Hong Kong

I dare say not many are shocked that China under a dictatorial Communist regime is moving at pace.

Sadly it appears that China under it's dictatorial Communist government is not conforming to :-

' The Sino-British Joint Declaration and was registered by the People's Republic of China and United Kingdom governments at the United Nations on 12 June 1985 which states:-

' In accordance with the "One country, two systems" principle agreed between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China, the socialist system of the People's Republic of China would not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Hong Kong's previous capitalist and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years. This would have left Hong Kong unchanged until 2047.'

The truth is far from being ' as some ' like to keep mentioning living under the colonist travesty of British Rule the Hong Kong people were safe, successful under the 'Capitalist way of life ' and they should expect China to abide by it's signatory to the Sino British Joint Declaration and the Chinese ' Socialist System of the People's Republic of China' would not take interfere until 2047.

It is only kicking the can down the road but what future do these protesters have? What do they have to lose if they are being subjected to the dictatorial Communist regime decades earlier than they rightly expected?

They are a feared population and the dominance of China is too difficul for the British Government and United Nations to do bugger all about accept use rhetoric and China knows it holds the power and it will be relentless at some stage in quelling the protests and God help those who have no control over a dictatorial Communist Regime, as we see in other countries.

I fear bloodshed is inevitable at some stage and we should hold tight to our way of governance here in the UK. We might not like it, we may not agree with it all the time but Hells Bells who would want to live under a dictatorial Communist Government?

I fervently hope that there will not be bloodshed, especially as we have many friends in HongKong. We are reticent even about emailing them because the emails are likely to be monitored.

When we lived in HK in the 1970s everyone was well aware that the colonial regime was undemocratic and at some time things would have to change but the prevailing feeling at that time seemed to be a pragmatic acceptance of the fact that democracy might in some ways be a desirable ideal, but security and material progress which could be seen to be happening did go some way towards compensating for the democratic deficit.

All of us, native HongKongers and expats, were very well aware that sooner or later that change would come but it would be essential to maintain the delicate balance between the small, but brilliantly successful enclave of Hong Kong, and the huge growing power of China.

Landslide victory for Hong Kong pro-democracy parties in de facto protest referendum

Pro-democracy candidates appear to have made major gains in Hong Kong's district council elections, as early results trickled in Monday morning, with multiple high-profile pro-government figures losing their seats.

More than 2.9 million people turned out to vote in Sunday's elections, which have been framed as a de facto referendum on the almost six months of ongoing protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. With more than 95% of constituencies declared, pro-democracy candidates appeared to have won a landslide victory.

Speaking to CNN, Kenneth Chan, an expert on politics and governance at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the more than 70% turnout -- higher than any other election in the city's history -- "exceeded many predictions" and demonstrated both Hong Kongers' commitment to democracy and that they are "counting on this election to point a way out of this impasse."

Public broadcaster RTHK described the results as a "rout" and a "staggering victory for the pro-democracy camp," with the majority of the 18 district councils expected to flip to pro-democratic control in an "unmistakable message" to the city's leader Carrie Lam.

Opposition candidates took nearly 90% of the seats up for grabs, the broadcaster reported. After weeks of increasingly violent unrest, this weekend was remarkably calm, following calls for protesters to avoid giving the government any excuse to call off the elections or close polling stations early.
In a statement Monday, the city's leader Carrie Lam said her government "respects the election results."

edition.cnn.com/2019/11/24/asia/hong-kong-district-council-elections-intl/index.html

I wouldn’t worry about a Tianamen Square put down of HK it would have happened by now.
China will get control by slow strangulation, it is far less important in economic terms than 10 yrs ago and will get absorbed into the mainland.

Can I just share a really interesting piece from this October about the Hong Kong situation and what it feels like to be there.
I have to say it made me angry with frustration and sadness. It also surprised me with some people's thoughts and attitudes.

www.thisamericanlife.org/686/umbrellas-up

For those of you who don't know it, This American Life is radio from the USA (Chicago?) which looks at really interesting things, often from unusual perspectives. Sometimes it confirms what you know, sometimes it enlightens!
It has a long (and varied) archive.

May I ask if any other Gransnetters have received Christmas cards or letters from friends in Hong Kong?

We have received several from different friends and we have noticed that all of them have been opened and resealed with sellotape.

Am I right to be worried about this?

No I haven’t varian, are your friends British? Are you worried about them as individuals?
If so then I shouldn’t think they have to worry. Communication is so good and immediate these days that I am sure the British Government would be ensuring their safety if needed.
If you mean that you fear the problem is escalating then you could be right to be concerned.

Of course I know nothing about it-it’s only my opinion.

We lived in HK in the 1970s and last visited three years ago.

.One of my friends in HK is a Brit who has lived there for fifty years, but my other friends are HongKong belongers.

They speak good English, Cantonese and Mandarin. They are, I think in a delicate, possibly even a dangerous position and fortunately the messages they sent to us in Christmas cards were innocuous apolitical messages about family, nothing political, and so, I think they passed the Sensors.

I have been careful about e-mailing them and we don't very often phone each other, but I am for the first time quite worried about their safety.

Censorship in Hong Kong

medium.com/@KongTsungGan/censorship-in-hong-kong-since-the-umbrella-movement-an-overview-8024fdad68fc