China's tightly choreographed 70th birthday bash next week risks being upstaged by pro-democracy
protests in Hong Kong, which offer a starkly different take on the strength and power of the Communist Party being feted in Beijing.
As President
Xi Jinping gets ready to preside over a huge military parade and gala event on Tuesday, the former
British colony is in tumult over the erosion of its special freedoms by Beijing.
Hong Kong has been rocked by the worst political unrest since its handover to
China in 1997, with another round of clashes between
protesters and riot
police on Saturday and Sunday.