China Enacts Security Law, Asserting Control Over Hong Kong
Beijing's top legislative body has unanimously passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong, a controversial move that could effectively criminalize most dissent in the city and risks widening the rift between China and western countries who have criticized the law.
The news was first reported by local Hong Kong media: cable televsion station NOWNews; the city's public broadcaster; and a slew of newspapers, including Wei Wen Po and Ta Kung Pao, two pro-Beijing outlets which often signal official Chinese policy.
Hours later, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported President Xi Jinping had already signed the measure into law. Xinhua said it will be incorporated into Hong Kong's Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, and become effective Wednesday, the anniversary of Hong Kong's 1997 handover from British to Chinese Rule.
Hong Kong security law: Anger as China's Xi signs legislation
One key pro-democracy group said it was now ceasing all operations. Demosisto announced the move on Facebook after Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong's most prominent activists, said he was leaving the group, which he had spearheaded.
[...] Demosisto said several members had asked to be delisted and it had decided to "dissolve and stop all meetings". It said that the fight against "totalitarian oppression" would have to continue in a "more flexible manner". Joshua Wong said the law marked "the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before".
Also at NYT, Reuters, and Hong Kong Free Press.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday July 01 2020, @08:20AM
And Sony
And Disney
And Anita Bryant...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 5, Informative) by quietus on Wednesday July 01 2020, @08:26AM (18 children)
The new security legislation applies to people in Hong Kong and to those not in the territory: foreign nationals who speak in favour of independence for the region, or advocate sanctions against China, could be prosecuted upon entering Hong Kong or mainland China.
Source: Financial Times, HK begins crackdown despite foreign condemnation, Juli 1.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:02AM (17 children)
and now you can see the lack of determination of China: the US will even do its best to extradite you for breaking their laws, even if you don't break any laws in the country where you live.
well, I expect that China will grow up soon and learn how to follow through properly.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by EJ on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:17AM (16 children)
The United States does not extradite people for saying bad things about it.
(Score: 5, Touché) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:44AM (11 children)
say what? [theguardian.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:45PM (10 children)
That's not "saying bad things about the government" that's leaking classified documents. Which is really mixing up two separate issues.
One government cracks down on you, if you voice an opinion (China). The other cracks down on you, if you release classified data to the public (USA).
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday July 01 2020, @05:13PM (1 child)
Under US law, it isn't illegal to release classified information to the public [wikipedia.org] if you aren't somebody with a US security clearance. The alleged crime of Julian Assange wasn't publishing classified information, but his supposed role in causing the US intel agencies to be hacked.
And it should be pointed out that he's been held under conditions considered torturous by some international observers for over a year and hasn't been tried for anything. This violates the US Bill of Rights, the EU Conventions on Human Rights, and the UK Human Rights Act. So let's just say this really isn't about the law, is it?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:33PM
He hasn't actually been detained by anyone other than the UK police at this point, so everything is of his own making atm. From what I gather, UK prisons are much nicer than the USA prison system. Which itself isn't a very nice system. Better than lots of places, but still not so good.
Personally, I think he's gone through enough. I just don't think the USA will stop trying to get it's hooks into him. I've got conflicting feelings about all the leaks going on, but in some instances it was something that the people needed to know about.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 01 2020, @05:25PM (7 children)
Obama's DOJ considered him a reporter and protected by the First Amendment.
As the Obama DOJ Concluded, Prosecution of Julian Assange for Publishing Documents Poses Grave Threats to Press Freedom [theintercept.com]
So you can thank the Trump Admin for that bit of authoritarianism.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:36PM (6 children)
Ahh.., is that why Obama / the Obama DOJ came out and said that the USA was going to drop all charges against Julian Assange. Oh, he/they didn't? Nevermind, then.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 01 2020, @07:54PM (5 children)
The US never charged him with anything until Trump was elected.
You can't drop charges that were never brought...
WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Charged in 18-Count Superseding Indictment - Thursday, May 23, 2019 [justice.gov]
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday July 01 2020, @08:56PM (3 children)
A mere formality, when it became convenient to do so.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indictment_and_arrest_of_Julian_Assange [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:04PM (2 children)
You understand that those quotes prove me correct, right?
2012/2013: No indictment, AKA no charges.
2018: An indictment, AKA charges.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:15PM (1 child)
The point I was trying to get across is that he may not have been officially charged until then, but the moment it looked like or that he did step out of the embassy, is when charges would have been filed. Obama just didn't have to deal with it, because of how long he remained in asylum. Obama could have nipped it in the bud, but he didn't. Trump could have too, but it seems unlikely that he will.
Assange's only hope has always been that the place he is at, won't extradite him.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:59PM
He left the embassy over a year AFTER that indictment. (Apr 11, 2019) [cnet.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:57AM
How do you know charges were never brought? They didn't have to make them public until they're trying to extradite Assange.
