A Clarion Call For Democracy In Hong Kong

China, democracy and Hong Kong. They’re in the streets in Hong Kong with their “Umbrella Revolution.” What now? Plus: the Secret Service in the hot seat.

In the streets and in the headlines, the protestors of little Hong Kong are taking on Beijing, demanding democracy.  That’s gutsy.  But it was the deal that China made when the longtime British colony was returned in 1997.  Now, there’s a bold stand-off.  Hong Kong is a special place, but the world has seen how Beijing has dealt with demands for democracy before.  This hour, On Point:  China, democracy and Hong Kong.  Plus, we will look at the shocking string of security lapses around the White House and President Obama.  We’re asking what’s gone wrong with the Secret Service?
-- Tom Ashbrook

Keith Bradsher, Hong Kong bureau chief for the New York Times. (@KeithBradsher)
Barbara Demick, former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. Author of "Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. (@BarbaraDemick)
Joseph Cheng, political science professor at the City of Hong Kong University.
Denise Ho, assistant professor in the Center for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. [Read her open letter to her students]

The Wall Street Journal: Hong Kong's Status as Financial Hub Likely a Factor for Beijing — "Moves by China since the summer have raised concerns about Hong Kong's status. Beijing issued a white paper in June asserting China's jurisdiction over Hong Kong, and stating that the city's administrators, including judges, must show patriotism to China. The white paper helped spur protesters who have taken to the city's streets in recent days."

Vox: Hong Kong's unprecedented protests and police crackdown, explained — "What's going on in Hong Kong right now is a very big deal, and for reasons that go way beyond just this weekend's protests. Hong Kong's citizens are protesting to keep their promised democratic rights, which they worry — with good reason — could be taken away by the central Chinese government in Beijing. This moment is a sort of standoff between Hong Kong and China over the city's future, a confrontation that they have been building toward for almost 20 years."

Newsweek: Hong Kong Protests: Will There Be Another Tiananmen Square Massacre? — "The chaos now unfolding on the streets of Hong Kong, the Chinese capitalist jewel of 7.2 million people, instantly evokes the images of Tiananmen Square—the June 4, 1989 massacre in which at minimum hundreds of Chinese protesters were killed in and around Beijing's central square."

Del Quentin Wilber, Bloomberg News reporter covering the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.  Author of "Rawhide Down." (@DelWilber)

Washington Post: Armed contractor with criminal record was on elevator with Obama in Atlanta — "The revelation of the lapse in Atlanta is the latest in a string of embarrassments for the Secret Service. Some elements of the incident were first reported Tuesday afternoon on the Washington Examiner’s Web site."