Communist Party Mobilises Against Hong Kong Protests

Pro-China groups organise counter-campaigns in city with ‘stop violence’ slogan.

Across the border from Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party screams its presence with banners and slogans on nearly every street. Yet in the former British colony, where China’s ruling party confronts what it calls a “life and death” struggle against a turbulent protest movement, it is invisible: it is not registered and has no publicly declared local members.

But in Hong Kong, this officially non-existent organisation is in the vanguard of defending Chinese rule in the face of its biggest public resistance since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The party, operating in the shadows through individuals and organisations, is driving an increasingly firm pushback against the anti-government protests, now in their 13th week.