Hong Kong Government Reshuffle and Beijing Agencies’ Unusual Moves Trigger Fears that City’s Autonomy is Destroyed

A general view, taken from the tourist attraction Victoria Peak, shows the skylines of Kowloon (back) and Hong Kong Island (foreground) in Hong Kong on April 7, 2020. ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

Amid recent political events that signaled Beijing’s tightening rule over Hong Kong, local media outlets reported that four senior officials in Hong Kong government would be replaced.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, with the express guarantee that the city’s autonomy and essential freedoms would be preserved.