National security adviser predicts 'terrible brain drain' in Hong Kong if China strips autonomy

Chuck Todd and Robert O'Brien.
(Image credit: Screenshot/NBC)

After the coronavirus pandemic slowed the momentum of anti-government, pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, the protest movement picked up steam again Sunday after Beijing signaled it would directly impose national security laws on the city. Now, many of the young protesters believe the only two outcomes are either independence or the loss of autonomy promised in China's 1997 territorial exchange with the United Kingdom.

If the latter takes place, U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien expects an economic fallout. Hong Kong, he said, has emerged as Asia's financial center because financial service firms and other businesses flocked to the city thanks to its democracy, free enterprise, and rule of law. If Hong Kong loses those defining characteristics, in O'Brien's view, because of a Beijing takeover, he can't envision how those companies can remain.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.