Step back for one moment from the frenzied scenes of tear gas in underground railway stations and armoured personnel carriers massing on the border and there’s a grotesque historical irony which helps reveal the future for Hong Kong.

In China, the notion represents heresy but recent evidence suggests that protestors have more in common with Chairman Mao Zedong and the early ideology for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) than the Chinese government does.

While no one is suggesting that protesters are advocating Marxism, their revolutionary idealism is straight out of Mao’s little red book.

An image posted on social media last week of some graffiti painted on a wall by protestors was a direct quote from Mao, aimed directly at Beijing.

"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."

Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Show all 33 1 /33 Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Police clash with anti-government protesters at the airport in Hong Kong REUTERS Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police used pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the anti-extradition bill protesters Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Medics attempt to remove an injured man who anti-government protesters said was an undercover policeman Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport The mass demonstration continued into a second day after a woman was shot in the eye during a previous protest Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport The police clashed with several protesters Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Leaving one bleeding on the floor Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters detained the man, they claimed was a police officer, and threw water on him AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport He required medical assistance, but they struggled to remove him from the airport AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Police clash with anti-government protesters at the airport in Hong Kong, China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police is seen during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A tourist gives her luggage to security guards as she tries to enter the departures gate during another demonstration by pro-democracy protesters at Hong Kong's international airport. AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Travellers react as they manage to walk through the protesters to the departure gates AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Rallies against a controversial extradition bill have continued across Hong Kong, since 9 June. It has plunged the city into crisis after several violent clashes occurred during the demonstrations. AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologised for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-government protesters try to prevent a passenger from breaching a barricade in front of departure gates. Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters use luggage trolleys to block the walkway to the departure gates AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters use luggage trolleys to block the walkway to the departure gates during a demonstration at the Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Protesters severely crippled operations at Hong Kong's international airport for a second day Tuesday, forcing authorities to cancel all remaining flights out of the city after demonstrators took over the terminals as part of their push for democratic reforms.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Vincent Yu AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: Protesters hold placards as they block the departure gate of the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 during a demonstration on August 13, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued rallies on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill since 9 June as the city plunged into crisis after waves of demonstrations and several violent clashes. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologized for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Anthony Kwan Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport TOPSHOT - A pro-democracy protester holds a placard during another demonstration at Hong Kong's international airport on August 13, 2019. - Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images PHILIP FONG AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport TOPSHOT - Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters (bottom) block access to the departure gates during another demonstration at Hong Kong's international airport on August 13, 2019. - Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images PHILIP FONG AFP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A woman holds a flower and posters showing people injured by police AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport epa07770792 Protesters hold signs during a sit-in against police violence in Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Hong Kong, China, 13 August 2019. Air passengers are facing a second day of disruption as the airport slowly gets back to capacity, following a mass protest on 12 August. Hundreds of flights are still marked as cancelled. EPA/LAUREL CHOR LAUREL CHOR EPA Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A traveller shouts while holding her luggage AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters try to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters use trolleys to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters use trolleys to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters show posters to travellers at the arrival hall AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: Protesters hold placards as they block the departure gate of the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 during a demonstration on August 13, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued rallies on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill since 9 June as the city plunged into crisis after waves of demonstrations and several violent clashes. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologized for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Anthony Kwan Getty

One of the most popular Cantonese slogans heard on protest marches is “Tzee-doi-ga-ming” which means revolution of our times, first coined by student leader, Edward Leung Tin-kai. Even seasoned local politicians, reluctant to talk of revolution, recognise the significance

Sin Chung Kai, former Legislative Council member and now Treasurer of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, told me at the the Yuen Long protest that he believed the younger generation now have a “revolutionary heart – they want to change the system.”

Mao was the arch revolutionary and originally, an advocate of democracy. His early ideology was forged on a visceral opposition to the social injustice in rural China. Later it embraced a moral disgust of the widespread corruption, violent oppression, crony capitalism and collusion with gangsters which characterised Chiang’s Kai-shek’s Nationalist government.

There are obvious parallels with 2019 Hong Kong where it’s cruelly ironic to see white-shirted triad gangs defending Beijing’s interests and attacking pro-democracy protestors with impunity. Jimmy Sham, convener of Hong Kong Civil Human Rights told local reporters yesterday that protests were no longer about political views but “about moral values and conscience.”

As Minxin Pei explains in his book China’s Crony Capitalism, China’s post 1979 economic policy has become “an incipient kleptocracy, characterised by endemic corruption, soaring income inequality and growing social tensions”. In Hong Kong, a handful of powerful corporate interests continue to control the economy with the tacit consent of Beijing.

Money talks in Hong Kong and after business leaders were summoned to Beijing this week, corporations like Cathay Pacific Airways, hastily announced their unerring support for Carrie Lam’s zombie government, praised the police and condemned “violent protests”. These days the tycoons will say almost anything to kowtow to Beijing’s economic might, as share prices trump ethics.

“The revolutionary war is a war of the masses,” Mao wrote in 1934 and on Sunday afternoon the masses will be mobilised once more. Radicals dressed in black, geared up in hard hats, goggles and face masks will be out in force but they are just the vanguard.

It’s disingenuous for Beijing to dismiss the protests as the work of radical extremists supported by Western powers when civil servants march, bankers march and lawyers march. Medics at Queen Elizabeth hospital staged a protest against police brutality today. I have interviewed teachers, IT consultants and social workers on recent protests. I have observed parents pushing toddlers in push-chairs and several protesters in wheelchairs.

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They represent a mass rejection of the political and economic establishment, brutality by the police force and its alleged collusion with organised crime. They believe the democracy which they were promised in 1997, is the only way to change things for the better.

“We should support whatever the enemy opposes and oppose whatever the enemy supports,” Mao said, which is about where the Hong Kong protesters are 80 years later

One twist to the historical irony is that the last time Hong Kong saw protests and civil unrest on this scale was the 1967 riots which were largely inspired and encouraged by Mao and the CCP, looking to destabilize the (then) British colony built on rampant capitalism. While Mao may have sympathised with the current protests, the modern CCP now finds itself as the poacher turned gamekeeper, defending crony capitalism and compliance with the status quo, at all costs.

“‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,’” Mao wrote in 1938 and in August 2019, everyone in Hong Kong is praying it doesn’t come to that.