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Hong Kong violence prompts reminder that China troops close at hand

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By James Pomfret and Clare Jim

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How long until PLA tanks start crushing people in HK?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

If protestors keep throwing gasoline on people and burning them alive then something has to be done.

Those are Chinese plants, not HK people.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Ah, the old "enemies of the people" line. Will she follow Beijing and blame the protests on the west?

Looking likely that the Chinese state is laying down the propaganda groundwork, in order to justify something truly horrible.

Remember this, China. You can't crush freedom.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Indeed, the more the protestors destroy buildings and private properties and use violence to assault others, their message is lost.

This is what made Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement so effective.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Freedom can't always be achieved by flowers and sit ins.

Beware the pro-Beijing voices of "reason" like Hi Xijin, who claim there's support for the police and their brutality.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

"Who wouldn’t want to attend class if they could? The government still isn’t listening to us."

And THAT is exactly what this is about.

The HK and mainland government are NOT listening to the people!

And when the government does not listen to the people and the people have no means to change the government, what are they supposed to do?!

"You have the backing of not only Hong Kong and Chinese people, but also Chinese soldiers and People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong," Hu Xijin wrote on his blog. "They can go into Hong Kong to provide support at any time."

And that is all the PRC government and CCP understand. Force. And totalitarian control.

I remind all those that defend the PRC government that 70 years ago, Mao and his merry band of revolutionaries overthrew the government in the mainland. I doubt they cared much if a few innocent people got killed in the process.

"If there's still any wishful thinking that by escalating violence, the Hong Kong ... government will yield to pressure, to satisfy the so-called political demands, I'm making this statement clear and loud here: that will not happen."

And there you have it. Carrie Lam, in a democratic society, would be elected by the people. However, she was not and she is making it clear she is not the representative of the HK people. She is a puppet for her masters in Beijing! Reminds of those Eastern European leaders that puppets of the Soviet Union!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The English language media extensively covered the HK police shooting, but not even a single media covered the video of the HK rioters setting a man on fire. Yes, you can actually see the video on YouTube. A peaceful man was having a dialogue with several of the "peaceful democracy loving protesters". He says to them "let's use dialogue instead of violence", and the next second you see the democracy fighters pouring gasoline on him and then lighting him on fire.

The fact that nobody reported on this, other than SCMP, but everybody focused on the HK police shooting is really telling about the media environment we are living in. Certain narratives are simply not shown on the mainstream media, whiles others are emphasized and drilled into people's heads on a daily basis. The sooner people lose all faith in the mainstream media, the better all of our lives are going to be. The better for all of humanity.

And about these violent separatists, they're really lucky they aren't in America or Europe. If you do 1/1000th of that in America, you can bet you will be either shot or send to prison for life. I actually suspect that, the central government in China is intentionally allowing these rioters to continue destroying their own city on purpose so they can create turmoil and destabilize their economy. Economically weak cities are easier to control. Just imagine a violent mob looting the city, burning cars, attacking police and innocent people, and waving Chinese flags, calling for separation of California from the US. Can you even fathom what will happen? Is there anybody here who honestly believes a violent mob like that is going to get even a millionth of a fraction of the same coverage the HK rioters are getting right now? From CNN to Fox News, everybody will be condemning them, calling them traitors, China spies, and national emergency situation. The military will be deployed within few hours, and there will be bloodshed on the streets.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

The stabbing of the politician on the street by one of the protestors was not covered in the mainstream media either.

And the much publicized video of the police shooting in actuality shows that the officer was more than justified in self defense. He was grappling with one protestor when another protestor starts following him and looking to engage. That the protestor was unarmed is absolutely irrelevant. And the officer shot him in the stomach, not the head. If the officer did not shoot most likely he would have been dealing with two or more protestors that would have attacked him and possibly taken his gun away and killed him.

Always two sides to a story. I'm no lover of the Chi-comm government, but I'm not blind to the nastiness of the protestors either.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Protesters threw petrol bombs at police after a weekend of clashes across the Chinese-ruled territory, marking a dramatic escalation in more than five months of often violent pro-democracy unrest.

.....Video images online also showed a man dousing petrol on another and setting him on fire outside Ma On Shan Plaza in the New Territories. Engulfed in flames, the man was able to rip off his shirt and douse the blaze. Police said he was in critical condition.

.....The unrest also spread to densely populated Mong Kok on the Kowloon peninsula, often the site of street clashes. Police used water cannon and tear gas to try to break up protesters who regrouped, digging up bricks to throw at police and blocking Nathan Road, a major artery. A taxi driver who drove close to the crowds was beaten.

.....Police said more than 120 places has been either vandalised or blocked on Monday. 

