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In vinceguidry's defense, most countries don't have the kind of heads-up about looming dictatorships that Hong Kong had: the Sino-British Joint Declaration in D

In vinceguidry's defense, most countries don't have the kind of heads-up about looming dictatorships that Hong Kong had: the Sino-British Joint Declaration in December 1984 made it clear that handover would take place in 1997. If you were concerned about being governed by Communists, you had 13 years to get the hell out. And if you weren't concerned about being governed by Communists...well, you clearly hadn't been paying attention to history. Tiananmen Square (1989) alone should have been a wake-up call to China's future subjects. This doesn't make what's happening now less appalling, but HK residents had ample opportunity to avoid the inevitable. Compare that to other dictatorships that sprung up relatively overnight; in Turkey, for instance, Erdogan has been president for little more than 2 years.

11thEarlOfMar 10y ago
>13 years to get the hell out This is exactly why my father-in-law sent all 5 of his kids to the US for college. All 5 now have US passports and can leave Hong Kong if and when it becomes worse than they can stand. So far, 2 of them have made the move.
rodgerd 10y ago
> you had 13 years to get the hell out. Good luck with immigration. Britain certainly didn't want to let many of its former subject leave.
brian_cloutier 10y ago
Erdogan founded Akparty, the ruling party, 15 years ago (In 2001). He was prime minister for 11 years before becoming president. What has happened to Turkey happened quickly but took much longer than 2 years. To add, I don't know much about Hong Kong, but it's pretty difficult to leave Turkey if you're a citizen, not many countries want to give you a Visa meaning only the educated, upper class, is able to leave. If you're proposing a solution you should propose one which doesn't leave behind all the poor.
jahewson 10y ago
And where exactly were 7 million people supposed to move?
- MrZongle2 10y ago
  That's the responsibility of the individual, or the family. As an aside, the United States alone has brought in more than 7 million immigrants from all over the world, in just the past decade.

11thEarlOfMar 10y ago

>13 years to get the hell out This is exactly why my father-in-law sent all 5 of his kids to the US for college. All 5 now have US passports and can leave Hong Kong if and when it becomes worse than they can stand. So far, 2 of them have made the move.

rodgerd 10y ago

> you had 13 years to get the hell out. Good luck with immigration. Britain certainly didn't want to let many of its former subject leave.

brian_cloutier 10y ago

Erdogan founded Akparty, the ruling party, 15 years ago (In 2001). He was prime minister for 11 years before becoming president. What has happened to Turkey happened quickly but took much longer than 2 years. To add, I don't know much about Hong Kong, but it's pretty difficult to leave Turkey if you're a citizen, not many countries want to give you a Visa meaning only the educated, upper class, is able to leave. If you're proposing a solution you should propose one which doesn't leave behind all the poor.

jahewson 10y ago

And where exactly were 7 million people supposed to move?

MrZongle2 10y ago
That's the responsibility of the individual, or the family. As an aside, the United States alone has brought in more than 7 million immigrants from all over the world, in just the past decade.