3 ms·

I agree this is the better solution. A lot of the western commentators on this issue tend to take a ivory tower perspective. I think China could very well just

I agree this is the better solution. A lot of the western commentators on this issue tend to take a ivory tower perspective. I think China could very well just ignore them and let them burn. It doesn't necessarily make xi look weak. A lot of the Chinese people attitudes are it is what it is. If china's strategy is to just ignore everything and let Hong Kong people burn themselves out, which I personally think is the right strategy, the Chinese majority will understand and probably wouldn't care. And I think people are over estimating the importance of Hong Kong. There have already been experiments to turn Shanghai into a free economic zone. All they have to do is flip the switch and Shanghai or shenzhen will gradually replace Hong kongs role

arcticbull 7y ago
If Hong Kong is truly unimportant as you say, why not then let them go? I think HK is incredibly important to the ego of the PRC. They’re fearful of what this would mean, that it would cause China to lose the battle over Taiwan, over Xinjiang and over Tibet. It may not be a dealbreaker economically but it could be a tipping point for national unity. Many parts of China are looking to break away, for obvious reasons. The success of the ruling party may well depend on their ability to exert their will and control over the non-Core territories (and to an extent at least perceptually Taiwan) and keep the whole of what they’ve been selling as China as one. It’s not what it is that makes them important in this context it’s what it represents to the PRC.