.....Police fired tear gas at Chinese University, where students hurled petrol bombs and barricaded the campus like a fortress.

.....Protesters threw petrol bombs at police at the Polytechnic University on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour. Petrol bombs were also thrown at Hong Kong University on the main island.

I wonder why these "peaceful" demonstrators are chosing to throw petrol bombs, and are dousing people with petrol and setting them on fire? Are these protestors required to throw bricks at police in order to be considered "protestors in good standing"?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

whatevern side of the fence you sit on, what is clear is that the situation is rapidly worsening and we may very well be past the point of no return. Cops shooting protesters and a pro china demonstrator set on fire. I really dont see how they are going to step back from this one- either side. And I fear the consequences for all.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Carrie Lam to denounce "enemies of the people"

Finally, Carrie admits she is an enemy of the people! What is the legal process to have her removed?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

And about these violent separatists, they're really lucky they aren't in America or Europe. If you do 1/1000th of that in America, you can bet you will be either shot or send to prison for life. 

They are being shot.

This is not a time for fence sitting. The people of Hong Kong are about to be set upon by dark forces from Beijing. Do we condemn them for having the temerity to stand up to police violence and the machinations of the state, or do we support them in their fight - yes; fight - for freedom?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Enemies of the people? Which people? The danger is that there are the people of Hong Kong, and then there are the people of China. Are the peoples one or two?

One Chinese person told me that Hong Kong is seen by people in Beijing in the same way that Europe sees Portugal, another country with different people, way down on the outer edge.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

They are being shot.

This is not a time for fence sitting. The people of Hong Kong are about to be set upon by dark forces from Beijing. Do we condemn them for having the temerity to stand up to police violence and the machinations of the state, or do we support them in their fight - yes; fight - for freedom?

Yes, this is exactly a time for fence sitting.

So people like you blindly support these 'protesters' when they torch businesses, buildings, and human beings, and go around committing acts of violence including attacking and stabbing those with opposing viewpoints?

I'm not going to stand with anyone that resorts to such mindless violence. They aren't protesting anything but engaging in mindless violence and muddling their original message. Standing up to a political regime and police state is hardly equivalent to engaging in violence and terrorist acts.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

nandakandamanda

Enemies of the people? Which people?

excellent question my friend.

The danger is that there are the people of Hong Kong, and then there are the people of China.

Exactly!

Are the peoples one or two?

definitely two.

One Chinese person told me that Hong Kong is seen by people in Beijing in the same way that Europe sees Portugal, another country with different people, way down on the outer edge.

Please tell that Chinese idiot 2 things:

if that's the case and Hong Kong is seen by people in Beijing as another country with different people, way down on the outer edge

Then what they are doing is actually attempting to invade and or annex another country with a different people according to that person. Also-

Shows how much that Chinese person knows about the outside world. You should correct that idiot and tell them that Europe does not see Portugal as "another country with different people, way down on the outer edge." Portugal is a fully integrated member of the EU within the EUROZONE and Shengen with all the rights and privileges of any other EU member.
4 ( +4 / -0 )

Good post, Aly.

China will have to somehow make out that the protesters are not 'the people', nor the voice of 'the people', but a minority that can be separated away and pinched out.

In order to do this they will need to create enough fear in the people that no-one will have the courage to speak their true feeling any more.

They may indeed succeed for a while, but heroes will remain in people's hearts, just as they do with the famous Tian An Men protests.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

So people like you blindly support these 'protesters' when they torch businesses, buildings, and human beings, and go around committing acts of violence including attacking and stabbing those with opposing viewpoints?

You could actually read what I posted on this, instead of fabricating a narrative. Freedom cannot always be won by peaceful methods, sadly.

Once more, that does not mean I condone said violence. But that's what happens when you try to crush a people and crush freedoms.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

If China does happen to pull another Tiananmen by slaughtering thousands of people, then hopefully the world will do the right thing this time and treat China as a pariah.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We don't know if these "violent demonstrators" are real ones or agent provocateurs from the mainland or the HK rightwing groups.

Any political movement that does not explicitly denounce violence from the start and disown violent actors renders itself vulnerable to agent provocateurs. This is why explicit and unequivocal non-violence is such a valuable tactic. This uprising is hopelessly lost due to the rioter's own stupidity and ignorance of history.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

StrangerlandToday 07:32 am JSTIf protestors keep throwing gasoline on people and burning them alive then something has to be done.

Those are Chinese plants, not HK people

And Lam will use this as an excuse to crack down and/or allow Red China to invade HK - if the CCP thinks they can get away with that, they will do it. Mark my words.

Communist Poland cracked down on the Solidarity protestors in early 1982 in this manner.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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