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The impasse Hong Kong finds itself must be solved by the Chief Executive. Her leadership in this matter is severely lacking and one wonders if the has any auton

The impasse Hong Kong finds itself must be solved by the Chief Executive. Her leadership in this matter is severely lacking and one wonders if the has any autonomous power at all, or if its all controlled by Beijing. Especially seeing how she evaded that question quite gracelessly a few days ago when asked by a reporter.

AmericanChopper 7y ago
I don’t think anybody seriously thinks Hong Kong has any meaningful level of autonomy. The impasse is that Hong Kongers want freedom and democracy, and China wants Hong Kong to be China. I can’t see what the Chief Executive could possibly do. Either the protestors will give up, or stage a revolution, which seems unlikely for a population armed with umbrellas.
- thecopy 7y ago
  > I can’t see what the Chief Executive could possibly do Your assumption that HK doesn't have any autonomy might have something to do with that ;) As to what she could do: she can do a lot; the protestors have a list of 5 demands, one of them is the withdrawal of the extradition-bill. She could comply with that, for example.
  - billfruit 7y ago
    Which she has declared to have been withdrawn.
    - decoyworker 7y ago
      Has not been formally withdrawn.
    - spacehunt 7y ago
      She declared it "dead" which is not a legal term.
      - billfruit 7y ago
        Yes, but politicians speaking to the press often speak in a non-formal manner. At any rate the bill appears not to be under active consideration at present.
        spacehunt 7y ago
        Doesn't matter; the government can still resume the second reading with only a few days notice and then rush through the bill within 24 hours, unless it is formally withdrawn.
    - thecopy 7y ago
      No, it has been suspended. Withdrawn is a separate state. If the government in the future want implement this again, it is a lot less effort to continue a suspended bill rather than a withdraw. The difference is that with a withdrawn bill the legislative process needs to start from zero while a suspended can just be "unsuspended".
  - AmericanChopper 7y ago
    But it seems quite obvious that she actually does not have the power to do that. She doesn’t even have the power to resign, she tried and China said no. Their demands also include permanent legislative independence from China. Something they obviously don’t have today, and will have less and less as China continues it’s stated policy of continuing the complete integration of Hong Kong into China. Any level of autonomy Hong Kong has is granted entirely at the discretion of China, and is only temporary in any case, as it has an expiry date. It’s exceedingly obvious to any observer that Hong Kong does not currently have sufficient autonomy to satisfy the protestors demands.
- neonIcon 7y ago
  Really illustrates the importance of our own second amendment.
  - remotecool 7y ago
    This has been my thought too. China is allowing these protests to go on. At any point, they can roll in the tanks, and they will be over. Without meaningful ways to defend themselves, there really is no way to win against the Chinese government.
    - idlewords 7y ago
      How do you defend yourself against the Chinese army with just handguns and rifles? You can post the answer here, or better yet, sell it to Taiwan confidentially for billions of dollars.
      - psychrometer 7y ago
        Ask the Vietnamese.
        Retric 7y ago
        For a more recent example ISIS was crushed. The Vietnamese had massive foreign support. China is unlikely to give up so easily, and no country is going to want to keep arming such a resistance.
        doanguyen 7y ago
        Just to be clear, in the most recent conflict between Vietnam and China, we had very limit foreign support, even the support from the Soviet.
        doanguyen 7y ago
        I'm glad that you asked. We had a long history with our big "brother" China. But I don't think this is relevant because at the end of the day, Hong Kong and Taiwan are still Chinese.
- idlewords 7y ago
  I don't really understand this comment. Hong Kong enjoys considerable autonomy, the threatened loss of which is the reason for the current protests. This very real autonomy is the reason it continues to be a thriving financial center.
idlewords 7y ago
The widespread rumor among the foreign Hong Kong press corps is that Lam has tried several times to resign, and not been permitted to do so.
- jddj 7y ago
  If true, what a nasty position to be in. Unwanted and unhappy, but can't leave. I wonder if this might make some otherwise "approved candidates" think twice.
  - JetSpiegel 7y ago
    She should call Theresa May for tips how to cope.
- toss1 7y ago
  If so, then where can her career go from here? Go completely CCP authoritarian will kill any trust of her by HK citizens, and could she advance anywhere in the mainland party? Go to the HK side may regain trust but kill all CCP future. Neither, the current state, will ensure that nobody is happy. Seems like no possible exit plan? Could CCP push her hard enough that she must exit by taking her own life? If so, would that be a sufficient potential embarrassment for CCP to prevent them from doing so?