(Score: 5, Touché) by SpockLogic on Wednesday July 01 2020, @11:57AM (3 children)
Correct, they use a Hellfire missile from a drone to execute them.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @02:41PM
If if if if...
(Score: 3, Offtopic) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:07PM (1 child)
Or just block the publication before it happens.
Judge blocks release of book by Trump's niece [politico.com]
Resulting in crickets from all the avowed Free Speech Warriors on SN...
(Score: 3, Informative) by khallow on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:26AM
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @08:27AM (4 children)
This is unfortunate but not unexpected given China's countless history of human rights abuses including Tiananmen Square, Uighurs, and Tibet.
Condolences to the residents of Hong Kong.
共匪
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:39PM (3 children)
At least Chinese people never enslaved Black citizens. At least Chinamen never rode around wearing sheets and hooded masks to terrorize their Black countrymen. At least China's security forces never oppressed their Black people with distribution of crack cocaine, HIV and handguns. China is heaven for Black people.
黑人的命也是命
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:43PM (1 child)
You didn't see what China did to black people during the Corona Virus I take it.
First search result. [latimes.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:58PM
Whataboutism aside... To be fair, just because members of the 50 Cent Army are being paid to astroturf public opinion does not mean that they are unaware of the reality behind their frequently misleading and factually incorrect assertions.
五毛党
(Score: 4, Touché) by Thexalon on Wednesday July 01 2020, @05:18PM
Ah yes, the good old And you are lynching Negroes [wikipedia.org] defense. I mean, if you want to get into American crimes, there's the genocide of Native Americans too.
Which are all, of course, irrelevant to whether China is an exemplar of human rights.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by EJ on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:19AM (3 children)
Totalitarian oppression is what some groups want for the USA.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:57PM (1 child)
Yes, but fortunately SJWs are in the minority here.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:37AM
We know, you alt-right clowns work double time to sock puppet in the saddest display around.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:22PM
I've even read on here that "It's the only way to stop them". Yikes.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AnonTechie on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:23AM (11 children)
It seems to be the end of Hong Kong as we know it. Ever since the takeover of Hong Kong in 1997, the Beijing Government has tried to subtly control all aspects of life. In recent years, the Beijing Government has thrown away the fig leaf of subtlety and has openly advocated its policies to control Hong Kong. Without any credible opposition to their plans and with full knowledge that the world powers will do nothing more that give press statements, they have gone ahead and implemented their version of one-country, two-systems !!
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:31AM (2 children)
1 country, 1.5 systems
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @05:29PM (1 child)
1 country, no system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:10PM
one country, one false flag.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:15PM (7 children)
Actually this was how it was supposed to go, except the time schedule might have been cut in half or so depending on your perspective. China agreed to keep Hong Kong more or less free (one country - two systems) free for 50 years, they would keep their capitalist system and way of life. Then they would become part of China, whatever that included then. China changed a bit since 1997. But as long as they allow them to keep the capitalist system etc they are still holding up the deal. They might just have sneakily gutted the deal and made it paper thin but still deals is a deal and the devil is in the details and all of that. It might have been a tad optimistic really to believe things wouldn't change at all for 50 years, there would be a gradual transition of some things -- everyone knew that. Yet signed the deal anyway.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:53PM (6 children)
Cutting the time schedule in half was not how it was supposed to go.
And that "more or less free" part which you glossed over.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:09PM (5 children)
On the other hand there is a lot of things that they have not done which they could have done if they are just on some kind of deal breaking spree. There still isn't Chinese-style socialism there -- yet. But it's going to come. The goal is to make it a part of mainland China. That is inevitable. Is that going to be better/less painful or whatever you want to call it if it happens "now" or in another 20:ish years. Better with a gradual transition then to have it all happen at the flip of a switch.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:16PM (4 children)
FTFY. It's nice that there's constraints on China's behavior in this matter, but we need to keep in mind that they did break the deal even if they could have broken it more than they did.
China could do nothing for another three decades and the inevitable would still happen. What's the rush?
Less pain if it happens later. Hong Kong is in a better situation now than it will be as another city in China. So the more that day of transition is put off, the better.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:01PM (3 children)
As I understand it, HK really doesn't have much to offer economically, except that it was a gateway to China's economy so it became a big financial and trade center. It was never any kind of manufacturing hub (though Shenzen, almost next door to it, is). So the problem is that if they just get absorbed into China, they're no longer attractive as a financial/trade hub, so the city is probably going to implode, or at least stagnate, economically.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:50PM (1 child)
Which turned out to be quite a lot actually.
Why is that of value to China?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday July 02 2020, @07:26PM
Which turned out to be quite a lot actually.
