I support the two million peaceful marchers in Hong Kong,
fighting for their freedom from extradition to the Mainland.
However, they must stand up to the small radical group, who
resort to violent means, thereby endangering the well being of the city.
Those who fight in the name of "Rule of Law", must observe
the Hong Kong laws, which are fair and well established. They can protest in many ways which are within the law,
otherwise, they risk losing support from people like me.
9
It is summer time. Not many summer jobs in HK for high school and college kids. What else could be more exciting or fun than protesting in a public place drawing all the attention.
This kind of situation won't happen in US. Kids in summer are more busy to make money or do things that could add color to their resume. US kids will have a future, but not those kids protesting in HK.
It is sad that HK has been knocked down quite a bit since 2000. On the other hand, mainland China rises to the stratosphere. HK people used to look down on mainland Chinese due to poor economic conditions. Now they have nothing to compare to mainlanders.
This is time to vent their frustration and anger against HK government. But they picked the wrong subject to protest. In fact, the amendment of the existing extradition law is a good thing for HK.
8
The Hong Kong and Chinese governments can probably holdout long enough. The next step would be for enough action on the part of the protesters to make the Chinese send in troops. Then the whole world will understand the mindset of the Chinese Communist Party. Military rule! Do not trust one word the CCP says.
2
Why don't your people check out some facts before sharing naive opinions? Check the cause first from Wikipedia.
The 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong against the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill proposed by the government of Hong Kong. The legislation was proposed by the Security Bureau in February 2019 in response to a murder that occurred in Taiwan the previous year in which the suspect had fled to Hong Kong. As a special administrative region, Hong Kong is jurisdictionally distinct from mainland China and maintains a separate governing and legal system under the "one country, two systems" principle. The regional government was unable to transfer the fugitive to Taiwanese authorities, citing a lack of formal extradition arrangements between the two jurisdictions.
3
I can certainly sense the disappointments some people have when Chinese government kept calm and let HK police to handle the situation.
9
I'm a realist. And realistically, the protesters aren't going to win. The police and government only have to outlast the protesters.
China and Lam are telling the protesters the only way left for them is to commit violence. In fact, China would love that so they have justification to enter.
Important is also Ukraine. China saw Ukraine and learned those lessons. That's why Lam is being forced to stay by China even though she offered resignation. When Ukraine's Yanukovych, Ukraine moved to the West. China fears the same.
You really have to look at the Soviet Union and Russia to understand why Xi Jinping feels the way he does.
3
I was hoping to take a trip in November and spend some time enjoying the city as we have always done. I am usually not afraid to visit places that border on the side of dangerous, but with police not taking action against gangsters hitting citizens, I am not sure it is worth putting my family at risk.
It would be easier if it were a different area where quarters are not so confined, but in the event of an emergency, the last thing I want to be is caught in a mob with nowhere to reasonably escape. Hong Kong is too congested and tight of a place to be able to quickly call an audible if things quickly take a turn for the worse.
7
These are freedom fighters. Not mobs!
13
@Anonymous Who are you referring to? the mob I was referring to the Chinese Triad Gang Members that were beating innocent civilians and protesters.
11
Just like in the U.S., the first reaction of the Chinese Government is to ignore the civil courts, and simply bar the protesters from working. The idea is to impoverish them and their families, to make them homeless, and to force their relatives to apply pressure.
According to the article: "China’s civil aviation authority demanded that the airline bar staffers who have supported illegal assemblies or acts of violence from working on flights to mainland China."
5
i admire the energy and focus of those kids / and making the protests non-violent is a wise move / there are alot creative ways to protest / we could use some of the same in the US / in every city where Trump holds a rally these days there should be a non-violent fun creative type protest a festival of some sort - the opposite of everything Trump stands for in other words
10
China needs to affirm the conditions of the 1985 Sino-British Joint Declaration and prove it can be a mature superpower. The convenient fiction of "one country, two systems," is threatened by its grab for expanded powers. China must stay out of HK politics and jurisprudence, as it agreed to until at least 2047.
Carrie Lam has been exposed as a puppet. She has lost the respect and trust of the people she is supposed to govern. Allowing police to run rampant over demonstrators and their civil rights has put a ugly dent in HK's international image. Meanwhile, a once vibrant economy crumbles. She must go.
