[JumpCrisscross]

> they just end up destroying what they sought

Cities are people, not buildings. This underlines the Swiss defense strategy, for instance [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Redoubt_%28Switzerlan...

[Apocryphon]

The Chinese government likely cares more about the capital contained and produced in HK, which they would ruin if they were to bust up the place.