My formative years saw David Hasselhoff singing “Looking for Freedom” atop the Berlin Wall (1989) and Scorpions singing “Winds of Change” (1991) as the Soviet Union prepared to fall.
It was an optimistic time filled with hope for the future of people around the world who would be able to write their own destinies as they saw fit, and a time when it seemed the U.S. itself might even be inspired by it.
Frank Fukuyama wrote about “The End of History” first as an article (1989) and then a book (1992) speculating that we had reached a point of victory for humanity where liberal democracy had triumphed for good.
1989 wasn’t entirely triumphant. It’s been 30 years since ‘Tank Man’ stood athwart the People’s Liberation Army of China, in what seemed like an historical moment for that nation. We’ve seen much economic liberalization yet personal liberty has remained restricted.
Looking back the hopefulness of this era seems so, and I feel so, naive. In both security policy and economics we’ve forgotten which direction traffic flowed over the Berlin Wall, and indeed we’re seeking to build new walls. We used to talk about the ‘peace dividend’ but militaries are larger than ever. Trade which has brought so much wealth to the world, and the world’s least advantaged, is derided as a destructive force. How is it that we came so far, yet have forgotten so much?
Maybe that’s why I find the protesters in Hong Kong so inspiring. I’ve been advising against travel there as a tourist since before protests made their way to the airport. That doesn’t mean I turn my back on their cause.
Hong Kong and Kowloon were ceded in perpetuity in the 19th century to Great Britain, and the New Territories were ceded until 1997 just before the turn of the century. In 1984 the U.K. and China agreed that the entire area would revert to mainland China in 1997, but Hong Kong’s market-oriented institutions would remain in place for 50 years – through 2047.
Now, 22 years in, China treats Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region. There’s passport control between Hong Kong and the mainland. But Beijing exercises increasing amounts of control.
Hong Kong has faced massive and escalating protests over mainland China’s control. The proximate cause was proposed legislation that would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China at the request of Beijing, however protests have expanded to seek greater freedom and less intervention from mainland China.
No one knows for sure what happened to tank man. The quarter of the entire Hong Kong population that’s turned out in protests is well aware of what can happen to anyone defying the Chinese state.
And while they talk about ‘free elections’ what they don’t seek to be merely one vote in support of Beijing, they want freedom.
Tell me you can watch this without tearing up.
More than thousand HKers sing Les Miserables' 'Do you hear the people sing?' at HK international airport with their calls for free election and democracy. Here is the Ground Zero in the war against authoritarian rule. That's the reason for us never surrender. pic.twitter.com/1MkTp4BkVg
— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 (@joshuawongcf) August 10, 2019
“Do You hear the people sing,” by the way, is banned in China.
Myself I can’t look at the images from the airport, and elsewhere, without crying. This may be the most ‘Hong Kong-ish’ photo ever:
【Sorry for inconvenience. HK is sick.】
1. We would like to sincerely apologize for all inconvenience caused by the peaceful demonstration at the HK International Airport. pic.twitter.com/jduMrjBh4I
— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 (@joshuawongcf) August 14, 2019
Chinese troops, meanwhile, mass near Hong Kong.
We can confirm the presence of a large number of Chinese paramilitary troops stationed at a sports complex in Shenzhen, just miles from the border with Hong Kong. Some seen here carrying shields and helmets. An officer wouldn’t tell us why they were there and forced us to leave. pic.twitter.com/cUzRLdiqb5
— Matt Rivers (@MattRiversCNN) August 14, 2019
The official U.S. position is “it’s none of our business” – such a departure from U.S. support for the Solidarity movement in Poland.
Wilbur Ross to CNBC on Hong Kong: "The question of it is what role is there for the U.S. in that manner? This is an internal matter."
— Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) August 14, 2019
It’s not clear what the U.S. can do, or any of us can beyond paying attention, outside intervention could just as easily play into Chinese hands dismissing and minimizing the moment as some sort of external plot, delegitimizing the grassroots nature of the protests.
We may not be able to do very much, but we have our sympathy to offer and we can be inspired by what people will risk for freedom and not be so cavalier about giving away our own.
Thank you so much. Words failed me at the moment. Thank you
Amen Gary.
Well said, Gary.
Your best post ever!
I have visited Hong Kong twice in the last two years for leisure and have extended family there. It’s probably one of my three favorite places in the world. Unfortunately I-and the- believe this will end badly.
Cool, this is my last my last time visiting your page. Thanks for the ride but if you side with the violence, be it
Apologize for the inconvenience??? lol, these folks should just go get a job
causing Chinese officials to lose face is a dangerous game
Thank you so much for writing this. I’ve also found it challenging to get through some of these videos without tearing up or just straight up breaking down. Most of those protestors are so young and carrying so much weight on their shoulders trying to fight Goliath on their own. They need all the support they can get from those of us in the west. The protests got out of control yesterday but you can just tell that the heart of the protests is good. They are fighting for the most worthy cause I can think of.
Fine words and a such true observations.
Hong Kong is such a great city – just hope that there is a way forward for the Hong Kongers.
why not showing the violence and lies from the protestors? i think the article did not show the whole story.
Awesome post!
Thanks Gary for sharing with your readers
Agree!
Stopped over in HK 5-days for New Year’s on way back to NYC from 2-weeks in Philippines for my partner’s family homecoming/reunion.
Had heavy cold since day after Xmas (had to wait until onset of “Walking Pneumonia” before doctors consulted in Manila & in NYC finally prescribed medication), so certainly was NOT feeling my best during the entire stay, and even had to cut back a few things on our “to see or do” list, too.
And yet, it was LOVE at 1st sight and ever since for this incredible city that I can’t wait to have a chance to get back to.
So, it’s with great fear & trepidation that I read/watch the news of ongoing events as it does appear that the extradition bill will not be withdrawn, tensions will escalate, and well…even more political repression & further reduction (elimination?) of free speech will be imposed instead.
Here’s hoping that’s NOT the outcome for this amazing city – but right now, it doesn’t appear like Hong Kong as we now know it is the Hong Kong that will be in the not too distant future.
Not as long as an attempt to stealthily impose a backdoor extradition treaty that will kill free speech & political dissent in Hong Kong is “suspended” instead of completely withdrawn.
And if that hasn’t happened by now, it’s hard to imagine that backdoor extradition treaty ever being withdrawn as it must be to begin defusing this political crisis.
CORRECTING IN THE ABOVE:
Here’s hoping that’s NOT the outcome for this amazing city – but right now, it doesn’t appear like Hong Kong as we now know it to be is the Hong Kong that it WILL BE in the not too distant future.
This is your BEST post in the over 5 years I have been reading your blog. To all my friends and the other protesters In Hong Kong please be safe and know when to leave the protest are for your safety. You are dealing with a pure evil government that has already killed 100million+ people since it took over in 1949.
My sincere THANK YOU to you Gary.
