Men in white T-shirts and carrying poles react in Yuen Long after attacking anti-extradition bill demonstrators at a train station in Hong Kong, China on July 22, 2019. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Beijing’s latest response to the relentless protests in Hong Kong indicates that although Chinese leaders may have decided not to deploy troops in Hong Kong, they are starting to mobilize alternative forms of violence to quell the anti-extradition protests, according to China experts Chen Zhong and Ching Cheong.