The current political re-engineering in Hong Kong — called the “Second Handover” by some — is following a script reminiscent of the happenings in Tibet in 1959. Per Beijing’s official accounts, both the “1959 Tibet Rebellion” and the “2019 Hong Kong riots” were flashpoints triggering the end of these region’s distinct ways of life under their respective autonomous frameworks.
If the histories of the two territories under Chinese rule are compared, a pattern emerges illustrating Beijing’s consistent strategy of handling frontier regions since the 1950s.