More than that, Xi has been ginning up Chinese nationalist sentiment for months now as a way of distracting the Chinese populace from the economic hit they've t

More than that, Xi has been ginning up Chinese nationalist sentiment for months now as a way of distracting the Chinese populace from the economic hit they've taken/a supposed reason for their suffering. Hence all the conspiracy theories about COVID being starting by the US Army and such. If they're going to start projecting that nationalist sentiment outward, Hong Kong is low-hanging fruit.