[jerf]

The only reason these protesters have not simply been shot with real bullets is that China can't afford the massive negative economic consequences that would follow, as people would become afraid that China has become authoritarian enough to just nationalize everything within their reach, including all investments anyone may have made into China. Government-based tariffs are bad for them, but within the normal domain of country's relationships with each other, and can be managed as a known risk. The entire world just deciding not to do business with China would be catastrophic for them; they can't just hope a particular politician gets removed or that they might be able to offer enough concessions to get tariffs removed, they would have no recourse.

Non-China ("Western" doesn't quite cover it, there are others too) economic interests are the only things keeping these protesters alive.

[cannonedhamster]

China could easily afford to wipe Hong Kong off the face of the map, but it would ruin the image that they are trying to show of paternalism. China militarized islands they said they wouldn't, invaded India, is threatening the United States military ships in international waters, and egging on war with Japan. China has a massive and captive internal market that makes up the majority of their economy. It would certainly hurt to lose the western trading powers, but it's not like they wouldn't be able to survive without them.

[Lucadg]

I agree, but what I meant is that there is an obvious hypocrisy in the way the West behaves.

Civil rights seem to be mentioned only when the countries which don't respect them are poor or weak. When there is an economic interest they seem not be so important anymore.