▲ Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement"
Classified internal military documents indicate that Chinese military officials discussed armed intervention to suppress the 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" in Hong Kong, Kyodo News reported on the 30th.
According to the report, the information is based on transcripts of Chinese military meetings from October to November 2014 obtained by Takashi Suzuki, a professor at Daito Bunka University in Japan who specializes in Chinese politics.
The documents show that on November 2, Wei Liang, then-political commissar and a top commander of the Guangzhou Military Region which oversaw southern China at the time, argued that "thorough preparations for military action must be made to deal with the extreme situation in Hong Kong," according to the report.
He also remarked, "Once an order is given, we will take immediate action and ensure that the situation is suppressed."
Kyodo News added that Chinese President Xi Jinping also attended the military meeting at the time.
The report pointed out that this period was when democratic activities were still tolerated under China's "one country, two systems" framework, which guaranteed Hong Kong's autonomy.
Professor Suzuki, who made the documents public, argued that the findings demonstrate a real possibility that China considered deploying the military to crush the Umbrella Movement.
However, the Chinese military did not ultimately use force to suppress the Umbrella Movement.
Kyodo News interpreted this as a reflection of lessons learned from the Tiananmen Square crackdown, which had previously led to China's international isolation.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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