China faces a choice of living up to a diplomatic treaty vs. expanding the armed intervention in HK. This would have to be followed by the indefinite occupation by mainland troops of yet another resentful and economically ruined region. The whole world is watching what China chooses.
13
They are not 'protesters' they are Freedom Fighters.
And the best of luck to them all!
15
This is what we in America should be doing to protest the tyranny of corruption, racism and malfeasance in our current government.
31
A lot of drive by comments here pushing the every popular talking points against mainland China. No depth or imagination in it at all... simply parroting talking points issued by Washington.
Now... let's get real... if thousands of US citizens clad in black attire converged on a major US airport and squatted to disrupt operations... how exactly do you think that would turn out here?
I can answer for you... since your collective eyes are blinded by US nationalism ---> they would be arrested and detained in mass, not by local police.. but by federal authorities on grounds of "terrorism" in a federally controlled airport... simply for disrupting lawful commerce (which is what an airport does... commerce). Note: I am not endorsing such action, simply pointing out the hypocrisy of some of the comments here.
My point? The local government in Hong Kong is actually being more tolerant of the protesters then your own US government would be under the same circumstances. So you might want to get off your holier than China routine.
21
@Chuck
What you are saying is silly, if 3 million people marched on Washington the political change would be enormous. It would not need to escalate for 3 months like it is in Hong Kong. If you want proof, just look at what happened recently in Puerto Rico, where the governor resigned because of the protests. Another example is the march on Washington where "only" 250 thousand (in comparison to the 3 million protesters in HK) brought about significant changes in the civil rights movements.
11
@Chuck This comment is pure fantasy and it ignores the scale of what is happening in HK. If 1/7th of the US population protested together (like in HK) it would be about 45 million people, not thousands, and they would certainly not be detained in mass. Actually thousands of people did close airports in the NYC protesting against the muslim ban - their voices were heard and there were no mass arrests. People have power and and enough of them together cannot be ignored.
4
Why don't you count 1.3 billion mainland Chinese objection to the Hong Kong protection? Will anyone agree the independence of LA or part of it?
3
China has shown amazing patience so far in not releasing its 5000 or so soldiers stationed at the heart of the disturbances to break heads.
I believe this is because they worry about the optics of this kind of action on the Taiwanese, who are watching this drama very closely.
We here in America should take note--China is governed wisely by people who are careful not to create more troubles for China than they have now.
We should be so lucky.
7
The protests are happening because China is trying to introduce freedom-restricting laws into Hong Kong well in advance of 2047, in violation of the terms and spirit of the "one-party, two-systems" agreement.
In this respect, China is hardly showing "amazing patience."
Also, the fact that you believe that China deserves to be praised for not initiating what could be the next Tiananmen Square massacre is a fairly low bar for deserving praise.
37
The Uighurs and Tibetans will likely disagree with your faith in the wisdom of China's governance.
23
Hah! Amazing patience? They caused the problem in the first place with the sneaky attempt to use a murder case as the basis for a broad extradition law that would have undermined the separateness of HK’s legal system. Since there is no real rule of law in China, only the rule of the party, the rule of law would have disappeared in HK as well. The Chinese government’s lack of patience - not wanting to wait for the fifty years to run - is the root cause of all of this.
These protesters are heroes. I don’t know how this ends, but God bless them.
26
People of Hong Kong stay strong. The world is watching. The world needs you to be a beacon of hope for the rest of us who must suffer the tyranny of immoral government. May the winds of fate become a hurricane that will suffer no injustice. What you do for the good of Hong Kong is for the good of us all. May the FORCE be with you.
97
@Gunter Bubleit
Hope not, but I am getting the sense that China is about to unleash Tiannamen Square version 2 upon HK.
All power to folks fighting for their freedom.
4
@Gunter Bubleit The protests have descended into chaos and these very people would only RUIN Hong Kong. Occupying the airport will do zero good to commerce and business. Time to put a full stop to this nonsense.
1
@Gunter Bubleit
Do you know the facts and the cause? Here it is some
The 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong against the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill proposed by the government of Hong Kong. The legislation was proposed by the Security Bureau in February 2019 in response to a murder that occurred in Taiwan the previous year in which the suspect had fled to Hong Kong. As a special administrative region, Hong Kong is jurisdictionally distinct from mainland China and maintains a separate governing and legal system under the "one country, two systems" principle. The regional government was unable to transfer the fugitive to Taiwanese authorities, citing a lack of formal extradition arrangements between the two jurisdictions.
