by Jack
Hong Kong has roughly 7.4 million people packed into 420 square miles, with a majority of the population living in only 8 square miles. That congestion has caused some unique governance problems, but most are resolved because the locals work quite well together as a team. Hold that thought… the people of H.K. have strong bonds and a history of working as one, united force to solve many problems.
Since 1997 H. K. has been under the control of mainland China, but it was granted a special administrative status called, “One country, two systems.” This was to ease the transition from a British protectorate to just another communist city controlled from Beijing and it worked…for awhile.
The people mostly speak Cantonese (and English), which often sets them apart from mainlanders who speak in Mandarin, the official language of China. The two languages are far enough apart as to make cross-talk difficult. For example if I said, how are you? in Cantonese, it sounds like nay-hoh-maw, but in Mandarin it’s “knee how muh,” but other words get even further apart! So, that’s just the beginning of the differences.
The real difference between the two cultures is the simple fact that generations of H K. citizens have been exposed to self-rule and freedoms unheard of on the mainland. And this is exactly why China tried to go slowly when imposing its will on Hong Kong. But, times have change, thanks to a relatively new communist hardliner, President Xi Jinping. He rose to power about 5 years and is the head of the communist party and president. He has a global vision for China.
Enter Trump and his dispute over protective tariffs and trade practices that gave China an unfair advantage over our exports. Xi Jinping has shown no signs of yielding to Trumps pressure. Xi Jinping is the kind of guy who would rather lose in war today, if it would give China more leverage years down the road. He’s intelligent, fanatical and incredibly dangerous. I’m not sure Trump understands who he is dealing with anymore than he understands how dangerous Putin can be. Just my opinion, but Trump appears to be in over his head with both adversaries.
Now back to H.K. It was inevitable that Xi Jinping repressive, authoritarian style, would not go over well in Hong Kong. It appeared to the citizens of Hong Kong that Xi Jinping was ending their special status agreement and that has them extremely alarmed and in large part why we see the protesters taking to the streets in ever increasing numbers. China has issue a subtle warning, “This will end.” Remember Tiananmen Square?
There’s no doubt that Trump would like to support the Hong Kong protesters, but not to the degree that he would encourage them to more violent confrontations. This could trigger a bloody military intervention in a split second. But, how can we support those in favor of democracy and keep a working relationship with the Communists in Beijing?
Ironically, the solution to the above may be found in two hot button issues within the US, immigration and foreign trade. By giving refugee status to certain dissidents that are highly skilled and educated people in H. K. and also lowering their trade restrictions. Then its a win-win for the USA. This bolsters Hong Kong, relieves some political pressure and we’ve given them some leverage in Beijing because H.K. is still an asset economically under their capitalist system.
“The G7, the wealthiest western nations in the world held a climate change summit over the weekend. President Donald Trump’s disdain for the G7’s ideas on climate change, along with his trade demands and bombastic behavior, left the United States estranged from its closest allies. Or at least that was the take from the mainstream news.
much as it did before the 2016 election.
Yesterday, twenty two (22) small towns across Texas were the victims of a massive and coordinated cyber-holdup.