Hong Kong leader says city could keep freedoms if it 'stays loyal'

Yahoo – AFP, Xinqi SU, Jerome TAYLOR,  January 16, 2020

Security officials were called in to force out pro-democracy lawmakers who shouted
slogans and held placards criticising Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam (AFP Photo/
ISAAC LAWRENCE)

Hong Kong may be allowed to keep its unique freedoms beyond their 2047 expiry date, its leader said Thursday, but only if inhabitants remain loyal to Beijing's vision of how the city should be run.

Chief executive Carrie Lam, a pro-Beijing appointee, made the comments during a fiery session in the city's legislature, where she was frequently interrupted by opposition lawmakers -- many of whom were ejected.

Hong Kong has been battered by seven months of pro-democracy protests, which Lam and Beijing have taken a hard line against.

The protests are fuelled by fears that the city is losing freedoms under an increasingly authoritarian Beijing.

Under a "one country, two systems" deal agreed ahead of the city's 1997 handover, authoritarian China has allowed Hong Kong to keep key liberties and its capitalist system for fifty years.

But protesters say Beijing is already reneging on that promise, while uncertainty swirls around what might happen when the deadline expires.

On Thursday Lam said the city's continued freedoms were contingent on the city not challenging Beijing.

"Only if we insist on implementing the 'one country, two systems' principle and practice it continuously and fully ... then I think there will be enough grounds for 'one country, two systems' to move ahead smoothly and there would be no change after 2047," Lam said during Thursday's appearance in the legislature.

She then called on the city's youth not to damage the principle because of "temporary misunderstandings".

"Otherwise, what they are worried about will be brought about by themselves," she added.

Watchdog report delayed

Hong Kong's protests were initially sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the mainland.

But they have since morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule with huge marches and frequent clashes over the last seven months.

The ferocity and frequency of the protests have died down in recent weeks, but there are still rallies and occasional clashes with police.

The unrest has also helped tipped Hong Kong into a recession.

Among key protester demands are an independent investigation into the police, amnesty for more than 6,500 people arrested, and fully free elections.

Lam, backed by Beijing, has rejected those demands.

On Thursday she doubled down on defending the city's police force.

"I would not accept anyone accusing the police of brutality," she said.

Later in the day, the city's police watchdog said it would delay the imminent publication of an interim report on the protests because it was facing a legal challenge by pro-democracy supporters.

Beijing has thrown its full support behind Lam, who currently boasts record-low approval ratings.

Security officials had to be called in multiple times on Thursday to force out pro-democracy lawmakers who shouted slogans and held placards, including one that portrayed Lam as a vampire with bat wings.

Lam even fielded tough questions from pro-Beijing lawmakers, one of whom asked if she was willing to take a pay cut.

The last time Lam appeared in the legislature, in October, the heckling was so sustained that she abandoned a state of the union-style address and delivered it by video instead.

Human Rights Watch chief says barred from entering Hong Kong

Yahoo – AFP, January 12, 2020

Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth -- pictured in October 2019 -- said he was
turned back by authorities at Hong Kong's airport (AFP Photo/NELSON ALMEIDA)

Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth said Sunday he had been denied entry into Hong Kong, where he had arrived to launch the watchdog's annual report after months of civil unrest in the city.

"I had hoped to spotlight Beijing's deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Roth said. "The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem."

The long-time executive director of the New York-based rights group said in a video posted to Twitter that he was turned back by authorities at the financial hub's airport.

China last month announced sanctions on American NGOs, including HRW, in retaliation for the passage of a US bill backing pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

"A large amount of facts and evidence... make it clear that these non-governmental organisations support anti-China" forces and "incite separatist activities for Hong Kong independence", China's foreign affairs ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said at the time.

Roth joins a growing list of openly critical academics, researchers, politicians and activists who have been denied entry in recent years.

Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet was denied a visa renewal without reason in 2018 after he hosted a talk with the leader of a small and now banned independence party at the city's press club.

China replaces top envoy to crisis-hit Hong Kong

Yahoo – AFP, January 4, 2020

Luo Huining (pictured) has replaced Wang Zhimin as China's top envoy to Hong 
Kong (AFP Photo/RAVEENDRAN)

Beijing (AFP) - China has replaced its top envoy to Hong Kong, state media reported on Saturday, the most significant personnel change by Beijing since pro-democracy protests erupted in the city nearly seven months ago.

