Protest in Hong Kong

Carrie Lam and her cabinet are set to indefinitely delay passing the extradition law.

I see the protesters are not going to be complacent. Good on them for seeing through Beijing's dirty tricks.

I used to think that Hongkongers were hopelessly shallow and self-absorbed. When I came to America I was so happy to find such a welcoming people and leave the port city behind. I embraced the culture, was delighted to become a permanent resident and hopefully over time, call myself an American.

Now I can't be more proud of the Hong Kong people. They're truly willing to stand up for what they believe in. To them - and they are very accurate on this - extradition to mainland China, lawbreakers or no, means forced disappearances, indefinite detention, torture, certain death. And it's something China will do by all means, knowing how Xi's trying to give Maoist totalitarianism a new spin.

Hell, my mom's friends, the most shallow, self-absorbed group of housewives you'll ever meet, dropped everything to join the shopkeepers' strike and the protest. They are the epitome of the "ugly bourgeoise" that leftists detest and here they are now.

It's something in America to have pride and devotion to your home country. It's something to come to America filled with resentment to your home country. It's something for me to finally call myself a Hongkonger with pride.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 14th 2019 at 11:47:56 AM

Hong Kong was built on the least sacrifice that could be made. Refugees, exiles, the unwanted and the displaced built it. From nothing, it rose to become a dynamic city worthy fighting for, fighting over and fighting about.

It's so young by city standards, but it has repeatedly had more cultural and economic influence than many of the very oldest in its tiny handful of centuries.

Hear it roar.

Here's the vid to Lam's press conference.

The protesters come roaring back with a new list of demands and renewed determination.

With the concession made, Xi's iron image has been chipped away.

A few Americans are starting to comment on the first article, asking why they can't have similar anti-Trump protests. The answer is simple; it's not a bad idea at all, but if they ever got the slightest bit violent, their riot police would open fire with live ammo.

Plus, y'know, small port city vs giant Western nation in terms of ground to cover.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 16th 2019 at 6:15:39 AM

Even Washington's taking a hard look at treaties made with Hong Kong which gives privileges in terms of tax status and all that.

Funny it takes this to put my birthplace in the international spotlight for once.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 16th 2019 at 6:01:56 AM

PBS has an interview with DP leader Martin Lee.

He raises some points made when the Chinese FM said that foreign countries shouldn't try to butt into HK's affairs.

There's a confirmed of a protestor who fell down while trying to put up a pro-democracy banner despite many paramedics trying to pull him up. Saw the videos and figured that the grip they had wasn't strong enough.

Edited by Ominae on Jun 16th 2019 at 9:11:13 AM

Here's a good little article on why HK youth are so serious about protesting.

I'm not an expert on this by any means - my dad worked for the HK government in the Environmental Protection Department, and I was encouraged to stay out of political activity for my own safety. But yes, for the majority of HK youth, protesting is a serious matter.

Meanwhile, controversial but wildly popular among the youth Joshua Wong has been released from prison to join the protests.

It should be noted that the HK protest movement doesn't have a central leader, Emily Lam's currently acting as a figurehead.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 17th 2019 at 12:10:05 PM

Do you find the lack of a figurehead a good or a bad thing, personally? It's decentralized so there's no easy means to decapitate the movement by, and while the lack of leader might make it difficult to curb rogue activity, at least unlike the previous protests which fell apart because the different factions couldn't agree on what entirely they were protesting for, the masses are fairly unified on their motivation for protesting.

Edited by AlleyOop on Jun 17th 2019 at 4:15:33 AM

I'm honestly not sure how to comment on that. Generally, I like centralized systems and dislike decentralization and excessive bureaucracy, but decentralization does have legitimate advantages.

I'd prefer for the time being that there be decentralization since this is a mass movement and fluid, but if they end up with a form of victory, they need to find a leader fast. So they should keep some options in mind.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 17th 2019 at 2:10:39 AM

Do the American police have as bad a reputation as all that?

In other countries, all the US law enforcement news they usually see is "American cops open fire on X", so you get the idea that they're all ridiculously trigger-happy.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 17th 2019 at 10:27:06 AM

Formosa TV reports that Carrie Lam blames Taipei for encouraging the unrest against the proposed extradition bill.

Ah-huh.

Not, you know, the overhanded governmental "guidelines" eminating from, say, Beijing resulting in highly predictable blow-back at ground level? At all?

Yeah. Nice scapegoating. It's always Taiwan's fault for simply existing.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Jun 19th 2019 at 2:44:23 PM

First it's America, then it was South Korea, and now Taipei?

Might as well as say the Freemasons are behind it, why doesn't she.

Because of course she is.

That comment would make some background material for a conspiracy thriller that has a similar premise to what's happening right now.

The former Philippine Foreign Secretary, Albert del Rosario, was held at the HKIA at arrival and deported, shortly after making a public statement on how China is "not to be trusted".

The HKPF HQ is surrounded.

Not surprised. They don't just want a suspension. They want that bill to be dead and buried.

Wonder if Lam will blame this on Taiwanese saboteurs or something.

Edited by M84 on Jun 21st 2019 at 11:35:47 PM

It's obvious that she's going to blame foreign saboteurs for this. The question is which country.

The DFA cancelled all diplomatic passports used by ex-DFA personnel as a safety measure after ex-DFA secretary Del Rosario over concerns that it wasn't used properly when he got Chek Lap Kok.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/233773-locsin-defends-cancellation-courtesy-diplomatic-passports?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1tsgjqXynljieSWqKVvRY5zSFYPX198BTU7qjL4iJWG8wyubz6UJzchGk#Echobox=1561346422

More info on the incident.

Edited by Ominae on Jun 24th 2019 at 12:12:34 PM

The reputation of the Hong Kong Police has taken a strong dive since their suppression of the protests. Aside from criticism, certain groups of protesters are doxxing officers.

Now, the last time their reputation took a serious nosedive, it was the revelation of serious corruption in the police force during the colonial era, mainly among the British officers. Top-down it was, all the way through the ranks up to this guy, which led to the creation of the ICAC.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Jun 24th 2019 at 12:08:57 PM