Hong Kong court convicts 14 pro-democracy activists in city's biggest national security case

Hong Kong is the number one piece of evidence why China cannot be trusted and why it will turn everything to manure it touches.

So when does the Chinese govt. go on trial for breaking the agreement they made with Britain on the conditions of the handover - non-interference with Hong Kong for fifty years?

A total sham, as everybody knows.

These democracy activists are the real patriots. All those involved in their arrest, persecution and "conviction" [sic] are the traitors: from the scum on the ground to the scum at the top - Emperor Xi.

Glory to Hong Kong.

Poor Hong Kong.

They deserve better.

JJEToday 03:11 pm JST

Never. There is no court for such a "trial".

Britain foolishly trusted the CCP when it gave its word. No-one should ever trust the CCP.

There were no such conditions

Yes, there were. And there still are - until 2047.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration

the central government's policies for the territory were to remain unchanged for a period of 50 years after 1997.

JJEToday 03:56 pm JST

Now imagine if, say, Russia was forced to hand Crimea back to Ukraine but attached a list of conditions on the handover.

Would you expect those 'conditions' to be honored? Of, course you wouldn't.

Don't know why people think Britain has any special privilege to impose conditions upon a colonial theft.

Because the corrupt CCP signed an agreement to not crush all freedoms for 50 years, but couldn't even wait 25.

Conditions weren't "imposed:" they were negotiated on, and agreed between the parties. The CCP signed the agreement, and is bound by it. But it lied, and reneged on the terms.

exactly.

Every democracy-loving Hong Kong resident should emigrate to ANYWHERE else where their rights and freedoms will be protected.

Leave the But here Of Beijing with an empty husk of depreciating property and a dilapidated knowledge base.

Congrats, CCP. You’ve made HK citizens yearn for the days of Colonial rule by the British Empire.

moon: one piece of evidence why China cannot be trusted 

The peoples living in Xinjiang, and Tibet provide more evidence. But it could be among them there are those that want an all-powerful state to dictate how they live their lives and what beliefs they are allowed to hold have, though I think they would constitute a minority.

While China proudly claims to be the 2nd most powerful economic country and talks of becomming the dominant world power, Chinese are escaping to other countries both legally and illegally. A dictatorship of one party rule that absolutely will not tolerate any form of dissent. Be it a political party or individual.

Mr KiplingToday 04:50 pm JST

When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to retain the city's Western-style civil liberties for 50 years.

Not quite true. Both parties promised to keep Hong Kong as it was for 50 years. But then the Western powers started to push for "independence" and "democracy". Things they never once mentioned under direct rule from the UK as a colony. The west broke it's promise along with Beijing.

Garbage. Free speech and assembly were supposed to be protected. If the thugs in Peking couldn't handle the result, that is their problem.

No surprise at the verdicts handed down by Chinese Kangaroo judges and the draconian sentences to be meted out to the victims of the Beijing gangster clique, but let's not fool ourselves: state terror coming from regimes of all stripes is on the upswing in real time and on our phones and laptops as the corrupt rich and ruling powerful are starting to feel the ground moving under them in the proliferating crises faced by the capitalist system. In the last 8 months alone the Western electoral democracies have shown just how far they too are prepared go to keep control by letting their smiley mask slip and removing the velvet glove from their iron fist.

It is part of China and always has been.

And China only had to wait a few more years to do what it liked with Hong Kong having signed an international agreement to do just that. The point is that it showed itself totally incapable of playing the long game, acting like a petulant kid, but, more importantly, it failed to keep to something it signed up to in front of the world. Now the world can see clearly it cannot be trusted. I know it is hard to face the fact that you cannot be trusted. It's shame-inducing and hard to deal with.

Mr Kipling

When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to retain the city's Western-style civil liberties for 50 years.

Not quite true. Both parties promised to keep Hong Kong as it was for 50 years.

True.

But then the Western powers started to push for "independence" and "democracy".

Not true. As part of the negotiations Chris Paton tried to include more democratic language in the agreement, but the CCP was having none of it. This was before the agreement was arrived at, not after.

Things they never once mentioned under direct rule from the UK as a colony. The west broke it's promise along with Beijing.

No, they didn't. The final agreement didn't have some of the things that UK wanted, but the UK didn't break any promises.

You miss the point. Britain has no standing to impose conditions in the first place. It is part of China and always has been.

The new territories 99 year lease was about to run out but the Island was seeded to Briton.

And as a legal agreement between nations, Briton has all the standing it needs.

No dissent, criticism, nor opposition to the unelected government allowed in cesspool Hong Kong. Even the word "democracy" typed in social media - or on an email - sees citizens arrested there.

Hong Kong is a despicable, totalitarian police state under the 100% control of Communist China. All police, judiciary and public servants there are scum that will one day hopefully meet their fate. Anyone who visits or does any business with HK is supporting and condoning the regime.

Full respect to the heroes of freedom and democracy Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan.

Mr KiplingToday 04:50 pm JST

But then the Western powers started to push for "independence" and "democracy".