The latest rhetoric from Beijing to the HKSAR government is, “dont give up an inch. quash the protests with police force. we are 100% behind you.”
With the 70th anniversary of the PRC coming on Oct 1st, and the Chinese leader wants everything is quieted by then, it would not surprise anyone that blood shed would come. Yet the Hong Kongers continue their quests, knowing full well what is waiting for them. There is some Heroism in this.
a typical western mouthpiece
I do not understand this post. Why are we supporting protestors that caused an entire airport to shut down for two days and inconvenienced thousands of travelers?
In my experience, people in Hong Kong are very elitist. While they treat white people very nicely, they despite people from mainland China with the utmost annoyance. As an American borned Chinese, I experience this first handed countless times.
The same is true when flying Cathay Pacific. It is an open secret that when flying Cathay, you need to speak English. Flight attendants become very rude and are downright hostile when you speak Chinese. On the other hand, when speaking English, the flight attendants suddenly transform into ANA flight attendants and provide very attentive service. As such, many people in China want to see the demise of CX, including me, and in particular their flight attendants who Always have two different standards.
I hope Cathay will go out of business in the near future, and I am sure millions of Chinese people will celebrate with me when that happens.
Funny, I have never been treated rudely when I speak to the CX staff in Chinese, onboard their flights or on the ground. I wouldn’t want them to go out of business.
Super post, Gary. Easily your best.
Good commentary and an American View! Democracy for everyone. Bye bye Bin. The violence has only been from authorities or in self defense. Is Bin a Chinese bit?
Just like here in USA. We must #KeepResisting fascism and racism
I know there’s nothing we can do, but I appreciate the post and agree.
My fear is a repeat of the 1989 massacre of thousands of protesters. I’m reminded, sadly, of the lyrics in a Sick Puppies song. You stand in front of tanks, the tanks are gonna win…
@John Smith
“As an American borned Chinese”
Nice try, mainlander.
Way to work in three completely irrelevant digs on Trump. How is pushing back against the trade abuses of the same regime looking to put the screws to HK equivalent to deriding trade as a destructive force? You do understand that the tariffs are a negotiating plow, not a desired end state, don’t you?
How is demanding that we as a nation should be allowed to control our borders, as every other country in the world does, somehow the equivalent of the Berlin Wall? You mention the flow of ppl the Berlin Wall was attempting to stop… don’t you see a big difference between keeping your own ppl from leaving and stopping the illegal unchecked flow of ppl in, something that no other country in the world tolerates?
Finally, you criticize the Trump admin for not meddling, yet the left is constantly critical of USA meddling in foreign affairs (Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, etc). Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess. Obviously aggressive action against the superpower that previous lax administrations helped create would be very risky, so what exactly would you propose? Or are you just another TDS afflicted lefty who will criticize Trump as being racist and un-American for taking the exact same positions as Obama did?
I’m pulling for the people of HK, but this post misses the mark badly.
you call protesters inspiring? I hope you ban from going to hong kong or in transit. They destroying hong kong, and hong kong is part of China’s land no matter what.
Very well said. Thank you.
Oh boy, I hope you don’t have any upcoming trips to the mainland! You may never be heard from again …
Great post, Gary. I have very little confidence for the future there, but admire the brave people trying to be free.
I visited China once, in 1993. The people on the streets seemed exhausted and resigned. What a depressing place. I sent a postcard saying “Greetings from the world’s largest prison.”
Plus ca change…
Keep protesting Hongkongers. Don’t give up.
Almost think these are a bunch of western born Chinese thinking that there won’t be any pushback from their actions. Now the mainland is going to crack down even harder on hk.
As a frequent visitor to Hong Kong since colonial times, I have a deep affection for the place and its people. But the reality is that we, as outsiders, cannot do much of anything to help them here. They will have to help themselves. They did not help themselves yesterday. They need to be smarter. They need to have good leaders. They need to earn the sympathy and respect of the Chinese people. It will not be an easy struggle.
Thank you for your post Gary!
After the Chinese communists did a bit of ethnic genocide on millions of Uyghurs, they turned to Hong Kong.
I encourage people to search on the “Confucius Society” to learn how the PLA is undermining colleges and media in the USA. And trolls posting on travel blogs.
HK is a real life drill for how China will deal with Taiwan.
Re: US foreign policy, it was disgusting how the Obama admin and Kerry didn’t help the Green Revolution in Iran. Instead, they gifted the Mullahs and the IRG billions of $ and the terrible JCOPA; aka Iran deal.
Very timely and on-point post! I can only hope for the best for the Hong Kong people knowing that China is taking a hard line on all dissent. At least Taiwan is seeing what potential integration into China would be like for them and any military action would only strengthen their resolve to stay independent.
On a humorous note, it’s entertaining to read some of the obvious China posters trying to keep the Chinese propaganda machine going.
Of course we should stand with the people of Hong Kong who have a right to self determination just like every group whether Catalonia, the conservative states in America who want nothing to do with Washington or the liberal coastal cities, or the British wanting to be free of the EU.
Please don’t conflate building walls designed to keep people who bring violent crime, poverty, oversupply of labor, poor standards and a desire for more taxation of productive people to pay for their benefits, with walls like the Berlin Wall or in North Korea designed to keep people in at gun point. Defending borders is defending freedom and self determination.
@John Smith
Agree on your comment on Cathay Pacific. China has been offer countless benefit to CX in order to maintain HK as international aviation hub. Air China owns share of CX. In the meantime Air China owns Shenzhen airlines. For so many years, Air China has been in favor of CX and prevents Shenzhen airline to buy big planes(A333, B777) to operate long-haul routes. The downturn of HK would finally make Shenzhen to grow as international hub, which is long overdue.
Thank you for your post and your support to Hong Kong people.
There are a few points I want to make:
1.the violence of protesters is relatively low level and it is in respond to the increasing police brutality and abusive arresting behaviors. No car is burnt or flipped and no store is robbed during the whole movement. The actions of the protesters are no where near the definition of “riot” but as defined as one by the government.
2. For the closure of the airport, all the protesters were just sitting in the departure and arriving areas. It was the government’s decision to shut down the airport to make the protester look bad and win the public opinion over the world.
One last thing, Hong Kong people are not even seeking “greater freedom”. They are just trying to protect the eroding and limited freedom that is left after 22 years of being a “Special Administrative Region”.
Thank you Gary.
I was raised in HK. Now living in USA and still go back every year. I was just in HK 2 weeks ago, attended some protests. It’s an unbelievable experience for me, a Hong Konger, to witness the (mainly) peaceful protests and then saw the police brutality on TV at night. There are a lot of truthiness out there (just like Fox news vs CNN…etc). It’s increasingly hard to get the facts. My home is no longer recognizable.
And to the other poster. Yes, it’s an inconvenience to block airport and affect tourists. But remember, HKers had protests 10 weeks in a roll. We tried and the government ignored. You may not know, HK is on the brink of extinction. If we don’t speak out now, we may never have a chance again. 1 country 2 system is already dead.
