That's a fun phrase, but I don't think it's any wiser than any opposite phrase like "strike while the iron is hot".

Personally I think Xi messed up igniting this thing when he was legally going to get hong kong if he just waited patiently. He lost a lot of face, and now is facing american repercussions for pushing harder on hong kong :/

People like to attribute wisdom to those who have power but, tbh, acquisition of political power is a weak signal on leadership competence

Perhaps I just find him akin to a snake in the grass. A constrictor doesn't make the conscious decision to give it's pray a false sense of security; it's simply in it's nature.

What would it take for Hong Kong to develop into a full out civil war? I wonder if it could even develop that far.