Hong Kong protests: President Xi warns of 'bodies smashed'
Here's a sobering fact:  HK's GDP was about 14% of China's GDP in 2000.  Now it's about 2.4%.  This is mainly due to growth in mainland China.<p>HK is no longer China's golden goose, which is probably why China started this mess to begin with.  From their viewpoint, HK's British hybrid law system is no longer worth putting up with. There's a very realistic possibility that China is going to crush resistance in HK by any means necessary. Keeping HK's economy and productivity intact probably aren't viewed to be important, but avoiding sanctions that would impact the entire country likely is.<p>This really is a conflict in which the threat of economic sanctions might actually save lives, provided they're believable.