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China Backs Down on Hong Kong Following Attention From Telegram DDoS

China: The Chinese government has begun to back down their pressure on Hong Kong following clashes with civilians and the attention they received following their suspected DDoS of Telegram.  This week, officials have made moves to try to mend fences with the citizens of Hong Kong and convinced the police to recharacterize the events on June 12th to a demonstration instead of a riot.  This means that only those who threw bricks and struck officers with metal poles would be charged with rioting.  Previously, everyone who was detained was being charged as rioters.  The law which would allow for criminals to be extradited to China has been tabled for now but is not being withdrawn from consideration.  Following the DDoS of the Telegram app, which demonstrators were using to communicate, the Chinese government came under a great deal of scrutiny not only for the cyber attack but also for the political situation in China and Hong Kong.

Analyst Notes

China likely believed that the DDoS attack would not be so quickly or publicly attributed to them and likely felt that it was a safe choice for disrupting the protests. The public attribution of the attack, aside from being criminal, is a violation of the “one country, two systems” policy as it shows them meddling in the political affairs of Hong Kong. Backing down from their stance was likely viewed as their best option for restoring a sense of calm in the region.