At the time the video was released, the CCP was considering sending in PLA troops, if requested by Hong Kong authorities, because the actions of the protesters, according to one general, challenged the Central Government's Authority. China was, already, blaming the United States for being behind the protests.
Well, just as if on cue, photos taken from this past weekend's protests showed protesters waiving and embracing the American flag. Breitbart reported that "[t]he American flag has become a symbol of resistance against China in the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, prominently waved throughout the city this past weekend as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the peaceful crowds." Apparently the flags were first seen during a march held on July 21, 2019. Then, later, "[p]rotesters prominently waved American flags in Yuen Long on Saturday during a protest for which police refused to issue a permit[.]" And "[p]rotests continued Sunday despite the violence in Yuen Long on Saturday, this time within the Hong Kong city center. Protesters also waved American flags there. Some carried signs reading 'We need the 2nd Amendment' and 'President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong'."
Pardon the simile, but this is just like waving a red flag before an angry bull. China has enough unrest that it had to tread carefully on handling the Hong Kong protests while those protests were limited to a matter purely internal to Hong Kong. But the waiving of the American flag and appealing to Trump crosses a line where the CCP would be able to justify its actions as protecting China from a foreign aggressor, and thus stand behind the shield of Chinese nationalism. So, of course, we now see headlines like this: "Chinese forces gathering at Hong Kong border, White House officials monitoring escalation" and "Crackdown Coming? China Gathers Forces On Hong Kong Border Amid Unrest." I have no doubt but that the protesters waiving the flags were acting under the orders of Chinese authorities or acting under the influence of agent provocateurs for the CCP.
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