HONG KONG: China may have won the latest round in its long-running battle with Hong Kong over genuine democracy, but in a city simmering with anger and ingrained with activism the issue will not go away.
Pro-democracy campaigners had threatened for more than a year to take over the streets of the city's financial district if their demands for full universal suffrage were not met.
But Beijing called their bluff, insisting the financial hub's next leader be vetted and dealing a major blow to Hong Kong's decades old democracy movement.
Activists have since struggled to respond.
After initially vowing a new "era of civil disobedience", leaders from Occupy Central, the largest grassroots group, backtracked, admitting little can be done to change China's mind -- and even hinting that support for their cause was waning.
But while senior officials in Beijing might look with glee at the discord in the ranks of Hong Kong's democracy campaigners, the issues that fuel them -- and encourage hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the city streets every year -- still remain.
Regardless of whether the city's civil disobedience thrives or fizzles out, China's crucial economic hub still faces a political crisis brought on by deepening social anger, analysts say.
"My prediction is this (social unrest) will get worse because of the latest decision from Beijing," Surya Deva, a law professor at City University of Hong Kong said, adding that "Hong Kong has been experiencing a governance crisis for a while".
Increasing income inequality and the perceived cosiness between city officials and business elites have driven the demand for a more representative and accountable leader, he explained, adding that the chief executive has always been viewed as unaccountable.
"Rather, he represents Beijing and the elites, including the business community."
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