Echoes Of Tiananmen Square: Between Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.

 

With tens of  thousands of Hong Kong  students leaping into the bandwagon of streets occupation  aimed at  protesting the Beijing's hiccups in the modalities of Hong Kong Chief Executive election due for 2017, Beijing is faced with arguably its most serious crisis since the Tienanmen square.

The students are afraid that the screening cum nomination committee set up by the rubber stamped Chinese People Congress (NPC ) will decimate the value of their jealously guarded democracy as candidates hostile to Beijing may  not see the light of the day.

The students leading the democracy push are not unaware of the unforgettable horrific scene of the  tank man and the protester-student at the Tienanmen Square in 1989 or perhaps the crackdown that sent to underworld dozens of students that gathered around the iconic goddess of Democracy'.

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR)  of  China on July, 1st 1997 when the Britain (Hong Kong colonial master) handed it over to the latter based on the principle of `one country, two systems (meaning that Beijing  will not temper with Hong Kong Democratic antecedent of colonialism) which is to last for fifty years before the Chinese communist government can detect for them.

With the demonstration heightened with the demand of resignation of the current Chief Executive, Chinese President Xi Jinping is faced with the dilemma of either toeing the path treaded by then Chinese Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (who in in1989 ordered the crackdown of peaceful demonstrating students at the Tiananmen Square) and face international sanction or to yield to the demands of demonstrators and face the domino effect in mainland.

Unable to choose between the deep blue sea and the Devil described above, The Chinese Communist Government seemed happy to remain in the middle as it has thrown their weight on Chief Executive CY Leung whom the demonstrators has given an ultimatum to vacate the government building.

The protesters said that the street occupation will turn to Government House Occupation if CY Leung fails to resign by Thursday night. This ultimatum given by protesters, if carried out will not just destabilize the Region but will definitely set a stage for the destruction of Asian Financial Capital.

As events develop, analysts watch with great curiosity on which path  Beijing will tread or are we experiencing the beginning of Chinese `perestroika' ? Only time will tell. 

Asikason Jonathan (08039379902),a political scientist wrote from Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State, Nigeria.