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Millions Losing Access to Internet
Millions losing access to internet:
Millions of people look set to lose access to the free and open internet as China’s control over Hong Kong increases.
A new law was ushered in by Beijing last month that gave China sweeping powers over opposition against itself, both within its borders and outside of them, which could put people in jail for years if they commit vaguely defined political crimes.
The controversial national security law was used to make arrests within hours.
[...] Hong Kong police now have sweeping powers to order social media platforms and publishers to remove content, as well as ban the platforms altogether.
Undefined “exceptional circumstances” also give police the right to seize and search electronic devices.
A number of tech companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Zoom have said they’re pausing the review of law enforcement requests for data or stopping it altogether while they assess the impact of the new law.
[...] Tech companies and many others have been balancing a desire to uphold support for Hong Kong independence during recent protests with the desire to avoid annoying the Chinese government and losing access to its market of 1.4 billion, increasingly upwardly mobile citizens.
Hong Kong Downloads of Signal Surge as Residents Fear Crackdown
Hong Kong downloads of Signal surge as residents fear crackdown:
The secure chat app Signal has become the most downloaded app in Hong Kong on both Apple's and Google's app stores, Bloomberg reports, citing data from App Annie. The surging interest in encrypted messaging comes days after the Chinese government in Beijing passed a new national security law that reduced Hong Kong's autonomy and could undermine its traditionally strong protections for civil liberties.
The 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China came with a promise that China would respect Hong Kong's autonomy for 50 years following the handover. Under the terms of that deal, Hong Kong residents should have continued to enjoy greater freedom than people on the mainland until 2047. But recently, the mainland government has appeared to renege on that deal.
[...] The New York Times reports that "the four major offenses in the law—separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign countries—are ambiguously worded and give the authorities extensive power to target activists who criticize the party, activists say." Until now, Hong Kongers faced trial in the city's separate, independent judiciary. The new law opens the door for dissidents to be tried in mainland courts with less respect for civil liberties or due process.
This has driven heightened interest among Hong Kongers in secure communication technologies. Signal offers end-to-end encryption and is viewed by security experts as the gold standard for secure mobile messaging. It has been endorsed by NSA whistleblower Ed Snowden.
[...] Bloomberg has also reported on the surging adoption of VPN software in Hong Kong as residents fear government surveillance of their Web browsing.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:11PM (11 children)
That indeterminate future? It would include a complete regime change in China. Either the regime need be replaced, or the current regime suddenly takes human rights seriously. I can't see either happening within any of our life times.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Mykl on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:26PM (10 children)
I agree, but then I thought that same thing about the Soviet Union back in the 80's
The main difference I see this time is that China is hardly going to go broke when the West is still getting them to manufacture everything for them. Most Western businesses will put the profit line well ahead of any 'national interest' or noble purpose.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:41PM (8 children)
My impression is that China's population is not as docile as it seems.
And the current world crisis will lead to significant pull-backs from China and other places, since people can clearly see you can't rely on other countries.
There are 2 facts:
1. Italy didn't get the help it needed from the EU.
2. The US bought the entire stock of something that the whole world wants.
While I don't like the idea of anger and resentment driving policy, it's gonna happen, at least in the medium term.
Italians, in particular, won't forget very soon that they are on their own when it matters (although they sort of saw that already with the immigrants).
(Score: 3, Informative) by canopic jug on Thursday July 09 2020, @02:31PM
There are 2 facts:
1. Italy didn't get the help it needed from the EU.
2. The US bought the entire stock of something that the whole world wants.
... and ...
3. China is actively courting Italy with big money for a sea port [nytimes.com]
That was a year ago, things might have changed in either direction, but whichever way they are going needs to be factored into the analysis.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @02:31PM (3 children)
Your impression is wrong. The proportion of higher degree graduates is too small and their wealth is still growing [imf.org]** - the hope for a better life under the Big Brother is still good.
They still need some time (perhaps another generation) to reach the saturation point when even the state managed economy can't create jobs [icef.com] but they'll eventually reach it. All the former communist states (Russia included) had.
---
** why the tertiary degree graduates is relevant - have a look at the pyramid of human needs [wikipedia.org]. You can fool for a long time a mass of low educated people by blaming various "enemies of the people" for a bad life - they don't know better anyway - but it becomes increasingly difficult to do it when you have enough population able to think for themselves and searching for fulfillment beyond just the safety or belonging levels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:37PM (2 children)
The view we get of China is distorted. We live in urbanized countries, but China isn't. 80% of its population lives in the countryside. So what we hear comes from a small, relatively educated slice of a small, relatively cosmopolitan share of the populace. The urban elites are doing alright, but the regular Chinese are not. They're getting ground up by Beijing's drive for modernity.
We in the West should know this from stories like those coming out of FoxConn, where they put nets around their buildings to catch suicidal employees who fling themselves off the rooftops. But that raises too many uncomfortable questions about the shiny iPhones in our pockets, so it quickly disappears from the news cycle.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:48PM (1 child)
That's the very reason they are extremely compliant, their only chance is the Communist Party to drive them to a better life, if not for them, for their children.
They aren't rebellious because they simply can't do better by themselves; and they know it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:56PM
Citation: 'Hong Kong mob' — How mainland Chinese see the democracy movement [dw.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by quietus on Thursday July 09 2020, @06:45PM (2 children)
Please explain how Italy didn't get the help it needed from the EU.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 10 2020, @03:40AM (1 child)
They were refused special funding bonds for Covid-19, for one.
Also, northern do-gooders are encouraging and conveying a steady supply of illegal immigrants into the country.
(Score: 2) by quietus on Friday July 10 2020, @12:46PM
They were not. The EU cannot forbid a member country to give out bonds: it simply has no jurisdiction. If you're talking about eurobonds (which do not exist yet): that's a tool with enormous geopolitical implications. Those will not arrive until the economical and political relation with the United States is stabilized. If you're talking about the one-time borrowing through EU bond issuance of €600bn on the international markets: that discussion is still running indeed. That is not a truly urgent discussion though: its effects are already there for Italy, as it can borrow on the international markets at pre-covid rates again.
As to immigration and Wir Schaffen Das: note that (a) the immigration problem is much worse in Greece and (probably) Spain, (b) again, borders, as a core part of a nation's sovereignty, are not the jurisdiction of the European Union, (c) the migrant problem in Italy is not so much a problem of Africans -- though they get the most attention by Putin's buddy Salvini -- as well as of Eastern Europeans, and Chinese (in the Veneto region where the outbreak started).
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 09 2020, @04:43PM
You are right. China is projecting an appearance of strength and stability. But it has no more substance than the Great Leap Forward did. Search for "China ghost cities" and you'll find a lot of on-the-ground reporting of the vast, empty cities the Chinese government is building to keep restive workers busy, and to keep the ponzi scheme the cadres run going. But we all know that sooner or later ponzi schemes crash.
Even putting all that aside, it has been some ten years now that manufacturers have been shopping around for even cheaper labor in places like Vietnam or the Philippines to escape rising labor costs in China. Time is running out for Beijing, and they know it.
Washington DC delenda est.