The removal of the head of the Liaison Office, which represents the central government in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, comes as the city grapples with its biggest political crisis in decades.

"Wang Zhimin has been dismissed from his position as head of the Liaison Office" and replaced by Luo Huining, state broadcaster CCTV said, without giving details.

Millions have come out on the streets since June last year in a wave of protests sparked by opposition to a now-abandoned proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China.

But they soon morphed into a larger demand for greater democratic freedoms in the starkest challenge to Beijing since the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The demonstrations have often descended into violent clashes between hardcore protesters and the police, and Wang had condemned them as "rioters" that needed to be brought to justice.

Hong Kong has been shaken by nearly seven months of pro-democracy protests 

(AFP Photo/ISAAC LAWRENCE)

The Liaison Office, whose director is the highest-ranking Chinese political official in Hong Kong, was targeted in July by protesters throwing eggs and graffitiing the building.

Hong Kong is ruled under the "one country, two systems" principle, which gives the territory rights unseen on mainland China -- but demonstrators say these are being steadily eroded by an increasingly assertive central government in Beijing.

Protesters are demanding fully free elections to elect the city's leadership, amnesty for the thousands arrested during the protests, and an inquiry into the conduct of the police.

'Positive development'

While the extradition bill that started the protests was eventually withdrawn, the Chinese government and the Hong Kong administration have since refused further concessions.

In November, Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp scored a landslide victory in a municipal-level vote -- seen as a referendum on the city's Beijing-backed government.

China has denied allegations that it is clamping down on the city's freedoms, has dismissed the movement's political grievances and painted it as a foreign-backed plot.

It has also continued to back Hong Kong's deeply unpopular leader Carrie Lam.

Protesters in Hong Kong are demanding an inquiry into the conduct of the police (AFP 

Photo/Philip FONG)

The city leader said in a statement that she had "no doubt" the new head of the liaison office would help "promote the integration of Hong Kong into the overall development of the nation and the positive development of the relationship between the Mainland and Hong Kong".

She also thanked Wang, who had served for years in a number of positions at the Liaison Office before his appointment as its director, for giving her government "staunch support" and "a lot of confidence and encouragement" during the crisis.

In early December, following media reports that Beijing was considering replacing him, Wang had vowed to continue.

Luo, his replacement, previously served as governor of Qinghai province, and was also appointed to senior Communist Party positions in Qinghai and Shanxi provinces, according to state-run China Daily.

His Hong Kong appointment comes a week after he was made vice-chairman of Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, China's national legislature, according to China Daily.

Experts quit Hong Kong police probe, in blow to government

Yahoo – AFP, December 11, 2019

The Hong Kong government has repeatedly rejected demands from protesters
for a fully independent inquiry into police behaviour during the protests (AFP
Photo/DALE DE LA REY)

An international panel of experts hired to advise Hong Kong on the police response to huge pro-democracy protests announced Wednesday they were quitting, saying the watchdog was not fit for purpose "in a society that values freedoms and rights".

The group's damning conclusion is a blow to Hong Kong's government, which has insisted its Independent Police Complaints Commission is capable of holding the force to account over snowballing claims of brutality.

"We ultimately concluded that a crucial shortfall was evident in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capability of IPCC," the experts said.

Critics have long charged the body lacks adequate powers, is stacked with pro-establishment figures and has been toothless when it comes to keeping the police in line.

The watchdog can only handle complaints forwarded by the police themselves and it cannot subpoena documents or compel witnesses to testify.

Such limitations, the expert panel said, do not "begin to meet the standards citizens of Hong Kong would likely require of a police watchdog operating in a society that values freedoms and rights".

Police detain protesters after they attempted to escape the campus of the
Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November (AFP Photo/ANTHONY WALLACE)

Protests have rocked Hong Kong for more than six months, with up to two million people taking to the streets, initially against a now-shelved extradition bill.

Latterly, one of the core demands of protesters -- alongside fully free elections -- has been an inquiry into the police, who have been left to battle increasingly violent black-clad activists and are now loathed by significant chunks of the deeply polarised population.