AmericanChopper 7y ago

I don’t think anybody seriously thinks Hong Kong has any meaningful level of autonomy. The impasse is that Hong Kongers want freedom and democracy, and China wants Hong Kong to be China. I can’t see what the Chief Executive could possibly do. Either the protestors will give up, or stage a revolution, which seems unlikely for a population armed with umbrellas.

thecopy 7y ago
> I can’t see what the Chief Executive could possibly do Your assumption that HK doesn't have any autonomy might have something to do with that ;) As to what she could do: she can do a lot; the protestors have a list of 5 demands, one of them is the withdrawal of the extradition-bill. She could comply with that, for example.
- billfruit 7y ago
  Which she has declared to have been withdrawn.
  - decoyworker 7y ago
    Has not been formally withdrawn.
  - spacehunt 7y ago
    She declared it "dead" which is not a legal term.
    - billfruit 7y ago
      Yes, but politicians speaking to the press often speak in a non-formal manner. At any rate the bill appears not to be under active consideration at present.
      - spacehunt 7y ago
        Doesn't matter; the government can still resume the second reading with only a few days notice and then rush through the bill within 24 hours, unless it is formally withdrawn.
  - thecopy 7y ago
    No, it has been suspended. Withdrawn is a separate state. If the government in the future want implement this again, it is a lot less effort to continue a suspended bill rather than a withdraw. The difference is that with a withdrawn bill the legislative process needs to start from zero while a suspended can just be "unsuspended".
- AmericanChopper 7y ago
  But it seems quite obvious that she actually does not have the power to do that. She doesn’t even have the power to resign, she tried and China said no. Their demands also include permanent legislative independence from China. Something they obviously don’t have today, and will have less and less as China continues it’s stated policy of continuing the complete integration of Hong Kong into China. Any level of autonomy Hong Kong has is granted entirely at the discretion of China, and is only temporary in any case, as it has an expiry date. It’s exceedingly obvious to any observer that Hong Kong does not currently have sufficient autonomy to satisfy the protestors demands.
neonIcon 7y ago
Really illustrates the importance of our own second amendment.
- remotecool 7y ago
  This has been my thought too. China is allowing these protests to go on. At any point, they can roll in the tanks, and they will be over. Without meaningful ways to defend themselves, there really is no way to win against the Chinese government.
  - idlewords 7y ago
    How do you defend yourself against the Chinese army with just handguns and rifles? You can post the answer here, or better yet, sell it to Taiwan confidentially for billions of dollars.
    - psychrometer 7y ago
      Ask the Vietnamese.
      - Retric 7y ago
        For a more recent example ISIS was crushed. The Vietnamese had massive foreign support. China is unlikely to give up so easily, and no country is going to want to keep arming such a resistance.
        doanguyen 7y ago
        Just to be clear, in the most recent conflict between Vietnam and China, we had very limit foreign support, even the support from the Soviet.
      - doanguyen 7y ago
        I'm glad that you asked. We had a long history with our big "brother" China. But I don't think this is relevant because at the end of the day, Hong Kong and Taiwan are still Chinese.
idlewords 7y ago
I don't really understand this comment. Hong Kong enjoys considerable autonomy, the threatened loss of which is the reason for the current protests. This very real autonomy is the reason it continues to be a thriving financial center.

idlewords 7y ago

The widespread rumor among the foreign Hong Kong press corps is that Lam has tried several times to resign, and not been permitted to do so.

jddj 7y ago
If true, what a nasty position to be in. Unwanted and unhappy, but can't leave. I wonder if this might make some otherwise "approved candidates" think twice.
- JetSpiegel 7y ago
  She should call Theresa May for tips how to cope.
toss1 7y ago
If so, then where can her career go from here? Go completely CCP authoritarian will kill any trust of her by HK citizens, and could she advance anywhere in the mainland party? Go to the HK side may regain trust but kill all CCP future. Neither, the current state, will ensure that nobody is happy. Seems like no possible exit plan? Could CCP push her hard enough that she must exit by taking her own life? If so, would that be a sufficient potential embarrassment for CCP to prevent them from doing so?