Senior Chinese military officials discussed a possible armed intervention in Hong Kong during the 2014 Umbrella Movement and ordered preparations so troops could act immediately if directed, according to classified documents reported by Kyodo News on Sept. 30.

The documents were obtained by Takashi Suzuki, a professor at Daito Bunka University in Japan who researches Chinese politics. They contain records of remarks made at Chinese military meetings held between October and November 2014.

One document dated Nov. 2 records Wei Liang, then political commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region, saying, “We must make full preparations to respond to an extreme situation in Hong Kong with military action.”

Wei Liang also said, “Once we receive the order, we will immediately take action to ensure that the situation is brought under control.”

The Guangzhou Military Region was responsible for southern China at the time. Kyodo News reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, also attended military meetings referenced in the documents.

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Suzuki said the documents show there was a real possibility that Chinese troops could have been deployed to suppress Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.

Toru Kurata, a Hong Kong politics expert at Rikkyo University in Japan, said the documents marked the first time evidence had emerged that the Chinese military considered intervening in Hong Kong during the protests. Chinese troops were ultimately not deployed.

Kyodo News reported that Beijing’s decision not to use military force may have reflected lessons from the international isolation China faced after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

How the Umbrella Movement unfolded

The Umbrella Movement lasted 79 days, from Sept. 26 to Dec. 15, 2014. Student activist Joshua Wong and others launched a class boycott and entered the forecourt of the Hong Kong government headquarters’ East Wing on the evening of Sept. 26, drawing large numbers of supporters.

In the early hours of Sept. 28, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, and Chu Yiu-ming announced the launch of “Occupy Central with Love and Peace.” The protests continued for more than two months.

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