4
People of Hong Kong- keep on standing up for your rights.
15
People of HK stay strong, as your economy slowly sinks into a depression. Last week, visitor numbers were off 30%. I wonder why? Hotel rates are falling towards 2008 lows, during the Great Recession. Rates for Sept. and Oct. aren’t too terrible yet, but they’ll likely be cut soon. The convention business has been strong the past few years, but soon organizers will find that participants will balk at coming to chaotic HK. I was there in June. It’s not a fun place to visit anymore, as black shirts roam the streets, acting like big shots, knowing they can raise a mob in minutes.
8
@Joe -(ex-HK). What they are fighting is the system that will eat them, if not tomorrow, in some years, better to do it when they still have power. They can become a beacon in that vast country that china is and with some luck MAYBE change the whole country.
14
@william j.
May have had some sympathy before their recent tactics. Beijing was evidently willing to compromises before the defacing of the liaison office.
Anyway this will go on for awhile longer and die down.
1
@Joe -ex HK. I’m still here. And I was here in 1989, 1997, 2014. There are no black shirts swaggering about. Only the Yuen Long white shirts and the bamboo wielding thugs in North Point swaggered as people cowered in fear while they were viciously beaten. (And no arrests made) Maybe you didn’t know that since you are not here to appreciate the brave heart and soul that is Hong Kong?
10
For anyone in the NYC area that would like to show support for the protesters in HK. There will be rally this Saturday @ 3 PM at Pier 81 (12th Av & W 42nd St). There will be a sit-in assembly featuring a series of speeches and solidarity actions. Please drop by if you can!
7
For anyone in the NYC area that would like to show support for the protesters in HK. There will be rally this Saturday @ 3 PM at Pier 81 (12th Av & W 42nd St). There will be a sit-in assembly featuring a series of speeches and solidarity actions. Please drop by if you can!
13
Any Government worth its salt bends to the will of the people, the governed.
May the Hong Kong protesters survive and persist. Our hearts and prayers are with you.
What I don’t understand is why aren’t more people on the Mainland participating? Are they cowards? Do they not value what little freedom life affords them?
Do they not see themselves in these young people? Would they not wish for the same?
Hong Kong protesters stay strong. Your efforts are not in vain!
Someday history, and your subsequent, hard won freedoms in China will reflect that YOU stood valiant while everyone else cowed. Only the noble protesters in Hong Kong had the courage to stand up and stay resolute.
You showed all of China the way.
May the rest of China follow.
7
@PC, the censorship game is so strong mainland, the people there are either not aware of it or think it is just a small protest. It’s like a real life 1984.
15
@PC
The same HK folks has been heaping abuses at Chinese tourists for years. It’s well documented even by NYTs. And now they want support from the mainland public?
@PC
Nope. The people in the mainland, and quite frankly, the majority of the Chinese disapora outside of China with the exception of Taiwan simply do not care, at all.
It has nothing to do with cowardice. My fiancé is Singaporean. She views these protesters as terrorists. Singapore is a monster of an authoritarian juggernaut. There are next to no nations of Singapore's size that can boast the same level of development, security, and standard-of-living. Not even the famed major cities of the West (London, NYC, Paris), can compete with it. And they've done it all via little to no democracy.
The CCP has lifted nearly a billion people out of abject poverty into middle class. If you were one of those 800m Chinese, do you honestly think you'd even be sympathetic?
I might be French, but some days I wish I was born Chinese. China HAS shown the world the way for a millenia, may it continue to do so for another thousand years to come.
With or without Hong Kong.
3
HK we support you ! Its nice there is a movement in the world to fight for the rights they, the people, deserve. everyone deserves to be free of dictators and privelege. You are all heroes to have the guts to stand up.
12
All the best to Hong Kong, a globally unique jewel in China’s crown, if they can just leave it alone and let it be Hong Kong as they have for twenty years.
6
Whoever is head of the resistance in Hong Kong needs to come to show Democrats how you bring about change. This what should be going on every day in the USA. This is not even a radical movement but it is effective and lead by conviction and the light of democracy.
4
While the Hong Kong shows an admirable resistance let’s not forget that HK like Puerto Rico are small islands. It is very hard to mobilize in a huge country like the US.
How many non for profit organization can support mass demonstrations in Washington? There are local demonstrators relentlessly working but they can not offer the optics of one mass demonstration in the one main gateway. Perhaps Caravan Marches to Washington can be sponsored by the luxury fitness clubs that make money preparing us for the day of doom?
1
@Kingsley A. Rowe Thank you! Yes that's the beauty with our movement - there is no head. It's a true democratic protests where anyone - literally even you - is a "head". Anybody can organize and voting occurs online for the best course of action.
2
The international community needs to help the people of Hong Kong. China is clearly in violation of the 1997 treaty and it should be sanctioned.
29
@Amy We need to help ourselves here in America. We are not to far off from abdicating our Republic.
9
Oh I’m sorry, I thought that was a picture of Newark’s airport on a Tuesday.
31
@Frequent Flyer: Ok. You made me laugh. I needed that. Though might I add that it's a testament to the discipline of the protesters that a mass airport protest is only resulting in large crowds and increased awareness.
4
Yeah, didn’t mean to be shallow. I truly respect, admire, and honor the protesters. It is all too easy at times to make jokes from the relative comfort and security of my US-based living room.
4
What a shame. All the best to those from Hong Kong who only want China out of their business.
41
US consular staff have been caught red-handed in photos with those representing protesters.
The US interfering again in other countries' affairs.
Then again, we all knew it. Right, dear people at the NED?
9
@Maurits Sorry but the consular staff were not caught red-handed. It is not a secret US consular staff meet with local political parties or political opposition. This is part of what embassies and consulates do.
41
@JMC That may well be part of the duty of consular staff. However meeting with those responsible for civil unrest is inadvisable in the face of US/China deteriorating relations.
The protesters have a good case in expecting HK to deliver on several promises when the UK withdrew. US interference will only be to the detriment of the protesters.
2
@JMC Can you imagine what people in the US would say if the Trump election team met on regular basis with Russian embassy staff in 2016? That would be considered conspiracy and possibly treason. This maybe a normal part of US embassy and consulates' activities, then again, no body said US doesn't have double standard.
1
In one month the vast majority of 'activists' will return to class to study political science in Cantonese. The masks are multi-functional, hiding identity, acne, and a premature struggle for facial hair.
5
I’m not sure why we would expect these courageous Hong Kong protesters to succeed against a totalitarian state when we in the US can’t even get up off our couches to defend a democratic one. I worry about the outcomes in one place that is so openly defiant and another that is so frustratingly complacent.
76
And why hasn't trump said something, anything, in support of these protesters. If he supported democratic ideals, he would have by now.
7
@R.F.
Thank goodness that Trump has kept his mouth shut on this!
Any words of support from US officials would only give Beijing an opportunity to discredit the protests as being the result of outside influence.
21
Celeste, I sense this is, as it often is for the loser, the right thing done for all the wrong reasons. The loser probably buys into bully xi's propaganda that there never WERE protests in Hong Kong (or Tiananmen), and that it's a full-fledged province, just like Taiw—er, Chinese Taipei, Tibet, and the entire Pacific. Why would he speak about something that never occurred?
3
I am so inspired by their commitment to democracy and more broadly, freedom.
Stay strong, friends. The world is watching.
68
A question of world historical importance is the future of the Chinese Communist Party. The organization has more than 80 million members, many of them nominal, who control the largest society and the largest economy on earth. We can have deep admiration for the Hong Kong protesters as Westerners, but will they really succeed?
The ultimate question which is critical for the future of democratic governance in China and around the world is whether the vast party apparatus of the Chinese state will be able to moderate. Will it be able to accept Hong Kong as a post-communist part of China? I wonder what scholars with deep knowledge of the party have answers.
1
@Yankelnevich Largest economy on earth? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the US is still the largest economy on Earth and per capita the US blows away China. Furthermore, China is a totally an export-driven economy.
7
@JMC By the widely accepted Purchasing Power Parity standard China is now the largest economy by a significant amount.
7
@Yankelnevich
Bear in mind that while under British rule, no Chinese person was allowed to ‘vote’ due to their race. Voting rights only became an issue when Britain gave the Colony-Protectorate back to China in 1997.
1