It is sad to see a number of Chinese commenters have clearly bought their government’s propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Although, I suppose a certain degree of mental gymnastics is needed to see these images and yet continue to happily live under tyranny.
This is a stark reminder that none of the freedoms we enjoy should be taken lightly. Great post, Gary!
@WR2 I think you misread me if you saw my post as “criticiz[ing] the Trump admin for not meddling”
I wrote, “It’s not clear what the U.S. can do, or any of us can beyond paying attention, outside intervention could just as easily play into Chinese hands dismissing and minimizing the moment as some sort of external plot, delegitimizing the grassroots nature of the protests.”
I think too you miss the point of the free flow of goods and people, i.e. freedom.
So many Chinese commenters are out today of course pushing the gov agenda. Of course we should stand with the HKers. I just hope it doesn’t end badly, HK might not be the same my next visit and that will be sad.
I disagree with you on a lot of things Gary, but this is not one of them.
Superb post…..thank you.
If you want to see how to do a crackdown on protest movements that make the moves against Hong Kong protesters look mild and highly ineffective in comparison, see what the Chinese are doing in Xinjiang province and what the Indians have done in the Indian part of Kashmir this month.
Unfortunately, the democratic aspirations of the people of Hong Kong will end up being squashed by the PRC.
Democracies also squash the democratic aspirations of people under their control. The government of India in Kashmir, India is an example of that, and there are others too.
Liberal democratic systems are under siege from within and from beyond in too many parts of the world. And a large part of why these strains are what they are is attributable to the ways of Internet use and to the TV/cable/visual/internet media needing to grab attention and keeping an audience hooked to coming back/staying.
While I wish the peaceful aspirations of the HK protesters don’t end up run over by the PRC, we live in an era where strong and wrong tend to beat weak and right. And in this regard the PRC is strong, as so it’s only a matter of time until China tries to pull in Hong Kong what India just pulled off in Kashmir.
Gary just ignore the RaTS (Racist Trump Supporters) like WR2, not worth your time
Thank you, Gary.
To add another data point, a lot of “disruptions and violence” by the protestors are fake. Undercover HK cops, mainland China cops, and mainland China military are planted among the protestors to initiate the disruptions and violence. Quite a few aggressive “protestors” have been matched with pictures as cops. That’s why when the guy who dressed as a protestor, caught later at the airport as a Shenzhen (neighboring mainland China city) cop was found by protestors, they were furious. He was also seen in a picture taken with the gangsters who attacked anyone passing-by a few days ago in Tsuen Wan. Then the one that threw the China flag into the Victoria Harbor has also been identified as a Hong Kong cop with pictures.
Hong Kongers are ready to lose everything, but we are not going to give up without a fight. The protests started months ago and the government ignored them. There was another major one in 2014 that the government again ignored. It has been 22 years since the turnover. Things are just going DOWN. Once again, Hong Kongers won’t give up without a fight, and we need all the help and support we can get.
LOL. UA-NYC (aka Manhattan Waterbug) shows his face. Everyone knows that Waterbugs come out at night. And yuck-a-doodle, they fly.
Amazing ignorance from some commenters. One group sucks up to the Chinese the other group sucks even more to Trump.
If the PRC brings in military forces, then this will turn into the world’s problem. Because, you see, the PRC made an agreement. There are still 28 years left for that agreement. If Hong Kong turns into a war zone, life as we know in Hong Kong, ends. But, China will never be trusted again!
I don’t really blame Hong Kongese for protesting. This is their last chance to prevent their territory turning into a full blown province of the PRC!
Rather than stay away from Hong Kong and punish them for protesting, which furthers China’s new goal of punishing them economically, the thing to do is go to Hong Kong in solidarity and stay away from mainland China.
Boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The United States and Great Britain should vocally call for the obvious solution: Beijing should announce that Hong Kong can become an independent country,
First of all, THANK YOU, Gary. I am glad that you share this post.
I am not from HK but from South Korea. In our history, South Korean had similar protest on May 18th, 1980. (Gwangju Uprising) They fought for freedom and dictatorship; and a lot of people could not see sunshine anymore.
Yes, Freedom is not Free. But time is changed; Media is not just on radio or TV, but there are many “ordinary” people could watch and share over the Internet. If more people keep eyes on it, Chinese government cannot repeat what they did at Tiananmen Square 30 years ago.
I am not a person who against Chinese government. But I am an ordinary man, who hopes that all people should have freedom and equality. And I also wish all people should not see their blood because of wishing their freedom.
I hope that nobody cries, nobody get hurt and no one dies from this protest. I pray for HK people and their freedom.
Once again, thank you. I will keep eyes on this protest and I hope more people do too.
“In 1984 the U.K. and China agreed that the entire area would revert to mainland China in 1997.”
So what’s the problem?
Im a fairly conservative white guy and my other half is from Taiwan so I am by no means pro China. I feel bothered, ticked off even, when I see a PRC flag flying in Hong Kong or Macau. I understand the very legitimate fears of the people in Hong Kong. However, many of the protesters have gone too far. There is no reason to block passengers, attack police officers, and commit other violent acts such as knocking a Mainlander unconscious because they suspected he might be a spy pretending to be a reporter, then prevent help from coming before finally throwing stuff at him as he was being moved away on a stretcher. I don’t care if Chairman Mao had come back to life and shown up at HKG disguised as a reporter – there is no excuse for that mayhem. Hats off to the HK PD for being able to use such restraint. I stand for Hong Kong but I can’t support the subset of protesters who are committing violence and causing chaos just like I won’t support those in the US who at times use protests as a reason to unleash chaos, vandalize, commit acts of violence, and loot.
@Richard: The facts have changed.
The people of Hong Kong don’t want to be serfs of the Beijing regime. They want to be free, and the way to achieve that is independence.
Wow, lots of comments suddenly gone. Learning from your Chinese overlords very well, aren’t you Gary? HK ppl should get used to it.
@L3 What if a state, say California or Texas, tried to seek “independence” from the United States of America? How should we expect the federal government respond? And should other countries get involved in how the U.S. decides to handle it?
@Richard: If California wants to leave we should help them pack their bags.
Texas, The Republic of Texas, has such a recision provision in its constitution. If the Democrats choose a Venezuelan nominee (e.g. Bernie Maduro, Elizabeth Maduro), then Texas should invoke the provision.
Note the way that the flow of people is going. From CA to TX.
If other countries want to support freedom — more power to them!
@L3 why are the protesters afraid of bullets? Independence cause lives. Fight to the end or find a job. Hong Kong people only love money. I am sure there is financial support behind this and was caught. If these useless young people could find a better job, they will leave in no time. They just envy other people are rich and want to block these people’s normal life. It is obvious now, isn’t it? There is no excuse for violence. The police have the right of force to keep the law.
@KK: We will put you down as a candidate for ‘The Manchurian Candidate.’
(Then, even you, will have a job!)
