Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations, says that Chinese military intervention in the ongoing Hong Kong protests is "an extremely dangerous prospect that lies on the horizon," noting a "much more militant posture" coming out of Beijing in recent years.

Schell made his comments during an appearance on Charlie Rose Monday night. Schell was joined by Nicholas Bequelin, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch, to discuss the recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

A previous agreement between China and Hong Kong stipulated universal suffrage by 2017. Under the plan recently approved by China, however, only candidates sanctioned by the Party would be included in the ballot for Chief Executive. 

When asked if the Chinese government may be willing to make compromises, Schell argued that is unlikely. China’s economic success brought a new level of confidence and the current political climate in Beijing is rigid, he said.

“[Xi Jinping] has surprised us,” Schell said. “His emphatic quality, in essence saying that the old system of Western pressure is no longer to be tolerated, and there is much more a sense in Beijing now that China is going to be in the world on its own terms.”