Blaming "Western powers" is a typical CCP propaganda line, and is highly condescending to the people of China, who are more than capable of seeing for themselves that brutal, totalitarian rule has absolutely no place in the modern world.

Democracy (only a few wanted independence) is what these brave Hong Kongers, and many more like them were pushing for. Plus, I might add, many people in mainland China (and other autocracies).

People like this, to name but one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo

quercetumToday 05:30 pm JST

Attempts to overthrow the government

No, attempts to have the rights that were legally guaranteed to the people by the Sino-British Joint Declaration: the one Emperor Xi tore up.

quercetum

Go cry a Yangtze River about it. So China broke some rules. The question is what is the UK doing about it? Nothing.

And what would you suggest they do? They have noting to do with Hong Kong.

You don't seem very sympathetic with citizens of Hong Kong, who are Chinese, not British, to live better lives.

quercetumToday 06:58 pm JST

Go cry a Yangtze River about it. So China broke some rules.

And proved to the world, yet again, that it does not give a damn about the people it purportedly represents.

At least you agree that the CCP is in the wrong here.

The question is what is the UK doing about it?

The question is why should the UK need to do anything? Doesn't the CCP understand what it signed up to?

The question is why the CCP continues to oppress "its" people, and deny them political representation?

And the question is why do people like you cheerlead for such a patently unfair system?

Lord forbid that Chinese should have basic human rights.

quercetumMay 30 06:58 pm JST

Go cry a Yangtze River about it. So China broke some rules. The question is what is the UK doing about it? Nothing.

Oh, so China isn't the saintly law abiding actor it pretends to be, huh? The fact is the CCP only wants its citizens to be running dogs and otherwise they get put down.

You miss the point. Britain has no standing to impose conditions in the first place. It is part of China and always has been.

You miss the point, unsurprisingly, as has been pointed out to you earlier, these are not “imposed conditions”, they were agreed upon and put to pen by the CCP itself.

I know it’s a constant struggle with the truth with the autocratic members on here, but while this double speak may work to fool your gullible and brainwashed societies, those of us who are allowed to ask questions and think for ourselves see through this charade. The attempts to try and rationalize the despotic actions of the wretched pariah mafia state you consistently defend though are cute, though. I’ll give you that.

The ChiComs absolutely abhor anything resembling democracy.

I'm going to laugh hard when the 'nationalists' who support the Chinese government arresting people for freedom of speech themselves start getting targeted. It's just a matter of time. Fools.

Hong Kong is Chinese territory..

And Chinese territory obey Chinese law..

But not all laws are just - after all, the Jewish concentration camps obeyed Germany's law at the time

quercetumToday 06:57 am JST

The civil umbrella protestors are not arrested, are they.

Only because they haven't been caught or the prisons would be even more stuffed to the gills if they were:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2qq47qdqwlo

Insurrection under the disguise of civil liberties is an old trick and will not work. Nonsense will not be tolerated.

Just look at your Trump supporters and how the U.S. government take care of their protests if turned violent.

At least you agree that the CCP is in the wrong here.

That’s your silly narrative. Civil liberties never includes violence. They are civil. The civil umbrella protestors are not arrested, are they.

The British did the right thing and clamped down on Hong Kong protestors in 1967 which included deaths. The British did the right thing. Well done for the Hong Kong Courts in following good tradition.

Civil liberties do not include insurrection and rioting so they? Brick throwing and destruction will be taken care of easily and these and others well deserve to be arrested.

China has proved again no nonsenses will be tolerated.

Hong Kong is Chinese territory..

And Chinese territory obey Chinese law..

GO CHINA!!..

Go cry a Yangtze River about it. So China broke some rules. The question is what is the UK doing about it? Nothing.

When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, Beijing promised to retain the city's Western-style civil liberties for 50 years.

Not quite true. Both parties promised to keep Hong Kong as it was for 50 years. But then the Western powers started to push for "independence" and "democracy". Things they never once mentioned under direct rule from the UK as a colony. The west broke it's promise along with Beijing.

Good job by China to send the right message. Attempts to overthrow the government will be effectively dealt with like in any other countries including democracies. These Hong Kongers tried in 1967 but failed. The government needs to tighten the leash.

China will never allow a bunch of thugs to run rampant inside government buildings like on January 6th. Impossible. You have to take care of business first to be a competent ruling body.

You miss the point. Britain has no standing to impose conditions in the first place. It is part of China and always has been.

No, I don't. Just employing a hypothetical territorial handover to illustrate and highlight the absurdity of Party A imposing conditions on a piece of land being handed back to Party B.

(For the record, Britain's claim over HK was far more absurd than other separate territorial issues and doesn't compare. Their legal and moral standing on this contemporary issue is just as shaky)

Never. There is no court for such a "trial". Britian stole it and turned that into a base of operations for a global violent narcotic cartel. There were no such conditions and its actually UK/others interfering with their domestic affairs.

Now imagine if, say, Russia was forced to hand Crimea back to Ukraine but attached a list of conditions on the handover.

Would you expect those 'conditions' to be honored? Of, course you wouldn't.

Don't know why people think Britain has any special privilege to impose conditions upon a colonial theft.