they start coming for people who look and live like you, it’s liable to give you a moment’s pause. I think the risk of unrest spreading is much higher in this case.

It's already impossible.

Mainland Chinese are well aware of what’s going on in Hong Kong. And whether you’re in Shanghai or Shenzhen there’s no question of you being next; this is already the reality you live in.

I'm not as close to the situation right now, but several mainland Chinese people that I talked to following the mid-June protests (up to 2m protesters) hadn't heard of any of it happening

> PLA invasion of HK

Did the 1st Marine Division invade LA in 1992?

I do think there’s a difference in that the city of LA had armed bands fighting each other. In this case, it’s the government vs protesters. The protesters want some laws changed to ensure they aren’t extradited and disappeared. In LA there were thugs looting stores and the store owners shooting at them.

Hing Kong will go back peacefully if they have the Chinese government back down. Hing Kong is also essentially a client state to a large degree. So, invasion isn’t exactly a wrong way to describe it.

The LA riots weren’t “thugs looting stores”. It was an oppressed minority rising up against decades of racial oppression.

Yes, by looting stores run by their neighbors (who usually were also of the same minority).

Does LA have its own multi-party legislature, legal system, monetary system, immigration policy, official languages, postal system, and educational system?