slow encroachment of china into the affairs of hong kong and the lessens of freedom within hong kong. the global business community has to be worried about this. hong kong, along with everything else, is the only place in china where there s rule of law. that governs contracts for business and doing business in china. it s critical, very dangerous when that is under threat. shepard: this escalation at the hong kong airport comes on the day that president trump blinked in his easy to win trade war. is that coincidental or is there significance? the president is thinking how do i play this? i don t want to antagonize xi jinping when i m trying to get a trade deal with the chinese, even if it s a fig leaf going to the election season. i need to resolve this situation with china. do i stand up now for the people of china and antagonize xi