@L3 The point is whether it’s California or Texas, a blue state or a red state, we wouldn’t expect the federal government to let any state “pack their bags” and cede from the USA. HK is effectively a “state” of China.
The U.S. would likely unilaterally intervene if China decided to send PLA troops across the borders to force the Hong Kongers to “obey”
The people of Hong Kong did not vote to leave the U.K. They deserve to make their own decisions without interference from outsiders, if a legitimate referendum can be held.
At least the USA will vote next year to keep or reject the existing wannabe dictator for another four years.
@L3 Comment showed your violence. Show me the proof that photos of handing out the money are fake. Show me the proof of independence without causing lives. If US and Britain want to pick a friend between China and HK, which one will they pick? Anyway, go on protesting like this. I can assure you more and more people will be annoyed by the protesters. We will see. Thanks for finding me a new job. I have the right to choose if I accept it or not.
@Juan Then the protesters should beg Elizabeth to keep them in 1984. Everything is an excuse. The protesters just want money.
@Richard: We absolutely would. They entered the Union with just such a right of recision. Explicit in TX case, clearly membership only rests on consent in all the other states.
@KK: Actually, your current position as “Chief Apologist For The Illegitimate Beijing Regime That Murdered Thousands in Tiananmen Square” appears to be keeping you busy already.
@L3 In Texas v. White in 1869, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states cannot secede.
Don’t know Chinese law, but we do know HK was “returned” to China in 1997 as agreed upon between China/UK. “Returned” meaning that HK was formerly a part of China, was temporarily under UK rule, and is now under China again.
If HK wants to seek independence/secede/seek whatever it is they want from China, (1) China should handle it, (2) it’s none of our business.
@L3 This is typical unreasonable young people. Argue with facts and proof. Tagging someone with no proof is just meaningless with no help to anything. Do you really know what happened in 1989? I can tell you that the protesters drove normal riders off the bus and then burnt the bus with fire. The western media only reported what they wanted at that time. I am not sure if they just neglected what happened overall no purpose. BTW, Puerto Rico voted to be part of the US. Did US accept them?
@Richard: Stale (and wrong) decision. The issue was actually settled by war and established that war is how it is likely to be settled in the future. So it is an open issue. The Federal government and the seceding states would likely settle it peacefully because the consequences of war would be so horrific. Then, things would go on much as before (free movement of goods and people, etc. with the direction being CA->TX) but the states would have their own sovereign government.
Not so in China where the illegitimate Beijing regime is likely to use tanks to ‘crush’ courageous Hong Kong freedom fighters. Their freedom is our business.
@KK: Why can’t you find any references to Tiananmen Square on Baidu in the PRC? Is it because the democracy protesters took someone’s seat on the bus? Or caused a tank to divert round them? As the glove puppet of the illegitimate Beijing regime I am sure you know.
Also, your last reply took far too long to arrive. I am going to have President Xi Jinping deduct three, no FOUR, social credits from you! That means no foreign vacation for you for ten years.
@L3 I’m not on vacation in a foreign country anyway. We can see if violence itself will lead to inpendence in HK. I can assure you we will see the result when we are still alive. I disagree with violence, and I support HK police to keep the law in face of law violation.
@KK: “and I support HK police to keep the law in face of law violation”. Of course you do, you were told to. Even if they are the instigators of violence, and they employ Triad members to do their dirty work. Nothing will produce an original, independent thought from you, because you are Beijing’s ‘yes man’.
BTW: What do you think about the fact that over 1 million Uighur Muslims are being held in detention centers in the far western province of Xinjiang, China?
@KK: Here’s a movie about the work of your technological pride and joy, Huawei, and their surveillance of Ugandan opposition politicians. Enjoy:
https://www.wsj.com/video/wsj-investigation-huawei-staff-help-governments-to-spy-on-people/0CE986A8-9975-4CB6-BB9C-031A24540E93.html
@L3 Good thought. Your independent thought can make HK independent. I am just telling you the truth. No death, no independence. You never prove I am wrong. Do you think HK can be the first one to secede peacefully, if there is no previous example? Face the fact. If you think I am biased, give me an example and focus on HK matters. Other thing are irrelevant to HK protesters’ violence. Keep on the violence and we will see the result. Does Xinjing has anything to do with the protesters’ violence?
Gary, I share your dejection as I watch what’s happening in HK. It’s painful and disheartening.
To the commenters above in the thread: As Gary said, formal U.S. (or U.K.) intervention, and certainly use of force, is almost unthinkable. But these are people who look across their nearby border at the PRC and, having not yet been consumed and crushed by the totalitarianism they see there (a la Tiananmen in 1989), are desperately trying anything they can think of to forestall that outcome — with one objective being to try to gin up at least some moral support among the governments and populations of the free world’s nations in the hope of causing Xi and his regime to have second thoughts. And they’re getting virtually no such support, including from “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” So what’s the deal? As long as WE have OUR freedom, it’s just t.s. for the poor wretches elsewhere in the world?
Gary offers an excellent example of prouder days: less than 40 years ago, we/the United States of America provided strong and public moral and diplomatic support, and covert financial and other support, for Solidarity as it struggled to remove Poland and the Polish people from the grip of a Soviet puppet government. Americans can look back on what we did then with pride and a clean conscience. And that’s not the only place in the world where we supported aspiration for freedom and liberty. Is there some compelling reason I’m failing to see why our country would not offer similar support today for those struggling for freedom and other basic human rights — whether in HK or elsewhere? Or, regardless of the real support we provide (or fail to provide), that we wouldn’t at least be sympathetic to that struggle and those engaged in it?
If the United States of America were to slip perilously close to totalitarianism (and you’re not honestly and carefully watching current events if you believe that’s unthinkable), and those of us who valued preserving and expanding freedom here — perhaps including you? — were to engage in civil disobedience and protests, what would be your opinion of the nations and peoples of the still-free world who turned their backs on us? What would be your opinion of those who tut-tutted about our effort “reaching too far” and inconveniencing some people? Do you think the Minute Men, or the participants in the Boston Tea Party, reached too far, or unjustifiably inconvenienced people, 250 years ago?
We’re watching a human tragedy-in-the-making playing out in slow motion, and we can’t be/aren’t even sympathetic and can’t/don’t feel any of the pain? That’s pathetic.
Thanks, Gary, for raising this into your readers’ field of vision.
@ScottB Have you ever asked what the British think about Boston Tea Party? In the end, the party who win in the end rule it. The HK protesters’ violence to police and other people. If HK people do not like the violence of the police, why not vote to remove the right from the police and ask the judge to sentence the police to jail? Current protesters are just using the freedom as an excuse to earn the money or political benefit they cannot earn before.
@ScottB @Gary The HK people should accept their fate, and fact that @Richard has rightly pointed out “In 1984 the U.K. and China agreed that the entire area would revert to mainland China in 1997.” HK was part of China, but lost it in a war with now UK, and this reverting back was part of the agreement. A lot more rational people, who did not accept this, has already immigrated out of HK in the early 2000s. Now, these protesters, who grew up and accustomed to this temporary freedom don’t want to give it up–that’s the bottom line.
