Chinese patience wearing thin

The eighth consecutive weekend of mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has shown Beijing the serious challenge it faces in the restive territory and the impact the unrest is having on international perceptions of Chinese rule. Saturday’s protest, held in defiance of a police ban, was in the New Territories town of Yuen Long, close to the mainland Chinese border. Riot squads fired tear gas and rubber bullets and used batons to beat some of the 200,000 demonstrators. Last month, two million protesters crowded into central Hong Kong to launch what began as mass agitation against the controversial extradition bill that would have allowed alleged law-breakers to be sent to China for trial.

The demand for democracy has lost none of its momentum. Air traffic controllers and staff at the international airport flooded the arrivals hall on Friday to chant pro-democracy slogans and distribute pamphlets to passengers denouncing what they see as Beijing’s betrayal of the democratic provisions in the “one country, two systems” pledge made when handed control of Hong Kong by Britain.

Beijing’s government and its representatives around the world are deluding themselves if they fail to recognise the depth of the Hong Kong people’s concern.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne was right to slap down Beijing’s Consul-General in Brisbane, Xu Jie, after he praised “patriotic behaviour” by Chinese students who clashed with pro-democracy protesters at the University of Queensland’s controversial Confucius Institute last week. Foreign diplomats, as Ms Payne said, have a responsibility to respect free speech and protest in Australia, “even on contentious and sensitive issues”.

A week ago triad thugs allegedly linked to Beijing bashed demonstrators in Yuen Long. More than 42,000 emergency calls were made but police arrived after the mob had left. The People’s Liberation Army has branded the unrest “intolerable” and has warned it is prepared to confront it. Beijing cannot dismiss the protests as the work of “foreign forces”. Neither can it discount the possibility of other downtrodden groups, such as the one million Uighurs who live under duress in detention camps in northwest China, launching their own protests.