Does China have anything to loose with an independent inquiry into police violence ?
The Hong Kong situation is still quite baffling. I initially thought that the emotional motivation was independence. But it seems like that’s not the crux of the issue
More like autonomy: apparently Hong Kong citizens don't mind being part of China as long as they can keep their self-governance.
And that ties in to your question:
> Does China have anything to loose with an independent inquiry into police violence ?
Such an inquiry would emphasize HK's autonomy (and also paint government as potentially fallible, something the party doesn't like to see discussed). On the other hand: does China have anything to win with such an inquiry? I can't see anything (there are four more demands and giving in on this would likely increase support for demanding the rest), so for them it's all risk and no gain.
So they don't mind being a part of China so long as they aren't actually a part of China. I can't blame them either, the current system has worked out well for the island, and China's internal polices have not had quite as much success on the mainland.
But Chinese officials were pretty clear from the start that they intended to integrated HK eventually and that the semi-detached existence was only temporary. They see this as inevitable and the HL population is just dragging their heels on something that has to happen in the end.
Instead China is implementing totalitarianism on a first world region and the Cantonese hate it.
- cause PRC citizens to also start demanding accountability
- cause nationalistic protests about kowtowing to what was described as terrorists
EDIT: It's worth pointing out that this is why Ecuador gave Assange asylum: it was clear that the UK and US legal systems were being politically corrupted. The political corruption of the legal system is just much more systematic in China.
Thuggery is not a new thing, common to all crime families is a "protection" for the foot soldiers. If a foot soldier messes up the boss takes responsibility, admonishes the criminal, and the criminal is thankful for getting off without justice. We see this common behaviour in the American mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, and currupt police departments, and clearly China's Hong Kong occupiers.
CLam is clearly under the duress of the CCP - and not just for the simplistic reasons of her maintaining her own face/position/power/etc...
She is the lynchpin of CCP control in HK.
So, lets assume she caves to the protesters... (wont happen), she would wreak the ire of the CCP - and obv, she is as much of a leach oligarch as the rest - so she clearly cant choose the cup in front of her.
Now, if she were to take the strong arm of the CCP against the protesters, she would wreak the havoc of the international sanction prospects of the world abroad.
So she clearly cannot choose the cup in front of you...
What she does know is that the global authoritarian regimes have spent the last few years building an immunity to Protester-Murder Requiring-Protester-Backlash-in-the-face-of-economic-and-geo-political-gains.