But both chief executive Carrie Lam and the police have repeatedly rejected those calls.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan described the resignation of the expert group as a "vote of no confidence" in the IPCC and the interim report it is expected to produce next year.

Political scientist Ma Ngok said the panel's decision confirmed Hong Kong people's doubts on the IPCC's ability to find the truth.

"The government's strategy of making the report independent by having a panel of overseas experts has failed," Ngok told AFP.

Police officers point their guns at protesters in Tseun Wan in Hong Kong 

in August (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

Public row

The panel was announced in September and was chaired by Sir Dennis O'Connor, who was tasked by the British government to write a report on the police after the 2011 London riots.

It included current or former police watchdog chiefs from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and a British specialist on crowd behaviour.

A month ago, a leaked statement from the group revealed they felt the police watchdog was not equipped to carry out a proper investigation, and suggested a fully independent inquiry would be better suited.

But their frank assessment was not welcomed by Anthony Neoh, the IPCC's head.

He gave an interview to a mainland Chinese media outlet rebuking the panel, saying they "do not understand Hong Kong's situation".

On Sunday, an estimated 800,000 people marched peacefully through the city's streets in a movement that has become a popular revolt against Beijing's authoritarian rule.

Police arrest a protester at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University 

in November (AFP Photo/DALE DE LA REY)

The last three weeks have seen a rare lull in the violence and vandalism after pro-democracy parties won a landslide in local council elections.

"Do not waste time, and please grab this golden opportunity to persuade Beijing... to support an independent commission of inquiry," lawmaker Chan added.

An end to violence is something Lam has insisted must be a precursor to meaningful dialogue.

But she has shown no sign she is willing to budge, leading to fears clashes could resume.

In her weekly press conference on Tuesday she dismissed protesters' demands once more as she announced plans to go to Beijing this weekend where she is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China has publicly thrown its support behind both Lam and the city's police, even as their approval ratings take a hammering.

Taiwan dismayed as another Pacific nation switches to Beijing

Yahoo – AFP, Sean CHANG, September 20, 2019

Seven states have now switched allegiance from Taipei to Beijing during
President Tsai Ing-wen's tenure (AFP Photo/Daniel Shih)

Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan lashed out at China on Friday after the tiny island nation of Kiribati switched its recognition to Beijing, the second diplomatic defection in the strategically important Pacific in less than a week.

The move is another coup for Beijing just weeks before it celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

It comes four days after the Solomon Islands made the same decision, and leaves Taiwan more isolated than ever with just 15 states left that recognise it.

At a hastily arranged press conference, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said Kiribati's decision was a "mistake", adding that the country of just over 100,000 people had "given up a sincere friend and chosen to be China's chess piece".

Taiwan has been a de facto sovereign nation since the end of a civil war in 1949, but China still views the island as its territory and has vowed to seize it, by force if necessary.

Over the decades, as China's economic and military power has grown, most countries -- including the United States and most Western nations -- have switched recognition to Beijing.

In the last decade, only a handful -- largely impoverished countries in Latin America and the Pacific -- have remained loyal to Taiwan. The only European state to still recognise Taiwan is the Vatican.

Beijing stepped up its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan after Tsai's 2016 election because she hails from a party that refuses to recognise the idea that the island is part of "one China".

On Friday, Tsai said more suppression from China was expected with fewer than 100 days to go until Taiwan's January elections.

"They (China) have only one goal, that is to sway the outcome of the presidential election," she said.

Earlier that day, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announced that Taipei would immediately withdraw its diplomats and expected Kiribati to do the same.

He said Beijing had "lured Kiribati to change its diplomatic ties" with promises of investment and aid.

Map showing the countries that have direct diplomatic ties with Taiwan. (AFP Photo/)

Taiwan elections looming

Beijing praised Kiribati for cutting ties with Taiwan, saying it "highly appreciates the decision to resume diplomatic relations with China".

Seven states have now made the switch during Tsai's tenure, during which China has also ramped up military drills and squeezed the island economically.

