3 ms·
Using the military on an backwater province is different from deploying troops to a dense city filled with millions of people. Not saying they might not still d
by pm90 7y ago
Using the military on an backwater province is different from deploying troops to a dense city filled with millions of people. Not saying they might not still do it, just pointing out that a PLA invasion of HK would command significant attention and sympathy worldwide.
- alasdair_ 7y ago>Using the military on an backwater province is different from deploying troops to a dense city filled with millions of people. Not saying they might not still do it, just pointing out that a PLA invasion of HK would command significant attention and sympathy worldwide. And, sadly, like in Tienanmen Square, little would change. The "international community" may condemn the violence and human rights abuses but, well, the "international community" still does business in Saudi Arabia, so the chance of the condemnation changing anything seems minimal.
- avip 7y agoPretty apt "Where was Gondor" case. HK-ers are alone. No one will help them.
- luckydata 7y agoTienanmen and how little the West leaned on China for that is the original sin that led us to the current situation. It's essentially the West' fault for not cutting ties and putting sanctions on China immediately after that. We're paying the price for our cheap electronics.
- pas 7y agoAgreed. Not because it would have helped much, but at least we wouldn't have gotten into this dependency mess.
- dis-sys 7y ago> PLA invasion of HK Did the 1st Marine Division invade LA in 1992?
- jdc 7y agoDoes LA have its own multi-party legislature, legal system, monetary system, immigration policy, official languages, postal system, and educational system?
- lettergram 7y agoI do think there’s a difference in that the city of LA had armed bands fighting each other. In this case, it’s the government vs protesters. The protesters want some laws changed to ensure they aren’t extradited and disappeared. In LA there were thugs looting stores and the store owners shooting at them. Hing Kong will go back peacefully if they have the Chinese government back down. Hing Kong is also essentially a client state to a large degree. So, invasion isn’t exactly a wrong way to describe it.
- peteretep 7y ago> a PLA invasion of HK would command significant attention and sympathy worldwide Which probably doesn't matter one iota, given Tibet, BUT: it's going to be hard to hide that invasion from mainland Chinese who live in big cities, and may just start asking some difficult questions. If you live in Shanghai -- or I guess more to the point in Shenzen -- you'll have to work quite hard to see why you might not be next
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y agoIf you live in Shenzhen or Shanghai, aren't you already fully under PRC control? China invading HK would certainly make peaceful reunification with Taiwan impossible though.
- luckydata 7y agoIt's already impossible.
- peteretep 7y agoYes, you are, as were the demonstrators in Tiananmen. I think my point is: it’s one thing to watch your government put down the “other” — Turkic Muslims, kinda-Indian Buddhists — but when they start coming for people who look and live like you, it’s liable to give you a moment’s pause. I think the risk of unrest spreading is much higher in this case.
- barry-cotter 7y agoMainland Chinese are well aware of what’s going on in Hong Kong. And whether you’re in Shanghai or Shenzhen there’s no question of you being next; this is already the reality you live in.
- my_username_is_ 7y agoI'm not as close to the situation right now, but several mainland Chinese people that I talked to following the mid-June protests (up to 2m protesters) hadn't heard of any of it happening