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The U.S. Should Defend Hong Kong
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoYeah, maybe not. I mean, one could argue that the US should defend freedom anywhere in the world. (One could also argue that it should not, on several grounds.) But Hong Kong is legally part of China. It's a special part, with special rules, but it's part of China. That makes it difficult to create a legal case for US intervention. And without a legal case, it's harder to make a moral one. Hong Kong is also geographically part of China. In practical terms, that makes it difficult to defend without getting involved in a land war in Asia. That's a very unappealing prospect; there is no political appetite whatsoever in the US for doing so.
- simonblack 7y agoAnd China should defend New York from the US. See how stupid it sounds when the situation is reversed.
- FabHK 7y agoTha analogy is misguided: * The law and contracts (such as the Joint Declaration) play a role. * The residents of the territory in question have a say in the matter. On both accounts, this is not comparable.
- AnimalMuppet 7y ago"Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed", and all that. It might be analogous to China offering to defend Texas, if Texas decided to secede from the US, though.