The occupation of Hong Kong’s Admiralty district ended Thursday as protesters young and old packed up their tents and sat peacefully as police closed in. Some 200 were arrested, including student leader Alex Chow, Democratic Party founder Martin Lee and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
The nonviolent denouement is another tribute to the discipline and civility of Hong Kong’s democrats. They are now known world-wide for their pluck and creativity in launching the boldest challenge to Chinese authoritarianism in a quarter century.
The local government and its masters in Beijing have also shown who they are. In the fight against the democracy movement, they have corroded the institutions most fundamental to the territory’s civil society. Their approach has hardened the democratic opposition and demonstrated why Hong Kong’s days of commercial and civic openness will be over without free elections to check government power.
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