The small African nation of Sao Tome and Principe was the first to fall in late 2016, followed by Burkina Faso and then three Latin American states: Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

Then on Monday came the Solomons, which had been deciding for months whether to make the move following the April election of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

Taiwan heads to the polls in January, with Tsai seeking a second term and relations with China dominating the campaign.

She has described the vote as a "fight for freedom and democracy", setting herself up as someone who can defend Taiwan from an increasingly assertive Beijing.

Her main challenger, Han Kuo-yu, from the opposition Kuomintang party, favours rebooting the relationship with the island's giant neighbour.

"Timing is a factor here," Alexander Huang, a professor of international relations at Taipei's Tamkang University, told AFP, saying the upcoming 70th anniversary celebrations and the looming elections had pushed Beijing to pursue fresh defections in the Pacific.

With voters heading to the polls within months, he said, "Taiwanese should think really hard about cross-strait relations with China. Do we want to continue with this hostility... or do we need to make adjustments?"

But J Michael Cole, a Taipei-based expert with the University of Nottingham, said Taiwan has largely shrugged off the loss of diplomatic allies in recent years, knowing it cannot compete in chequebook diplomacy.

"The hoped-for psychological impact on the Taiwanese population has been diminishing with every ally stolen and as Taiwanese realise that in the end, it's the large, democratic and influential countries -- like the US, Japan, Germany -- along with a number of middle powers, that truly matter to Taiwan's survival," he said.

"Taiwan has made substantial progress deepening ties with those, and this, in my opinion, has more than counterbalanced the loss of small, investment and aid-hungry states as official diplomatic allies."

China fury as HK's Joshua Wong meets German foreign minister

France24 –AFP, 10 September 2019

Berlin (AFP) - Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has met Germany's foreign minister as he carries abroad his call to support the growing pro-democracy movement in the former British colony, a meeting slammed on Tuesday by China as "disrespectful".

Posting a photo of himself and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on his Twitter account, the 22-year-old said they spoke on the "protest situation and our cause to free election and democracy in HK".

Beijing reacted angrily at their meeting during an event organised by Bild daily, saying "it is extremely wrong for German media and politicians to attempt to tap into the anti-China separatist wave".

"It is disrespectful of China's sovereignty and an interference in China's internal affairs," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

"I want to stress once again that Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs. No foreign government, organisation or individual has the right to intervene," Hua said, adding that Beijing "strongly disapproves" of the meeting.

Wong, a prominent face in Hong Kong's growing pro-democracy protests, planned to hold talks with other German politicians during his visit to Berlin.

But there are no plans for Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet him, said her spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday.

The activist's visit came on the heels of Merkel's trip to China, where she stressed Friday that the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong "must be guaranteed", after meeting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.

Ahead of her three-day visit to China, demonstrators in the semi-autonomous city appealed to the German chancellor to support them in her meetings with China's leadership.

Wong himself had written an open letter to Merkel, seeking her backing.

- 'Hong Kong the new Berlin' -

Germany has emerged as a country of refuge for a number of Chinese dissidents in recent years, including Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo.

In May, two former Hong Kong independence activists were granted refugee status in Germany in what is one of the first cases of dissenters from the enclave receiving such protection.

Wong had arrived in Berlin late Monday after he was briefly detained in Hong Kong just before his departure to Germany following an error in his bail conditions from a previous detention.

He was among several prominent democracy advocates held late last month in a roundup by police as the city reels from more than three months of unprecedented pro-democracy protests.

Bild reported that Wong turned up late at the event it organised, but was still able to meet Maas at the gathering.

In a brief speech at the event, Wong vowed to "protest until the day that we have free elections".

"If we are now in a new Cold War, Hong Kong is the new Berlin," he said, referring to the post-war split between communist East Berlin and the democratic West.

"'Stand with Hong Kong' is much more than just a mere slogan, we urge the free world to stand together with us in resisting the autocratic Chinese regime," he added.

Wong was due to hold a public discussion on Wednesday evening at Humboldt University in Berlin and later travel to the United States.

He launched his career as an activist at just 12 years old and became the poster child of the huge pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" protests of 2014 that failed to win any concessions from Beijing.

Wong has previously been jailed for involvement in those protests.