Yes, it *was* a lot. It only worked because of HK's unique relationship with China and the fact that it wasn't actually part of China (and later, was "sorta" part of China, but not really, with an autonomous government). This move ends this. HK is now just another Chinese city, so these special features are gone, meaning HK no longer has a reason to exist.
Why is that of value to China?
Well, it was of value to HK and its citizens and its economy, and presumably HK did remit some kind of tax revenues to China, as well as enabling trade. I fail to see how HK was anything other than a large economic plus for China. That's all going away now.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:36AM
Agree. China is about to kill a golden goose.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 01 2020, @10:47AM (9 children)
Hong Kong students don't want to go home now [abc.net.au]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:17PM (8 children)
Fine, they'll help defend Australia [theconversation.com] (yikes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:34PM (3 children)
40% increase in budget [webseven.se], including long range missiles [theguardian.com]
Now the Hong Kong residents can be scared of China and Australia!
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:40PM (2 children)
Yeees, but then... we can defend East Timor [wikipedia.org] from being belted [futuredirections.org.au]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:45PM (1 child)
Now 20% or 30% to Australia [sbs.com.au], so that might qualify as "self defence"..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:00PM
FTFY. Because fer sure, there'll be some invoicing for the defense services rendered to the... ummm... partner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:25PM (3 children)
Well there's a by-election on. Nothing like threatening the residents of Pambula Beach with WW3 to distract from the government's bushfire response.
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:53PM (2 children)
Small fry at the federation level, the leaving MP was in opposition anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @02:27PM (1 child)
Kelly is ex-military and had ministerial responsibility for defence industry while in government.
Hardly "small fry" when it comes to posturing over cold war pork-barrelling.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:22PM
Mate, what would the Libs want from Eden-Monaro? They already have majority at federal level with or without it, the worst that can happen in this by-election is to have the seat "as Labor as it is now"; this by-election is small-fry for them, the pot isn't high enough to justify a WW3-posturing only to win one extra seat.
As for Kelly, I hear [abc.net.au] he left for Palantir - must've been an offer he couldn't refuse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @11:11AM (1 child)
I was planning a trip to buy some tea but I was worried about all the lawlessness I read about in The People's Daily. Now that the motherland has brought law and order back to this wayward province, and reigned in the Demosisto and Antifa terrorists, I feel it is safe to travel there again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:40PM
https://twitter.com/bagofhurt/status/1267822561615732739/photo/1 [twitter.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Dale on Wednesday July 01 2020, @12:56PM (5 children)
The only surprising thing about this is that it has taken so long. I would have thought they would have forced this a decade or more ago. The fact that things have gone on for over 20 years is the only surprising thing.
It is no different than when a company buys/merges/whatever another company and give lip service to "let them keep doing their thing." Every time it turns out the same, just with differing amounts of time. See any/all EA buys, what we're witnessing from Blizzard, and countless other examples.
Anyone in Hong Kong that looks at China and says "this is not what I want" should get out as soon as possible before the door closes. The UK has extended some possible exits for some portion of residents of Hong Kong. I don't know what other options there are for people, but hopefully those that don't want their kids or the kids' kids to live under the current situation will take action now before it is too late.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:13PM
Takes a while to move everything to bitcoin: https://decrypt.co/34047/the-most-secretive-bitcoin-wallet-just-moved-nearly-1-billion [decrypt.co]
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @02:40PM
We can do this [metro.co.uk]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:13PM
20 years is the time it takes to grow a generation with no connections.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by darkfeline on Thursday July 02 2020, @03:37AM
No, the surprising thing is that it passed unanimously. Usually, there's a single dissenting vote to give the impression of democracy; someone is selected beforehand to "represent opposing opinions". I guess they gave up trying to pretend.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2020, @08:56AM
China has a history of draining the bank accounts and disappearing people who do not have sufficient social standing
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @02:32PM
China is ruled by a murderous genocidal totalitarian regime. It's not like they need laws to do anything they fucking want.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @05:18PM (4 children)
At what point does China's expansionism go too far and get us into a hot World War III?
Allies so far are looking to be UK, US, India, and most likely any British Commonwealth nation such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. Also South Korea and Japan.
Axis would be China, North Korea. Russia's a wildcard. They historically don't like China; but they might form a pact. They already don't like the US. Europe is tricky. They might be able to stay neutral. Africa is still weak, and might be a battlefield over resources with sides TBD. South American countries might be in a similar position, or be able to remain neutral.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Thexalon on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:47PM
When they stop being key to the supply chains of most major Western corporations, and when they stop being key to the value of the US dollar. China's main defense has nothing to do with the military, and everything to do with how they could seriously screw up the US and EU economies any time they want to.
