Beware of Xi's dirty tricks. Carrie Lam must go! I support the people of HK and salute their courage. Chinese people have the right of self-determination.
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Taiwan’s 24 million people are following events in Hong Kong. They are even more passionate about their democracy and freedom. What we’ve seen in Hong Kong is minuscule compared to what could happen in Taiwan.
From Focus Taiwan:
“Taipei, March 21 (CNA) A large majority of Taiwanese people do not agree with China's "one country, two systems" formula for unification with Taiwan and believe Taiwan's future should be decided by Taiwanese, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Thursday.
In the survey, which was taken from March 13-17, 79 percent of respondents rejected the "one country, two systems" concept that considers Taiwan a local government and special administrative region of China.
Only 10.4 percent of respondents accepted the formula and 10.5 percent had no opinion.
Taiwan's government has already taken countermeasures against the five-point proposal announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping's (習近平) on Jan. 2, MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said, adding that the results of the survey proved that Taiwanese oppose China's propaganda and divisive plots.“
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Did we for get life lose 1989 Tiananmen Square protests there life lost from Communist Party in China , awake a angry Dragon people thay will not forget lost life.
Force China is on Hong Kong to stop voice opposition , so on Sunday as people March down so will free people of World sing in harmony and pray for Hong Kong "FREE AT LAST".
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Even in 2019, the people of Hong Kong are subject to a colonialist mentality, now from China.
16
The Hidden Dragon is emerging.
This may be the beginning of Tiananmen and Umbrella II, but with different results.
Much can change in the march to 2047.
Let us see who will ultimately prevail, David or Goliath. Hong Kong or mainland China.
China and the Communist Party, even with its vaunted military buildup, cannot survive.
A nation is its people.
America can learn from the citizens of Hong Kong.
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China is not really a nation or an empire in the customary western sense (how could it be ?) it is a civilization characterized by repressive and corrupt and powerful dynasties accept by the people to preserve peace and prosperity at all costs. There is nothing new under the sun, certainly not with Rogers to the centuries old themes fo Chinese history.
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May I also quote, from another article, the words from the Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal: “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”
The people of Hong Kong have made their objections known. They will not rollover and acquiesce for Hong Kong to become a police state.
Proud of all million of you!
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The sooner the Beijing dictators step aside and let the 1.5 billion people living under their yoke of oppression live free and govern themselves, the better the entire planet will be.
It's as simple as that.
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Independent Hong Kong. The world is with you. Power of the People! Dont give up.
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The people of communist China demand democracy, and the far left of America demand communism.
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Ms. Chan these protests are a bright spot in a world where democracy is under persistent attack and threat by the fascist leaders in the world. We wish you and the free people of Hong Kong well and success. The Brits left you without any back stop or defenses against the terrorist government of Mainland China.
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This opinion piece is spot-on.
But, the HK people are not naive. The HK people saw right through this extradition bill for what is is: and its implications even for those of us who do not live in HK. Such is the brazenness of China. Lastly...
Keep an eye and ear on the Christian communities of HK: and the other faith communities, as well. These groups appear to have more readiness and are better networked to mobilize for resistance to date. The church in the West, especially in the US, should watch and listen carefully to how the HK Christians engage with corrupt and malignant political officials.
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Finally the people stood up for their Freedoms and the Peking only stood back for a moment as the world is focuses on the beginning Trade War which looms in the background.
The past appeasements by the west only emboldened peking to suppress the human dignities and freedom of the millions Tibetans and Chinese Uighur being interned into “reeducation Centers”
With the Pekings reclamation of the Western Philippine Seas and creating on stolen Property Military airbases one has to wonder when will the Chamberlain style Appeasement for Peking be seen for what it is and stopped.
Today the world is still sleeping but when finally Peking will make its move to reclaim Taiwan the geo-political equation will change completely where Peking will exert its dominance on all South East Asia and then the World Currency reserve will shift away from the US Dollar to whatever Sino-Russian-Turkish-Iranian Axis will establish.
Perhaps the voices of Hong Kong could delay this for a season. still there is enough time to check this Sino tyrannical authoritarian regime and stop appeasing them because of corporate opportunities which helped empowering them.
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While Pres. no nothing , total joke, styles his hair and does his makeup, these young people are putting themselves on the line. I am so ashamed that I have not heard one word of solidarity form our government. Not the supposed president, I doubt he understands what is going on.
A shameful day for America.
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The CCP-state controlled media asserts falsely that the demonstration is caused by ‘foreign influence’, the CIA and Washington. It might be reasonable and prudent to quietly support the HK people, but discreetly.
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I would love to hear what Wang Dan has to say about this existential struggle against the "Winnie The Pooh tyranny. That brave and brilliant man gave up his entire youth to fight against the cruel corrupt PRC dictatorship. We still do not know the fate of "Tank Man"
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Bravo!
We admire your courage
9
The world must support the bill’s withdrawal and the people of Hong Kong should not stop the protests until this happens.
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I've talking to everyone I know about the determination expressed by the people of Hong Kong. This is in contrast to our own politics here in the US where our response to the criminal POTUS and others around him has been rather sheepish. In Hong Kong they took to the streets in mass. In the US, we're tweeting, writing letters and otherwise almost disengaged. Yet, we have a much greater threat. Wish the Hong Kong people success.
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We knew and saw long before 1997, when the U.K. handed over sovereignty to the Peoples Republic of China at Wan Chai that the PRC doesn't represent the people of Hong Kong.
Ms. Carrie Lam, Beijing's HK Chief Executive is between the rock of Xi Jinping and the hard place of hundreds of thousands of protestors today. In the face of the mounting protests, Ms. Lam refused to withdraw the PRC's draconian extradition bill.
For 5 years, the Umbrella Movement ("Hong Kong and Strong") has been organizing and now includes hundreds of thousands more people, not just students and democracy advocates, but Hong Kong citizens of all walks of life. The protests are growing day by day, and aren't diminished in the awful heat (climate-change 90s, not just June in HK).
The world is witnessing that Beijing's handpicked Hong Kong Chief Executive can't and won't hold back the tsunami of democracy in China.
It is past time now for Americans to take back their democracy from Donald Trump. Anger and distrust and protests from the people at the right time can change governments.
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One of the great contradictions in Communist ideology is the claim that the Party represents the People. From Lenin and Stalin to Mao to Xi, Communist nations have called themselves people's republics and have used the term people's army to describe their war machines. And yet Lenin's doctrine of the Vanguard of the Proletariat has always emphasized that in fact it is the Party leadership telling the people what to do, not the people telling the government what it should do.
So today when a million Chinese turn out in protest in Hong-Kong the government of a 1000 million people in China may not see that it's overly important. Yet, if the Party claims to represent the people, it might be awfully nice if the people agreed. During their respective revolutions that brought the various Communist governments to power, there was very little attention paid to details like popular opinion and elections. Communist party officials have never fully explained just how it is they represent the People when they so often choose what to do without in any way consulting those people. That is why to outsiders Communist governments seem so similar to fascist governments. That is why periodically powerful Communist nations have the imploded due to their own contradictions.
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@Speakin4Myself
Great comment. Thank you. By the way I wonder if, after all the gloss and hyperbole of US politics is scraped away, whether this does not actually apply to our so called 'great American democracy'.
In our case politicians, when up for election, listen and earnestly assure us that they will take our interests into account and then invariably do exactly what they want which is usually not at all in the interests of the majority.
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The one protestor shouted at the police, "You are us." I hope the Hong Kong police will come to their senses and act accordingly. All the people of Hong Kong should band together and refuse the erosion and elimination of their rights. I am amazed at the bravery and tenacity of the protestors. The people of Hong Kong have tasted freedom and enjoyed it. They do not want these rights taken away by the totalitarian dictatorship in China. The people of Taiwan should take notice. If the people of Taiwan want to keep their way of life, their vibrant democracy and rights, at some point they will have to fight, shed blood, and many will die for it. Be prepared, Taiwan, be ready. Look at Hong Kong and decide this will not be your fate as well.
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@V N Rajan
Agreed. The Chinese government may see this as a threat to their own. Their citizen may come out in mass as well unless they show a strong handed response.
@V N Rajan
I do not think that it would be possible to execute a crack down like Tiananmen Square in Hong Kong in 2019 or beyond. The Central Committee are not stupid. Why throw away the baby with the bath water. Hong Kong is a jewel of great value to the Chinese ruling elite. They will opt for the slow erosion of rights over time like water on rock following the wisdom of Confucius
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A past and current driver of spectacular service international finance and commerce in Hong Kong is its world famous ‘soft infrastructure’ - an independent judiciary, rule of law and well-regarded international arbitration center. All can be compromised by interference from Beijing, which will put the brakes on global investment and commerce through Hong Kong.
In 2018, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center processed 521 disputes involving USD $7 billion. Over 70% of those disputes involved international parties. That reliable infrastructure asset will be damaged by Beijing and its HK liaison office’s interference; and by the proposed extradition law. International parties to disputes might hesitate to go to Hong Kong if they risk being arrested on a pretext and extradited to the mainland, especially if their dispute is with a Chinese state-owned company making unfounded allegations to authorities. -
If a mainland Chinese company has a contentious dispute with a foreign party, can the foreign party be confident of receiving fair and just arbitration? Cautious foreign parties might instead specify arbitration in Singapore or elsewhere to settle large commercial disputes.
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This is both a setback for Xi Jinping and the Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam with the latter as the handpicked protege of the Chinese leader. It could be a sign that there is a serious crack within the ruling party that the disastrous situation in this former British colony has emboldened the opposition faction to vent its discontent to Xi who has no choice but the bite the dust.
5
The hope of the Chinese people and indeed of the world lies in the ultimate capacity of democracy to become universal as a constitutional mode of governance and as a guarantor of equality, fairness and human rights. I hope that Hong Kong inspires all Chinese to consider rekindling a spirit of democracy through that great and proud nation.
13
Makes complete sense to me.
As someone who lives on the coast on the other side of the Pacific Ocean I have to say I've been amazed and inspired by the people of Hong Kong and their drive to so fiercely defend their freedoms.
We are watching and we are with you in soul and spirit!
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@R You think it may inspire us in the US as well. Our protests have been mainly on social media. Pathetic.
6
Unless the HK protests infect mainland China and protests there cause an image problem for Xi and the Party, it is just a matter of time before Hong Kong continues down the slippery slope of mainland China control. Totalitarian tactics sow the seeds of their own demise but millions suffer before the cycle is complete. Xi installation for "life" is one such tactic of tyranny.
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@KC If there one truth to the rule of tyranny, it is that all forms of government control over the people have come to an end. Yet Democracy is still an elusive concept.
1
No pain no gain. Carrie Lam may suffer a short set back at this time, but she will win the eventual victory. After those people vented their anger and frustration in street struggles, their attitude will change. Eventually, they will calm down and think. Extradition laws is to protect its legal citizen and prevent criminals hiding in HK. NY Times just reported a case that a HK guy killed his girl friend and was wanted in Taiwan. But due to lack of appropriate law, he is protected in HK from Taiwanese government. Extradition law will send this guy back to Taiwan for trial. Then, justice will be served. So I think Mrs. Lam will eventually lead her administration to pass this law.
@Usok The allegedly HK kill is not protected. Taiwan had offered to negotiate a one off agreement to have him sent to Taiwan for trail and said they will not have used the extradition law if it had been passed. There is no rule of law in China; that is why HK people do not trust China's CCP controlled judiciary.
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Extradition law will be used to basically kidnap anyone who dare speak out again the Chinese Communist Party, including Tiananmen Sq Massacre, historic failures (Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution) and corruption in the party.
You think the leaders of the last Umbrella Movement will get a fair trial? Dream on.
Easy for the Communists to claim "treason", "subversion" and their favorite "counter-revolutionary"... All in quotes because they are made up offenses by the Communists to cover up their historical and current incompetence and brutality.
7
@Usok Not if includes mainland China.
1
"Maybe, this time, the people of Hong Kong will have the last laugh." I think not.
I feel bad for the people of Hong Kong but they are fighting a battle that cannot be won.
Hong Kong was occupied by force by the Brits in 1841 during the opium wars and is now being re-absorbed by China. That cannot be stopped or reversed.
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@Gary Valan
The NYT is sure optimistic. How can HK match the power of Beijing? China is not afraid of using force, and it knows that the world will just stand and watch. Nevertheless, even a delay is better than nothing, and HK needs to show the world that it values liberty and justice.
4
I applaud the dedication of the Hong Kong people in protesting the new extradition laws. They and many others in European countries have shown us the strength of disciplined resistance.
So as the 60% of us who detest this "presidency" look to the people of Hong Kong, what are they doing that we couldn't do? Absolutely nothing. We are capable of having tens of millions of people in the streets every weekend. We could shut down this country with massive, peaceful protests, week after week. But we don't.
Why? Because three years on in this nation's first dictatorship, the sad truth is that we don't care enough to protest. Oh, there have been a few large marches, but those were mainly media events. There hasn't been any grass roots uprising, as we sit comfortably by, waiting for somebody else to "rescue" us.
And Trump is counting on our passivity. He knows we will never protest as the Hong Kong residents have done. He knows we'll be content with a few jokes about him on late night TV. And he knows he could easily suspend the 2020 election by another of his fabricated "emergencies", and we would do nothing, but continue to sit home and grumble.
The fact is, the majority of us who are sickened by this man simply will not take the risks that are needed to overthrow a dictator. If the situation were reversed, and a Democratic president acted as Trump has, Republicans would be in the streets daily. But not us. And this is how Trump will rule for as long as he wants to.
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@Harriman Gray Sadly it is what I've been saying, tweeting, writing and calling, but to no avail. It's very sad to see that we're confronting our nightmarish situation on social media while we're being led to slaughter. So sad.
6
@Harriman Gray maybe we are not protesting because we KNOW we will vote in 15 months. Any suggestion otherwise is delusional or paranoid.
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@Harriman Gray
" he knows he could easily suspend the 2020 election by another of his fabricated "emergencies", and we would do nothing, but continue to sit home and grumble."
You must be kidding me. If he tried to do that there would be blood in the streets.
11
Americans should take note of the power of street demonstrations in changing unpopular political policies. Trump has the power of Barr protecting him from all political options to curtail his dictatorial impulses but mass street protests will get the media coverage Trump cannot realistically deny as he did in London.
18
When Bechtel first bought up all the water rights in Bolivia and enacted protectionist laws - one even criminalized the collection of rain water - there was a protest. But, since the actions of Bechtel, abetted by the authorities, was relatively new, not many people showed up, and the police quickly shut the whole thing down. Flash forward 3 years. The price of water is now stratospheric, about 35% of most people's take home pay. The laws have become even more brutal, and enforcement is now draconian.
People had finally learned, by harsh experience, what the original protesters had seen coming all along.
So, a new protest was organized. And this time they won. The main organizer said something to the effect that, "The police were afraid to come out of their buildings! And the only real power that day, was in the hands of the people. The people in the streets!" It gives me shivers just to think of the empowerment those people must have felt that day.
The organizers demanded that the contract with Bechtel be torn up, and the water laws repealed. And that's exactly what they got.
What happened in Bolivia is exactly what's happening in Hong Kong. And the abuses that lead to it are exactly the kind of thing the GOP is engaged in now.
They chip and chip and chip away at people's rights, wherever and whenever they can. They engage in higher and higher levels of corruption. And the more they get away with, the bigger their next theft will be. Until, eventually, they go too far.
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@Chicago Guy Respectfully, exactly what rights have the Republicans removed since 2016? The right to own a bump stock is only one I can recall.
4
As to the disputes between Mr. Trump and the mainland Chinese: a pox on both of their houses. At the risk of being accused of something, it's all about the Benjamins, baby. The Benjamins and the renminbi.
Solidarity with those who resist.
11
What's wrong with the US that every major city cannot turn out a half million anti-Trump protesters at the drop of a hat? The stakes are the same: Our freedom.
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@Eero
Leadership. That’s whats missing. The Women’s March did it, then squabbling destroyed that great movement.
The history of rebellion is factions that always split. But this rebellion is not finished, a leader needs to arise, it will happen, it will happen.
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@Eero
Americans are too distracted by work and media. it would be nearly impossible to mobilize and agree on an issue
2
@Eero Maybe those half million citizens just don't agree with you.
2
Great piece Ying. Very proud of Hong Kongers standing up for their rights. But don't make this last stand or last laugh. Make it count. If Carrie Lam can stand down, so can marchers. Chill. Wait and See. Listen. Talk things over. I will always stand with Hong Kongers who want rule of law, fairness, freedom to speak up and to claim their space. Make progress. Make peace. Make us proud.
(A Hong Kong-born U.S. citizen.)
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@Mable My sentiment too. But even if they can "make it count" the force of dictatorship is counting too, to 2047, when the so-called "one country, two system" and the so-called "high degree of autonomy" is no longer guaranteed under the Basic Law.
8
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
As in Hong Kong, as in the US.
