Has Hong Kong already lost its battle against Chinese authority?

BEIJING - They are calling it Hong Kong's "last battle" - a David vs. Goliath struggle to prevent China from encroaching on the city's freedoms and autonomy - as Hong Kong authorities face massive opposition to a bill that would enable extradition to the mainland.

But with China's increasingly assertive approach to Hong Kong, the battle may already be lost.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam - who last year told a journalist that her favorite politician was Chinese leader Xi Jinping - insists the bill will go ahead, despite a mass protest Sunday that organizers said drew more than a million people. Authorities estimated the number to be a quarter of that.

Any reversal would not only humiliate Lam, but would embarrass Chinese authorities, making a backdown unlikely, according to analysts and