As for your wartime alliances, I don't see them shaking out the way you do, at least for the near future, for the simple reason that the US has for the last few years aligned itself diplomatically more with Russia and China and North Korea than with the EU and UK / Commonwealth.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @06:52PM
Europe neutral? There are 800 million people in Europe, grouped in dozens of different countries.
About 400 million of those people have idiotic notions about nation states and can barely wait to prove how their particular country is better than any other.
I would really like you to be right, but I doubt anyone can predict what Europe will do.
China going to war is somewhat problematic though, I'm not sure their population is as easy to control as it seems.
People certainly didn't fear making a hero out of the whistle-blowing doctor once he became well-enough known.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:08PM (1 child)
>Allies so far are looking to be UK, US, India, and most likely any British Commonwealth nation such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. Also South Korea and Japan.
The UK is a paper tiger; they really have little military power left, and little ability to project power. This was shown blatantly during the Falkland Islands war; that incident would have been a cakewalk for the US Navy but the UK had serious difficulty countering an invasion from a country as backwards as Argentina.
India is actually more militarily powerful and capable than people give them credit for. They're already pissed at China about a border dispute, but they actually have real combat experience from their troubles with Pakistan. China has a big military, but hasn't done any actual fighting for a long time.
AUS/NZ have small but capable Navies, especially AUS. Canada doesn't really have much. Japan, however, has one of the largest blue-water navies in the world, which a lot of people don't realize, and probably could easily take on China in a Naval shooting match. SK also has invested a lot into military power because of their rivalry with NK. But in a shooting war, NK is likely to jump in on China's side, which would keep them busy. NK has an immense amount of artillery pointed at Seoul, which is the only real reason anyone even pays attention to NK and doesn't just squash them.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:14PM
The US is the only other country you've mentioned that has demonstrated that capability to project military power thousands of miles (googling around, it appears that the Falkland Islands were crudely 1000 miles from Argentina and 8,000 miles from London). The UK also has more military experience than that same group of countries. So it's definitely not a paper tiger, but rather one of the most experienced and capable militaries you've so far mentioned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @11:44PM (7 children)
I'm told China has been king of the world multiple times and then imploded.
Perhaps a symptom of having too high an opinion of one's importance.
(Sadly, a common job risk with world leaders?)
Unlimited power was a plan in theory in WWx, but in practice
a nation's success in the world seems likely to require some deference to if the nation can be trusted to do what it says.
The HK agreement said China will not interfere with two systems till 2047.
The party's passing of a law without HK agreement is not an interference until it is acted on.
It will be interesting to see how China proceeds.
Is China a country/party that does what ever they please,
or are they a country that can be trusted to do what they say?
If the first, then I better order all the neat stuff I want before China's citizens figure it out and they implode.
If the second, then cool. I wish things were better here, but at least you guys have it together.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2020, @12:01AM (6 children)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53244862 [bbc.com]
They clearly broke what they signed about 1 country 2 systems lasting 50 years.
They can not be trusted. It's pure "might makes right".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:09AM (5 children)
Not a good sign.
What was the time from new law signed to troops on the street enforcing it?
Seems impressively quick for a though out response.
More like children acting out of impatience or fear.
Patience has historically been a strength of China.
Have they lost that strength, or are they afraid of HK freedom catching on in the rest of the China?
It doesn't make sense that they are just taking out of greed because HK won't be worth much after this.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday July 02 2020, @01:27AM (1 child)
It could be hubris, or it could just be their strength blossoming. They don't need to use patience anymore because there's almost no consequences.
Even if Hong Kong evaporates, that's just about 2.7% of their GDP. But it can probably continue to chug along after this, with some businesses and skilled individuals fleeing.
Whether or not it is a "good" move will be difficult to determine until years or decades later. The PRC could last another 100 years, or maybe only 10 years.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:14AM
Sounds like the California approach. Hopefully, China will replace the current clowns with someone who has a better interest in the future of their country.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:11AM
What patience? As noted, they merely had to wait till 2050. No need to rush.
This is not the first time [soylentnews.org] China has been accused without evidence of having competence at the long game.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:14AM (1 child)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/01/chinas-national-security-law-hong-kong-global-financial-center.html [cnbc.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2020, @08:52PM
The problem for Hong Kong is many of their low end workers aren't good in either Mandarin or English. Their mother tongue is Cantonese.
At high end they have some foreign "expats" or tycoons. At the mid end, they have competition from Singaporeans and other overseas Chinese who have better command of Mandarin and/or English.
At lower end they have competition from the cheaper workers in China.
Their "value add" is dropping. And their livelihoods and lifestyles along with it. So the HK protests might be fueled partly by such embers.
(Score: 2) by srobert on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:48PM
Don't worry HK. America always fights for democracy around the world. Boycotts, suspension of trade agreements, even military intervention, whatever it takes, America has your back.