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The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations

Editorials
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Lettre du Centre Asie
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Lettre du Centre Asie, No. 66, November 2014
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In this article, Willy Lam argues that the events of recent weeks represent a turning point in China-Hong Kong relations. The author analyses the multiple facets of the movement in Hong Kong and Beijing's response.

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The unprecedented civil-disobedience movement in Hong Kong – known as Occupy Central or the “Umbrella Revolution” – has lasted more than five weeks with no inkling of an endgame. The Beijing leadership under conservative President and Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping, however, has given clear-cut signals that there are limits to its tolerance of what it considers a frontal challenge to the Chinese Communist Party’s authority.

This is a modified version of an article that originally appeared in the China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation (23 October 2014).

 

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The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations

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Center for Asian Studies
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Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.

The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands. 

The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.

The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.

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Willy LAM, « The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations », Editorials, Lettre du Centre Asie, Ifri, 11 November 2014.
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The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations