Hong Kong Fooey

[_subgenius]

anyone care to wonder what is going on in Hong Kong?
or is Trump and Lysol a good distraction?

[_Icarus]

Right. We're the ones using Trump to distract from Hong Kong!

[_subgenius]

Right. We're the ones using Trump to distract from Hong Kong!

well, you have posted about little else, and likely knew nothing about HK until I brought it up.
But im sure you have been feverishly paying attention to only what matters these days.

[_canpakes]

Trump is doing a great job of distracting himself and the Republican Party from Hong Kong.

Just a few months ago, this was news:

Nov. 27, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump on Wednesday signed tough legislation that authorizes sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong, signaling support for pro-democracy activists and escalating tensions with Beijing as Mr. Trump tries to negotiate a trade deal with Chinese leaders.

China’s Foreign Ministry was furious, saying the bill “seriously interfered with Hong Kong affairs, seriously interfered with China’s internal affairs, and seriously violated international law and basic norms of international relations.” The ministry warned the United States against acting arbitrarily and said that any consequences would “be borne by the United States.”

Whether Mr. Trump would sign the legislation had been a subject of debate. He refused to commit to doing so as late as last Friday, saying that he supported the protesters but that President Xi Jinping of China was “a friend of mine.” But Mr. Trump was left with few options: The bill had passed both the House and the Senate by veto-proof majorities.

Mr. Trump’s decision, publicly announced the evening before Thanksgiving and after markets had closed, throws a potential wrench into the United States’ bilateral trade talks with China. Both countries have tried to keep the Hong Kong issue separate from their negotiations, which have been moving slowly.

Mr. Trump said his decision was not a sign of disrespect toward Mr. Xi, even though China’s government had demanded that the president reject the measure. Mr. Trump had previously skirted around the battles between pro-democracy demonstrators and police officers enforcing China’s authoritarian stance in Hong Kong.

“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China and the people of Hong Kong,” Mr. Trump said in a statement on Wednesday. “They are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long-term peace and prosperity for all.”

Trump needs a China trade deal to help him in November. And the Trump campaign is left with trying to paint Biden as potentially soft on China, yet Trump had to be dragged into signing this legislation last year. Within these conflicting objectives, Xi knows that he can put the screws to Donnie now, and freely pursue China’s foreign policy interests.

I would actually expect Donnie to make a whimpering noise about the Hong Kong situation as a way to try to look tough to his Base, but no action will come of it.

[_canpakes]

Trump will do nothing about this, either.

Good luck with the “Trump is strong on China!” marketing.

China plans to push through sweeping national security laws for Hong Kong at its annual meeting of parliament, in a move that critics say will effectively end the territory’s autonomy.

Beijing has been making it clear it wants new security legislation passed since huge pro-democracy protests last year plunged Hong Kong into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

“National security is the bedrock underpinning the stability of the country,” said Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the National People’s Congress (NPC), the annual meeting of parliament that kicks off its full session on Friday.

Zhang announced that delegates at the NPC – a largely rubber-stamping exercise – would “establish and improve a legal framework and mechanism for safeguarding national security” in Hong Kong.

Condemnation of the proposal was swift, amid fears it could erase the “one country, two systems” framework that is supposed to grant the territory a high degree of autonomy.

“This is the end of Hong Kong,” said the pro-democracy Honk Kong legislator Dennis Kwok. “Beijing, the Central People’s Government, has completely breached its promise to the Hong Kong people ... They are completely walking back on their obligation.”