Hong Kong leader scraps loathed extradition law

Yahoo – AFP, Jerome TAYLOR, Yan ZHAO, 4 September 2019

Rolling protests have put Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam under
intense pressure over recent months

Hong Kong's leader on Wednesday bowed to a key demand of pro-democracy protesters following three months of unrest, announcing the withdrawal of a loathed extradition bill, but activists vowed to press on with their campaign.

Millions of people have taken to Hong Kong's streets since June in the biggest challenge to China's rule of semi-autonomous Hong Kong since its handover from the British in 1997.

After refusing for months to scrap the bill, which aimed to allow extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China, chief executive Carrie Lam finally conceded as she called for calm and an end to violent protests.

"The government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns," she said.

Initial reports in the local media flagging Lam's announcement raised hopes that giving in to the extradition demand could help end the crisis. Hong Kong's stock market climbed nearly four percent in afternoon trade after the reports emerged.

But those hopes were quickly tempered, with pro-democracy activists voicing anger and determination to press on with their broader democracy campaign.

The protests were sparked by opposition to the extradition bill but have 

morphed into a wider pro-democracy movement

"Too little, too late," prominent activist Joshua Wong said on Twitter.

Speaking later in Taipei, he said the protests would continue.

"Our determination and courage to fight for freedom will still continue," said Wong, who was arrested late last week as part of a police swoop on leading pro-democracy figures.

"Hong Kongers deserve universal suffrage. We deserve to elect our own government."

The protests were sparked by opposition to Lam's extradition legislation, which was seen as another erosion of the liberties enjoyed in Hong Kong compared with authoritarian mainland China.

After millions of people took to the streets, Lam suspended the Beijing-backed bill and called it "dead" but refused to formally withdraw it, sparking fears it might be resurrected.

As clashes intensified, the movement evolved into a broader campaign to include demands for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, an amnesty for those arrested and a retraction of classifying protesters as rioters.

Another demand was for Hong Kongers to be able to directly elect their leaders -- a major red line for Beijing.

More than 1,000 protestors have been arrested in clashes with police over the 

past three months

Protester anger

Wednesday's video message from Lam was markedly more conciliatory in tone than her more recent statements.

"Let's replace conflicts with conversations and let's look for solutions," she said, announcing plans to appoint experts to advise "to independently examine and review society's deep-seated problems".

But she also repeated her reasons for dismissing the four other core demands, rejecting calls for an independent inquiry and saying neither an amnesty, retraction of the term "riot" or immediate universal suffrage was feasible.

Online message forums used by the largely leaderless democracy movement were filled with angry comments saying the bill's withdrawal would not end the protests.

"Five major demands, not one less. Liberate HK, revolution now," one widely shared message on the Telegram messaging app read.

"They've tried to shut the stable door but it's come too late," political analyst Dixon Sing told AFP, adding only an independent inquiry would start to mollify the "extremely high level of anger and injustice" among protesters and the wider public.

Felix Chung, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, said many in his camp favoured an inquiry, adding Lam's withdrawal concession was "a bit too late, but better than never".

Some 1.7 million people marched through the streets of Hong Kong on 

August 18, according to organisers

Mixed messages

For much of the past three months Lam has struck a defiant tone, appearing either unwilling or unable to make any concessions.

Then an audio recording emerged this week of Lam telling business leaders her options were "limited" by Beijing, which viewed the protests as a national security and sovereignty issue.

In the audio recording, Lam said she wanted to quit and take responsibility for triggering the unrest with the extradition plans, but that she was hamstrung by Beijing.

"For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable," an emotional Lam said in the audio recording, which was obtained by the Reuters news agency.

"If I have a choice," she said, speaking in English, "the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology."

But after the recording was released, Lam held a press conference on Tuesday to insist she had never contemplated resigning.

While Wednesday's video message appealed for calm, it also reminded protesters that challenging Beijing's authority was placing Hong Kong in a "vulnerable and dangerous" position.

"Our foremost priority now is to end violence, to safeguard the rule of law and to restore order and safety in society," she warned.