Your myopic, western lenses are not really helping.
@jyee1 Look at the guy with a mask holding a US flag to hit the man on the stretcher. Does the young man just want freedom? Not to mention the people who show the injured person’s passport to the public for photographs. This is the result to give freedom to persons who do not understand what freedom is. There is a clear border between law and freedom. I hope there is justice for all.
https://youtu.be/c5qYeIe55Ag
https://youtu.be/-FY5L8PViso
Why not posting videos like this? This is the other side of the fact.
I support the people of HK who know what it’s like to have freedom and are finally coming to the realization of what it will be like by 2047 if not sooner. At the same time, I do not want the US getting involved in anything anymore.
Just as India has quickly invalidated long-standing agreements it made to have Kashmir be part of India under special conditions agreed to by the involved parties, so too can China play the same game of invalidating long-standing agreements it made to have Hong Kong under special conditions. And given how much more powerful China (PRC) is than India, China will likely be able to get away with the revocation of autonomy benefits without as much fuss as China got from the Tianamen crackdown even if using as much or even more force. China has sent the signals already in how it responded to India’s revocation of Kashmir’s special status arrangement, and China will be doing in Hong Kong what India has been doing this month with Kashmir.
The era of powerful countries respecting their legal agreements granting people/regions rights for autonomous or semi-autonomous governing is seemingly dead.
Tibet is completely Chinese. and Hong Kong will go that way too. And even China’s democratic neighbors won’t make much of a fuss — save perhaps Taiwan — over a complete and comprehensive takeover of all governance of Hong Kong. It’s easy to kill democracy when you have a massive mob feeling jealous about “the other” — what happened with Kashmir in India is a prequel to what will happen with Hong Kong in China.
ScottB,
I fully agree. When governing by liberal democratic means gets squashed anywhere and takes place without substantial resistance — domestic and foreign — it
heightens the threat to the lovers of liberal democracy elsewhere too. This is why I am opposed to what China is trying to do with Hong Kong and with what India did in Kashmir this month.
History is showing that too many people are too easily seduced by fascism and that fascism can be popular and democratic and yet be an anathema to that which I value: liberal democratic republicanism.
Excellent Gary!
Thanks for this post.
My sympathies are with the protesters ( in contrast to the airport occupation in Bangkok a few years ago; that one was led by loony hiso elites seeking to restrict freedoms rather than win them); I’m not fussed if my travel plans through HK are disrupted; the cause is worthy of support.
@WR2 I have not deleted any comments, maybe you’re just not clicking to the second page of comments?
It’s not often that we have to click “previous comments” to see the earlier comments. But they are indeed there.
I too had some initial trouble seeing the earlier comments but pretty quickly I noticed the “previous comments” button and used it to find the older comments.
@L3 Why do you ignore Snowden?
@GUWonder If you compare the history of India to Kashmir and Hong Kong to China, you’ll know the difference. Some protesters are just seeking independence from land belong to China long ago. Do all people in HK vote to leave? A certain amount of young people are just taking the money and doing what they are told to do. Not to mention the independence vote of TX.
Well, I for one disagree with this story. The only reason anyone should have tears in their eyes is if they got hit with the teargas. An attack on the airport is not an attack on China or whatever regime the HK people want to subvert. This attack is on the people of the world that will now suffer greatly because of missed flights, lost business, personal harm and just the sheer madness of it all. If the HK people so want their freedom, then let them go to the border and fight or protest there. I have always loved HK and will continue to love it until china changes the access rules. But, any joy that I had for the HK people is lost. I am now spending way too much time and money trying to find a workaround for my scheduled travel through HKG and all I can think about is how stupid it was to attack the airport. The fellow standing in front of a tank will receive far more recognition and admiration that 100,000 people at the HK airport. NO, I won’t shed a tear. The UK destroyed so many places in the world long ago, this is just another example. If HK doesn’t want to have a viable airport, then I will be happy to let them have whatever they end up with. China should move in and reopen the airport and send these protestors somewhere that would make HK (even under a Chinese regime) seem like heaven.
Gary, thanks for the support.
You can help by NOT telling people to avoid Hong Kong.
I’m USA born but China citizen with Hong Kong passport now. While I detest the violence, I support the objectives of the protesters, which was to have the PRC fulfill its promises it made, upon which Hong Kong was returned to the PRC. Universal sufferage was promised for years ago, delayed when Beijing insisted on fake democracy (you could vote for any candidate you liked as long as it was one approved in advance by Beijing). The incompetent Chief Executive (mayor) has spent her time on Beijing friendly projects (a bridge few use, high speed trains that ceded sovereignty over part of the terminal to Chinese law, an unnecessary extradition proposal, etc.) while failing to make progress on the things that matter to most Hong Kongers (more affordable housing through building more public housing, more doctors for the public hospitals, ending the raiding of MPF funds by employers). Were the government willing to listen and act on what mattered to average citizens rather than Beijing or a few oligarchs, we would not be having the current mess.
Yes, some of the protesters (a very few) are violent, but less so than the triads (Mafia) that attacked protesters and average citizens nor the police who used tear gas in the MTR (subway).
Despite that, Hong Kong is safe, the demonstrations are localized and announced in advance. Except for the airport, they are also away from most tourist and business areas. Come visit (I’m sure hotel rates and airfares have plummeted), you be safe, visiting a great city and will be supporting the city economically.
@Wr2 & Kk The only good Commie is a dead commie.
Gary,
You are either blissfully unaware or just naive! I love Hong Kong and last visited in November. However, when the British gave Hong Kong back anyone with a brain would know they would eventually be absorbed as part of China under the same rules as anyone else (unless of course it was in China’s interest to keep the current system in place). There have been many changes in the past 22 years (just ask any native Hong Kong resident). As a little thing China is now requiring all announcements to also be in Mandarin (instead of English and Cantonese) and are requiring Mandarin (which of course is the official language of China) to be taught in place of Cantonese.
Many other changes have also taken place with respect to their government and the oversight (aka control) of the mainlanders. This will continue to happen over the next 28 years at which time Hong Kong will be under basically the same rules as Shanghai or any other large Chinese city.
With respect to the protesters, while it is fine to say they are standing up for the right thing, you also know that there are activists with ties to mainland China mixed in with them, creating disturbances and basically giving China an excuse to roll the tanks across the “border”. It will happen. Not sure what the world in general can or even should do. Hong Kong is legally part of China so this isn’t invading a separate country. Yes there was an agreement in place to keep much of Hong Kong the same for 50 years but China can use the current disturbances as a reason to impose martial law on their territory. Outside of sound bites not sure there is anything other countries can (or even should) do.
