Ian expressed his alarm at the way the situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating. I think it’s just a matter of time before the Chinese government sends in troops, at which point most of the international business in HK will leave or go bankrupt.

The only pushback available is from the British government, who made the deal returning Hong Kong to the Chinese with some caveats. The only way they could credibly stand up would be with US backing. The US has already signaled directly to China that they won’t interfere (From the Independent, here), so the UK will at most splutter and at least stay silent, as they are now.

The perils of breaking alliances. Nobody now expects the US to back them up, so the biggest guy wins.