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Professor Rana Mitter comments on the election of pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong

Rana Mitter has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s ‘The World Tonight’ programme (9 September) to discuss the recent election of pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong, and the displeased response of the Chinese government.


"I think it's not surprising that China has made it absolutely clear that the red line, the bottom line, is that Hong Kong will not be allowed independence from China," Rana said.

However, he added that, despite 'splittism' - the idea that certain Chinese provinces might split from the mainland - being what he described as a "neuralgic issue" for the government, Hong Kong is no longer the economic powerhouse it once was, and the government's main concern is to address this problem in the hope that it will stabilise Hong Kong's political unrest.

The full programme can be heard here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07rkh7j [Rana appears at 34:27 on the clock]