BTW there is an excellent story on CNBC that the problems in Hong Kong are basically economic and wealth disparity as opposed to strictly HK vs China. Property has gone up 300% since 2003 and control of the city is largely in the hands of business tycoons and wealthy landlords. Young people pretty much will never own property and, if they manage to do it, it will be someone like a 200-300 sq ft space (yep) that is pretty much a one room sleeping, living, eating arrangement. The lack of career and wage growth for the vast majority of citizens (as compared to the finance sector and business executives) makes any wage or economic disparity in the US look like nothing. Also, when I was there in November I was told all old people get 4000 HK$ a month (about $500 in one of the most expensive cities in the world) so you see 90 year old women working in the markets. Not only is there little growth for young people but little security, outside of care provided by their families, for older citizens.
A wonderful place and I greatly enjoyed it but many societal and economic issues. The protests that are going on now are messaged as HK vs China but they mask much deeper problems.
They are not seeking freedom. The western media keeps pushing that false narrative. They have five specific demands. Rest assured the moment beijing thinks that hong kong is pushing for some sort of independence there will be bodies in the street. The protesters aren’t stupid enough to make those kinds of demands, since its a clear red line that can not be crossed.
@ac – there’s definitely wealth disparity but that ain’t what the protests are about
@AC: I heard that report as well. He was delusional. His thesis cannot explain unrest at other times. Nor can it explain the coincidence of this unrest with the Beijing extradition proposal. Also, we don’t see legal relocation to the mainland, which higher living costs would engender.
This unrest is about freedom from the totalitarian system in the PRC and independence is the only long-term assurance of that.
RE: “the conservative states in America who want nothing to do with Washington or the liberal coastal cities”
HA! ROFLMAO at that whopper of a laugh riot!
Especially when the reality is that many of these ungratefulAF impoverished red states (even including “Moscow Mitch’s” very own Kentucky or [cough, cough] alleged Pedophile Roy Moore’s Alabama) are consistently ranked as among the worst USA states for important things like: per capita income (for this category, West Virginia, Mississippi & Arkansas are ranked 50th, 49th & 48th, respectively); education & literacy (for this category, Arkansas, West Virginia & Mississippi are ranked 50th, 49th & 48th, respectively); infant mortality (Mississippi, Alabama & Louisiana ranked 50th, 49th & 48th, respectively); and obesity (West Virginia, Mississippi & Oklahoma ranked 50th, 49th & 48th, respectively, for that) help themselves to VERY generous handouts from Washington that are only made possible from the hard work and taxes paid by the affluent liberal folks in the blue states’ coastal cities, that is, since the welfare cheats better known as the folks who live in red states TAKE FAR MORE from Washington than they send to Washington, while the affluent folk in liberal coastal cities in blue states like California, New York & Massachusetts that disproportionately contribute to our nation’s GDP get FAR LESS back from Washington than we send to Washington.
Oh, btw, that’s before taking into consideration the tens of billions of WELFARE FOR FARMERS spent this year to keep Don the Con’s base from turning on him after China stopped buying soybeans and other agricultural products for the (UN)stable genius’s trade-war that China is so NOT paying for!
Talk about shameless ignorance and hypocrisy – NOT to mention biting the hand that literally feeds ‘em!
Sheesh.
Is it the water these poor dears drink?
Or too much Faux News’ Kool-Aid?
I was stuck at HKG on 8/12 after all of the flights were cancelled. You could hear the chants loud and clear reverberating around the terminal from the arrivals hall. Pretty powerful. Also, I was pretty surprised at the positive mood of the travelers in the terminal.
One particularly touching moment in the Pier First Class lounge:
European Traveler: So I heard that all of the flights are cancelled.
Lounge Staff: Yes, I’m sorry sir. There is nothing we can do at the moment.
Traveler: That’s ok. We support you. Really. If that means we have to stay here for a day or two, that’s ok. This is more important, and we support you.
I guess it was wrong, then, for the French to “intervene” in an “internal” matter when a bunch of ex-Brits in the American colonies decided to form their own country to protect THEIR freedoms.
Also, since this is still (nominally) a travel blog:
One of the benefits of off-piste private travel (as opposed to group tours) is that you get to speak to (in my case) the Chinese one-on-one. What you discover is that the mainland Chinese are well aware of the limits on their freedom, but are prepared to put up with those limits as long as their (and their children’s) lives are better than the horrors that their parents and grandparents experienced: Mao’s revolution, the Cultural Revolution, etc. Once Xi stops delivering the “bourgeois” comforts, he’ll have a hard time keeping the lid on. Hong Kongers know all too well the controls and limitations that mainlanders have to put up with.
@L3 Independence by occupying the airport and beating innocent people from China mainland? Independence by letting others quit class and the leaders go abroad for further study? The protesters are just trying to earn money by doing that. The request of freedom is just the protesters’ excuse. I hope the protesters carrying out violence will be sentenced in the end. By the way, the young lady who claimed to be hit by the police’s bullet dared not sue the police and dared not to be triaged. And she was also caught distributing money to other protesters. Why did she do it? Where was the injury coming from indeed?
@Eddie There were also a lot of travelers who complained. It is just a matter of comparing which side had more people. Do the travelers really care about or even know what is really happening in Hong Kong?
@Eddie https://youtu.be/ILjqdzArZP0
@Gary One mistake in your article is that “do you hear the people sing” is NOT banned in China mainland. I just saw it from QQ video. But please confirm before you mislead other blog readers.
https://www.economist.com/prospero/2019/06/14/do-you-hear-the-people-sing-not-in-china?fbclid=IwAR21fLTLw_y4FSD02T5xl9df5tY1l7JrUVACoBMsx6bL3bRXZqQc9E1lk_c
Musical censorship
Do you hear the people sing? Not in China
Chinese streaming services block a tune from “Les Misérables” that has been a popular protest song in Hong Kong
BEFORE THE tear gas and the rubber bullets, there was music. At the protests in Hong Kong over the past week, people have regularly broken into song. For those gathered outside government headquarters, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord”, a popular Christian hymn, has been a favourite. “Do You Hear The People Sing?”, a tune from “Les Misérables” and the unofficial anthem of protests in Hong Kong in 2014, has also made a reappearance. The songs are powerful, as protest music has been for centuries, channelling voices together into something moving, even beautiful. On occasion, priests have led the crowds, giving them the appearance more of a giant church choir than an angry rabble.
But the surest sign of the music’s power has not been the singing in Hong Kong but its absence in mainland China. “Do You Hear The People Sing?” has been censored on QQ Music, one of the country’s most popular music streaming services. Search for the song, and three results pop up, all saying that it cannot be played for copyright reasons. Search for the full “Les Misérables” album, and there are more than ten versions of it, minus that one song. On NetEase Music, another popular streaming service, censors appear to have been a little less zealous. Individual searches for “Do You Hear The People Sing?” yield no hits, but it still appears as a track on its various “Les Misérables” albums.