Timeline on the Hong Kong extradition bill controversy as Carrie Lam announces she will permanently shelve the bill pic.twitter.com/VsfyxeJM0Y

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 4 september 2019

Related Article:

Hong Kong protesters flood city streets for largest rally in weeks

Tourism in trouble: Hong Kong demos hit economy

Yahoo – AFP, Yan ZHAO, Catherine LAI, August 11, 2019

Hong Kong is a popular tourist destination (AFP Photo/ANTHONY WALLACE)

Empty hotel rooms, struggling shops and even disruption at Disneyland: months of protests in Hong Kong have taken a major toll on the city's economy, with no end in sight.

City leader Carrie Lam has warned that the international financial hub is facing an economic crisis worse than either the 2003 SARS outbreak that paralysed Hong Kong or the 2008 financial crisis.

"The situation this time is more severe," she said. "In other words, the economic recovery will take a very long time."

The private sector, in particular the tourism industry, has begun counting the cost of more than two months of demonstrations that erupted in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to China but have morphed into a broader pro-democracy movement.

The figures are stark: hotel occupancy rates are down "double-digit" percentages, as were visitor arrivals in July. Group tour bookings from the short-haul market have plunged up to 50 percent.

"In recent months, what has happened in Hong Kong has indeed put local people's livelihoods as well as the economy in a worrying, or even dangerous situation," warned Edward Yau, Hong Kong's secretary for commerce and economic development.

The financial hub's tourism industry says it feels under siege (AFP Photo/

Anthony WALLACE)

The city's tourism industry says it feels under siege.

"I think the situation is getting more and more serious," Jason Wong, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, told AFP.

The impact is so bad that travel agents are considering putting staff on unpaid leave as they try to weather the storm, he warned.

Even Disneyland hit

Images of increasingly violent clashes between masked protesters and police firing tear gas in the city's streets have made global headlines, with protesters announcing new demonstrations throughout August as they press their demands.

A Hong Kong Tourism Board spokesperson told AFP that the number of forward bookings in August and September has "dropped significantly," suggesting the economic toll will linger throughout the summer season.

A string of travel warnings issued by countries including the United States, Australia and Japan is likely to compound the industry's woes.

The fall in arrivals has hurt Hong Kong's carrier Cathay Pacific, which was also forced to cancel flights this week during a general strike that caused chaos in the city.

Tourists flock to Hong Kong for its energy and urban character (AFP Photo/

Anthony WALLACE)

And even Disneyland Hong Kong has been hit, with CEO Bob Iger telling reporters: "We have seen an impact from the protests."

"There's definitely been disruption. That has impacted our visitation there."

The retail sector has also been hit by the drop in arriving visitors hunting for bargains, shops often forced to shutter during the sometimes daily protests.

Experts say the crisis is compounding the economic downturn Hong Kong was already experiencing as a result of being caught up in the US-China trade war.

It's a "double whammy," warned Stephen Innes, Managing Partner of Valour Markets."

"We always take a view that oh, this too will pass. But so far that view is not holding any water... and now it seems like every weekend we're dealing with further escalations," he told AFP.

Experts say Hong Kong's tourism crisis is compounding the economic downturn 

caused by the US-China trade war (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

'Nastier than expected'

The property market, which fell over 20 percent during the 2008 financial crash, remains strong.

But Innes warned that the deepening crisis could result in capital outflows.

"All the money from the mainland that has propped up Hong Kong property markets could reverse as quickly as it flowed in," he said.

"This is getting a little bit nastier than any of us had expected."

The economic picture for the city was far from pretty even before the protests began, with growth shrinking from 4.6 percent to 0.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter -- the worst quarterly performance in a decade.

Preliminary data suggests the second quarter fared no better, and while the government still hopes for 2-3 percent growth this year, predictions from major banks are more pessimistic.

A Hong Kong Tourism Board spokesperson said the number of bookings in 

August and September has 'dropped significantly' (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

Those falls reflect the effects of the US-China trade war on an economy that relies heavily on logistics processing and is vulnerable to a fall in trade.

The impact of the protests on growth will not be clear until later in the year, but Martin Rasmussen, China Economist at Capital Economics, said the crisis was likely to weigh heavily.

"In the beginning they were quite peaceful, you could say comparable to the protests back in 2014," he said, referring to pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in the city.

"Now they've become much more extreme, so we think the impact on the economy will begin to take its toll."