Communists indeed have no problem killing if necessary, but they are also very practical. China in fact doesn't need to do anything so drastic. HK is on the periphery of their political system and the politburo is probably united on the issue - so there is no immediate threat to China's stability or the Party itself.
They will probably quietly send more agents to "advise" HK Government and police, but otherwise, they will let HK twist in the wind, let the HK economy decline and try and slowly build a narrative that the protestors are hurting HK.
Wow.
Good analysis.
It’s the sensible (and of course terrible) thing to do for China.
Good analysis.
I also heard that the mainland government is employing criminal gangs to attack protesters. I don’t know if that’s true. A friend of mine who spends a lot of time in China told me this.
The one item missing from your analysis is that October 1 is the 70th anniversary of the communists coming to power. It’s my understanding the CCP is bound and determined to celebrate the glories of the Party on that day, and so Hong Kong must be pacified no later than a couple of weeks before then.