Let me just ask one question: how do you see this end?
A lot of the commenters here feel the unrest in HK is isolated and therefore has no ill effect upon China. While the former is true for now, the latter is not.
Up until now, the HK riots have had a galvanizing effect on the Chinese people, but without an endgame, this will eventually become cynicism.
Meanwhile, the patriotic citizens of HK will continue to have their lives disrupted, sometimes even put into physical danger. Some are already questioning the Central Government's inaction, and this number will inevitably swell. If Beijing waits too long, it will lose the good will of the patriotic citizens.
1.For Starters, China is taking into consideration the 70th anniversary as well as the Taiwan elections. I think Taiwanese are going to vote for Tsai Ing Wen (and localist Green parties) BUT if indeed Kuomintang has done its homework and indeed if Taiwanese are partial towards One Country Dreams, then that means new openings and less problems for PRC.
2. HK Stock Exchange is vital for China. HK stock exchange and Financial institutions are of vital interest to Globalist corporations as well as Mainland Chinese companies. A quick replacement for the HKSE isn't viable/available. China however do seem to realize this. The Trade war and other uncertainties would point at the stark reality that decoupling of Mainland corporations with HKSE isn't possible in the short term.
3. What does the government need to do? Don't you realize that any drastic steps would ultimately jeopardize the governments talking point of " Supporting 1C2S" ? Any such step would require overwhelming support from HK citizens themselves. Just imagine, a clash between a huge parade of Chinese Patriots/Nationalists vs Pro-Democacy/"Liberation" rioters happen. And then, the Chinese government sends in the troops to save the day. After clearing the crowd of scared teens, they can proceed to arrest them and hand them over to the HK police. They can also supply medical aid to the clash victims ( both Nationalists as well as the rioting teens) and then once the situation has been bought under control , make a quick exit back to Shenzhen. Voila! BTW, Where are the huge numbers of Nationalists out in the open? Do they exist? If they indeed do and if they are indeed the silent majority, then they must be goaded into a huge rally that is atleast half as big as the HK Pro-dem rallies.
4. If they send the troops now, it may satisfy nationalists BUT the optics would not be nice. It'd be a la " David vs Goliath" scenario - with the rioters getting praised for being "heroes" and comparisons made to Tienanmen. China must ensure that its action doesn't directly result in these violent teens that spew nonsense like "Anarchy" ,"Revolution" etc attain "Angelic" Haloes or Good guy treatment. Heroic figures and emblems will only create more problems.
5. If you haven't noticed- Western MSM is having a somewhat difficult time trying to edit out the violent video clips / destruction / intimidation by these rioters. The more they turn violent, the more the MSM finds it difficult to operate its Spin machine - trying to portray them as the "oppressed" and " subjugated". In fact, it is the other way around. The MSM coverage on HK is getting sporadic even though the incidents are getting violent and eventful (having picked up the Spin during August). This is good for China. The MSM is also focused on the Trump Drama, Brexit etc - sucking away airtime.
6. If they are "wise" patriots , they'd not question the inaction. They'd only wonder at the discipline and patience of CCP. This issue has been handled properly afaik. Why should China be perceived as a trigger happy country under the PRC? Let the HK teens engage in more destruction.
7. The HK police ought to get maximum support from the PRC. So much so that sympathy should start to grow for them ( there exists a large group who is already sympathetic to the police).
8.Punishment and Revenge is best served cold. Wait for the right time. Certainly, the experienced CCP ought to know the right conditions for retaliation ?