The street protests in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China since June have highlighted not just the tensions in the relationship with Beijing, which rules the SAR under the “one country, two systems” framework, but also the social and economic stresses on the city’s youth. What started as generally peaceful activism against a bill that would allow extraditions to the mainland has turned into demonstrations that are marked by vandalism and violent clashes between police and protesters. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong economy has taken a hit and residents (including an estimated 90,000 Americans) are wondering how the situation will play out.

During the Hong Kong Briefing hosted by the USAI on October 08, 2019, Alejandro Reyes, Director and Associate professor at the Asia Global Institute of the University of Hong Kong, who until recently was a senior policy advisor in the Canadian foreign ministry in Ottawa, offered an on-the-ground perspective on the protests and the outlook for Hong Kong going forward.