The protesters in Hong Kong in 2014 were not the first to call on the song. It has featured in a series of demonstrations, including the Maidan revolution in Ukraine, which kicked off in late 2013, and union marches in Wisconsin in 2011. The appeal is obvious, given its rousing tune and lyrics: “Do you hear the people sing?/Singing the songs of angry men?/It is the music of the people/Who will not be slaves again!” That said, aficionados of “Les Misérables”, a musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo, know that the story is rather less cheering: the students who lead an anti-monarchist rebellion (a depiction of the Paris Uprising in 1832) almost all end up dead.
Exactly when censors started scrubbing out the song in China is unclear. Before the Hong Kong protests, they had little reason to worry about it. A musical film of “Les Misérables” was a hit in the West in 2012 but a flop in China. The main controversy about the song back then was whether the official translation was good enough. As recently as last year, authorities permitted a performance of “Les Misérables” in Shanghai. That may well have been the event that caught the censors’ attention: at the end of the show, audience members rose to their feet and belted out “Do You Hear The People Sing?” in unison. Perhaps they were just fans of the musical, but the song evidently had the ability to stir emotions in China.
Censorship is rarely water-tight, and that is certainly the case for music. The Chinese government has taken a hard line against Hong Kong singers such as Denise Ho who supported the pro-democracy movement in 2014: their music is no longer available on streaming services and their concerts in the mainland have been cancelled. But on smaller streaming services such as Xiami, which is estimated to have a roughly 2% market share in China, “Do You Hear The People Sing?” is still available. What’s more, censors do not appear to have cottoned onto the fact that “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” was the protest song of choice on the streets of Hong Kong during the past week. QQ Music offers 11 different versions of it. Chinese fans of contemporary Christian pop should listen while they can.
@Gary. Your comment about singing and Hong Kong is very interesting. However, it should be a separate post so everyone can read and comment on it, not at the end of 105 other comments. I might comment that it is vaguely related to travel since it is about the power of song in different countries.
@Gary Thanks for posting it. But if you really really want to join the discussion, you can take a look at this. QQ music did not purchase the copyright does not mean the song is banned. If QQ music did not purchase the copyright and show it to the public, reporters will criticize it in another way. right? I had some other song which might be banned and both audio and video cannot be found. But not the one you mentioned. I think you were misled. https://m.v.qq.com/play.html?&vid=q01574nphe9&ptag=m.baidu.com%23v.play.adaptor%232&mreferrer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.baidu.com%2Ffrom%3D0%2Fbd_page_type%3D1%2Fssid%3D0%2Fuid%3D0%2Fpu%3Dusm%25400%252Csz%25401320_2001%252Cta%2540qbase_1_12.4_25_12.1%2Fbaiduid%3D64E8470C3405E999615B3A8AF2772EEF%2Fw%3D0_10_%2Ft%3Diphone%2Fl%3D1%2Ftc%3Fref%3Dwww_iphone%26lid%3D12594190084293035995%26isAtom%3D1%26is_baidu%3D0%26clk_info%3D%257B%2522applid%2522%253A%25229440503367314529738%2522%252C%2522apptpl%2522%253A%2522normal%2522%252C%2522frsrcid%2522%253A%25225373%2522%257D%26module%3Dsf%26wd%3D%26eqid%3D830367cb6da96000100000065d569dbb%26w_qd%3DIlPT2AEptyoA_yiVI93YJDZs-w4WQ3GWHh4VZSlLAjKr8TquhPRdwoPggPhre19VtemtQb2vBZCm2RY0ug3QyUXFN8noUbymM_h9G3ylrQXxVMtDqcA6KtTUVy6cory%26bdver%3D2%26tcplug%3D1%26sec%3D40788%26di%3D764c7f954737e897%26bdenc%3D1%26nsrc%3DcXwEb7InMHkFJLnf8XDv%252FoI%252FJnRZxhvgrxdXCMYPs8dfDeMqhuOcoorY8kVn%252BRfDZ%252BiAQHnFhD5u6coYpdm7gfnmNTmPdIkN48%252BvCBu%252BP2A%253D
@Gary If you REALLY REALLY want to discuss this, you’d better find someone who knows both China and HK. I know some song were banned in China which you cannot find audio and video. But not this one unfortunately. If QQ music did not purchase the copyright in China mainland, how is it suppose to show it?
@Gary For some reason, I tried at least 3 times to post the link to the video of this song I found in QQ video, but the link failed to show. Maybe because I am using a phone. Do you think economist is unbiased?
@Gary This is a html 5 version, if you cannot play the previous one and if you cannot read Chinese.
@Gary FYI, the initial cause of the protest was recorded by NY times a while back. In short, it is like this. A young HK man killed his girl friend in Taiwan. His girl friend was pregnant for 4 months. There’s a logjam in law, so the man cannot be charged to kill the girl. So the HK government wanted to close the loophole so that they can send the suspect back to Taiwan or China. The protesters started to gather and they refused to go away even after the HK government said that they would suspend the proposal for ever. The protesters’ demand for democracy is still highly debatable. Not to mention the money distributed during the protest. You can search for this article from NY times.
The suspect needed to be returned to Taiwan. Had the proposed law allowed that there would not have been an issue. However, the government insisted to add mainland china, which has no rule of law nor fair judiciary. That sparked the protests. The main demand is not for democracy, only a few are seeking independence from China; what the majority of the protesters seek is the ability to elect their legislators (called Legco here) and the Chief Executive (the mayor). This was already promised by China when the Basic Law (our mini-constitution) was put in place and agreed by China.
There has been no money distributed to protesters. That is a false claim maid by the pro-government media that has never been supported (similar to the claim that the US is behind all this)
@Mike1957 Basic law Section 1 article 45. Please read it. If you insist US is not behind this, it is fine. But please search for the following article and think again. “US Government, NGOs Fuel and Fund Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Protests” If you think the Canadian media is pro-government, I have nothing else to say. BTW, why would a law include Taiwan and exclude China mainland? The loophole should be closed as early and wide as possible. I am not from Hong Kong. But if I am from Hong Kong and someone kills my relative in China mainland and the killer cannot be charged in Hong Kong, I will ask for such a law to include China mainland for sure. If someone you think should not be sent to the mainland because of the law, you can protest to support the person. Now, the killer suspect cannot be charged. Is this the result Hong Kong people want? If possible, please read the Hong Kong basic law again in both Chinese and English. Or let me know which article in the basic law approved the election method wanted by the protesters. Hopefully, the protest won’t hurt badly.
@Mike1957 – Taiwan itself opposed the law, Taiwan was being used as a fig leaf for the legislation the Lam government thought would please mainland bosses
Taiwan was willing to take back the suspect extradited from Hong Kong. It opposed the law because the law classified Taiwan as part of PRC and they refused to be recognized as that. Which is why people are skeptical of Lam’s intent: she claimed she did this because of her inability to extradite the suspect to Taiwan and then wrote a bill that she should have known Taiwan would not accept. So what was her real intention?
