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from the ain't-gonna-have-none-of-that-anti-talk dept.
China has barred two pro-independence politicians from taking seats in Hong Kong's legislature:
China's parliament passed a ruling on Monday that effectively bars two Hong Kong pro-independence politicians from taking office, Beijing's most direct intervention in the territory's legal and political system since 1997 handover. The National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing ruled that lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and that candidates would be disqualified if they changed the wording of their oath of office or if they failed to take it in a sincere and solemn manner.
The prospect of the ruling had sparked protests in the former British colony on Sunday. Foreign diplomats were watching closely, stressing the importance of the rule of the law to the city's international reputation. While the controversial decision effectively bars the two pro-independence Hong Kong politicians from being sworn in, a court in the Chinese-ruled city must still rule on the case, taking Beijing's decision into consideration.
Also at NYT and Washington Post.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 07 2016, @06:13PM
I find an interesting metric: "how many non-U.N. military bases does your country have inside another country?"
I don't. After all, most empires, past and present didn't have military bases in other countries, they had them in their own territory. If you had a Roman fortress nearby, it was because you were part of the Roman empire either directly or as a completely subservient client state. Rome didn't have equal relationships with its clients like the US has with Japan, Taiwan, Canada, or Europe, for example, which are all regions that the US has military bases with.
Another metric is balance of trade. A huge trade deficit like the US has run forever, is kind of the opposite of what an empire does. It accumulates wealth and resources instead of dispersing them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @07:20PM
The US doesn't have military bases in Taiwan.