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Charles Mok, Dennis Kwok and Chan were in Washington at the invitation of the Trump administration
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3002953/hong-kong-lawmakers-and-former-no-2-hit-us-capital-report
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1449248-20190323.htm
Looks like the protest organizers needed to get permission from their American handlers before going forward. I'm amazed that Hong Kong will tolerate their own government members spilling national secrets to foreign powers in plain sight.
If Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Jim Jordan went to Russia to "brief" Putin's security committee about the "situation" in the US, the American people would lynch them as traitors. (or at least ought to, anyway; not sure these days).
It's a good thing to see that Hong Kong's leaders still have enough perspective to recognize collusion with hostile foreign powers when they see it.
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@Mary
May be they should go to Beijing instead, right? Don't try to smear a genuine democracy movement with " foreign collusion". The whole world as well as any clear head person can see the difference .
1
@Mary
"If Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Jim Jordan went to Russia to "brief" Putin's security committee about the "situation" in the US, the American people would lynch them as traitors. (or at least ought to, anyway; not sure these days)."
Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnel and Jim Jordan have no need to inform Putin's security committee about the "situation in the US. President Trump has been supplying Putin with information about the US since 2016.
1
@Mary Your analogy is faulty because the US representatives you name are members of the party in power. HK Opposition legislators met with US officials.
1
The regime is afraid that protests may spread. Chinese history: when people get fed up enough, all hell breaks loose and the dynasty collapses. Whenever it did, there was chaos. god, help us, the regime has nuclear weapons. What happens when a government with nukes melts down?
3
China’s autocratic power grab is enabled by America’s withdrawal from world leadership. We are watching the erosion of democratic values in many countries. We need to hear what the presidential candidates intend to do to reverse this troubling trend.
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@Josh No it isn't. The USA was hardly "withdrawing from world leadership" when Beijing did Tienanmen in 1989.
Please, let's stop the cartoon presentation of the USA as some white knight in silver armor out to save the world. The US Navy is not "a global force for good", a propaganda ad that has mercifully ceased airing. How can that be when the Pentagon is the world's #1 institutional emitter of CO2?
Instead, the Hong Kong events are to inspire us to do something about the deeply undemocratic political system in the USA. We don't need "world leadership" from the USA, the world needs a political revolution in the USA...NOW.
2
The massive turnout of peaceful protesters in Hong Kong are hard to hide, easy to violently disperse. By courageously assembling again and again, they show peoples throughout the world that freedom requires sacrifice, unity of purpose, perseverance.
Keep returning. Heroes all.
143
Cheers for Yuen Ying Chan and her enlightening and courageous article. We in the US have a lot to learn about mainland China and Hong Kong and that evolving relationship.
47
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, may have tabled the bill but it was, I believe, actually on China’s instructions.
China is consolidating its holdings according to it interests and proximity. Carrie Lam, no matter how shrewd and courageous, has no option but to go along.
China will simply wait and try again. Eventually the protesters will find out serious China is. They will be crushed. Mercilessly.
While I sympathize with Hong Kong and the protesters, they are doomed. As of 1999 when Britain ceded control, Hong Kong became inexorably linked within China’s circuit of influence. They are powerless.
The same can be said for all countries within and near the China Sea.
40
@PC - the recent construction of the new rail link in Kowloon contains a massive footprint belonging to China: the area for "border control" and one in which Chinese officials have control and autonomy. The PRC has a staging area inside Kowloon.
12
@PC sadly I agree. China is not "backing down"- merely saving Face... retreat, regroup, plan better, then relentlessly crush the opposition. there is no room for dissent within their hegemonic world view. see new technologies for how they plan to eliminate the radicals in their midst (Muslims)- and the fiefdoms they still seek to conquer (Tibet, Hong Kong).
1
@PC
Unfortunately, I share this view. Unlike American politicians, the Chinese leadership can bide their time as they have for 20 years- turning a screw here or there at a time of their choosing. Since they answer to no one but themselves, particularly Xi Jinping, they can be patient. As we saw in Tiananmen Square 30 years ago, when patience runs out, they will crush their opposition without mercy. The United States will certainly not save them, certainly not with this regime in the White House, and probably not ever.
2
We stand with the democracy loving protesters of Hong Kong. This bill is a power grab by autocratic China, and should be withdrawn.
88
This is the time to apply maximum pressure on Beijing. They are on the defensive and should not be give any chance to re-group.
Power to the People!
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