KK, as requested, section 1, article 45: “The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures”. What was proposed previously was not a broadly representative nominating committee, it was a committee composed mostly of Beijing friendly members (same as current committee that got us CY and Ms.Lam) nor were there any democratic procedures in the way most countries understand them.
As to your “source” that proves US funding, “Globalresearch is an “anti-Western” website that can’t distinguish between serious analysis and discreditable junk — and so publishes both. It’s basically the moonbat equivalent to Infowars or WND.”
What is not proven, but suspected and supported by some facts, is that the white shirts that terrorized a Hong Kong suburb were triad members operating with in collusion with the government and police. Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing legco member was pictured just before the attacks consorting with the white shirts.
Why include Taiwan and exclude the PRC? Because Taiwan has rule of law and independent courts, the PRC does not. As specified in the Chinese constitution, the government, including the courts, are subservient to the Party. Therefore any representation made by a court or government official is suspect, as they must answer to the Party and cannot therefore be independent.
These are not fringe ideas. The hundreds of thousands of marchers today indicate widespread support. Can you hear the people sing?
@Michael1957 If you think the English translation was modified, why not protesting at the beginning and keep on? Why protesting when the result is hurting the dead woman’s family? The law of justice may be long gone for the dead woman and her unborn baby and Hong Kong people is always proud of their society ruled by law, isn’t it? In 2018 alone, NED spent over $400000 alone in Hong Kong.
Expanding Worker Rights and Democracy
Solidarity Center (SC)
$155,000
To expand worker rights and democracy and promote the development of civil society in Hong Kong. The center will support partners to strengthen the capacity of trade unions, including migrant and domestic worker unions, to organize, bargain and advocate for better protections for workers, and to raise public awareness and promote participation in worker rights issues.
Promoting Engagement of Fundamental Rights
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
$200,000
To facilitate engagement on Hong Kong’s growing threats to guaranteed rights. The institute will organize a seminar series in Hong Kong on how national security can be protected while safeguarding fundamental rights and will facilitate international advocacy for Hong Kong scholars, legal practitioners, and civil society leaders to raise awareness of recent developments among influential international stakeholders.
Strengthening Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Protection
Hong Kong Justice Center
$90,000
To strengthen democratic institutions and human rights protections. The program will work with civil society networks and political leaders to improve compliance with international standards for human rights, and will seek to increase the international community’s awareness of human rights abuses in Hong Kong through advocacy and as part of the Universal Periodic Review process.
Consider the fact the the Chinese reporter was heavily beaten at Hong Kong airport, is it publicly reported in the main media? In my opinion, the young people are just trying to be against China in every way. I believe there are a lot of reasons. But can that be the excuse for violence? Reporter or not, the protesters should bow down and ask for excuse like the pictures @Gary posted. Right?
@Gary Why would the Hong Kong government please the mainland and exclude economical and political criminals from the law? Don’t you think a murderer should be charged properly? I understand a lot of Hong Kong people do not admit that Taiwan is not part of China. But Hong Kong as part of China cannot admit it. Even Taiwan’s constitution is using the one China policy. By law, it is nothing wrong to include Taiwan in the forever postponed law.
Hong Kong is one of my most favorite cities in the world. And HKG is one of my most favorite airports in the world (and Cathay Pacific is a superb, classy airline). But their “Chinese masters” are so bent on total mind control of everything and everyone that they will ruin Hong Kong, too. A pity. A real pity. Oh, FYI, I flew through there about 10 days ago. My DFW to HKG was on time – good flight. But when I landed, everything from HKG to MNL was already canceled. A bit of a mess. But I learned a long time ago with international travel to always have a back-up plan.
Hi, Gary, please don’t be fooled by the western media and be fooled by your own imagination and illusion. If you want to be unbiased, you should at least try to hear the story from another side, I suggest you to watch some videos on YouTube that “Nathan Rich” posted. Sometimes the scene people fight for “freedom” is very touching, but it will become a joke if these people don’t really understand what “freedom” means, don’t consider the results it may bring, don’t have a plan what they gonna do after they get the “freedom” they want.
“don’t be fooled by western media” ” don’t be fooled by Hong Kong media” “don’t watch Japan, or Korea, or Taiwan news.”
In the end, these people are suggesting you should not read or trust any news but the state-owned Chinese news media. And please, do not spread lies here about the girl who got shot in the eye. She IS a medic, for crying out loud. These people lied by using a picture of another girl collecting money as “proof” that she deserved the treatment. Look at the recent banning of hundred of state-run accounts by twitter and facebook and you will begin to see the kind of propaganda machine Chinese government is mobilizing. It’s not so hard to tell which side is the high wall and which side are eggs. If it’s still hard to tell right from wrong, just go by how many Hong Kong people went on the street, A QUARTER of Hong Kong’s population. The state run rally does not even fill out a football field, for crying out loud.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-08-20/hong-kong-chinese-students-propaganda
This is an excellent piece on Los Angels Times about propaganda in China and why Chinese people does not understand what is happening in Hong Kong.
Hi, Kenneth, I think you are replying to me, I do read the article you shared above, and I don’t think that’s against what I said on my comment, the original reason is for “anti-extradition bill “, and this bill was dead back in July 25, so what’s the chaos right now? I hope there is some leaders in this protest can give some solid reasons for their ask, I do read news from both sides to remove bias, but until now, I don’t get convinced.
Great post Gary, I’m sorry I missed it until now. But on Aug. 14 I was supposed to be flying through HKG back to the US. I took a later flight Cathay Pacific was offering on 8/17. It cost me 42,500 AA miles when I had to rebook a 12,500 mile AA award ticket and it cost 55,000 for first (economy was 50,000) one way. Absurd. I probably would have been OK to fly on the 14th as it turned out.
In spite of the costs of extending my stay for three days, I made sure to tell the CX personnel at The Pier and in flight that I supported CX and Hong Kong’s fight for independence and freedom. (I don’t know if others mentioned it but Tank Man and anything about the Tienanmen protests are banned in China.) Dissidents have some clever ways of using other images to getting ar
I agree with Beijing about one thing. America is responsible for the Hong Kong protests, along with other successful western democracies. Not through some CIA-inspired Mission Impossible scenario, but merely through the example provided by the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted everyday. That is in spite of our President who praises dictators who would love to see our democracy fail, disparages allies with whom we share democratic values, and longs for the power to dictate legal outcomes, silence the free press, politicize the military, and decide who can vote or be a U.S. citizen. Many who support the guy think they are being patriotic. If there’s any patriotism there, it not to the United States of America and the principles and values the nation was founded on.
@Ann, Please, Freedom is not something new to Hong Kong. The people want to hold on to the freedoms they have now that made Hong Kong a free and prosperous city/state.
At the end of the third paragraph of my comment, delete ” getting ar” and insert “convey the Tank Man idea.”
Christ, I still didn’t get it right. It is at the end of the second paragraph. I wish we could edit comments.