13 ms·

If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong, I think offering expedited immigration for interested . vulnerable citizens might do the trick. Like t

by ausbah 6y ago

If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong, I think offering expedited immigration for interested . vulnerable citizens might do the trick. Like the US withdrawal during the Fall of Saigon taking a large number of vulnerable South Vietnamese citizens with them.

dade_ 6y ago
Military support for Taiwan, Republic of China, would be much more interesting.
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  Until nukes start flying.
  - dade_ 6y ago
    We are still in the dick swinging stage.
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    I'm pretty sure that China isn't going to start flinging nukes over Taiwan. They lose more than they gain by any conceivable metric.
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      Well, GP is talking about military support for Taiwan.
      - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        Not all military support takes the form of nukes, though.
        TeMPOraL 6y ago
        I was thinking that the US getting directly involved, sending troops to Taiwan, would be a very big escalation of the tensions that are between the States and China.
    - blackrock 6y ago
      If nukes start flying, Taiwan is not the target. A far more important opponent is.
- thejynxed 6y ago
  The U.S.A. at least, has a military obligation to protect Taiwan due to several treaties dating back to WWII. The most recent POTUS to formally and publicly remind mainland China of this fact was Bush Jr.
pkaye 6y ago
Though they might gravitate towards Canada which has the highest population of Hong Kong citizens outside of Hong Kong itself.
- BurningFrog 6y ago
  I don't think Canada has offered though...
- SeanLuke 6y ago
  Doubtful. The United States is a high immigration priority among the Hong Kong chinese. Vancouver (and Australia) received the bulk of Hong Kong immigrants because, during the handover exodus, the US imposed extraordinary hurdles on immigrants from there. This turned out to be a really, really stupid thing to do. The Hong Kong chinese are essentially the ideal immigrant: extremely industrious, very well educated, highly motivated to integrate their children, possessing unusually strong international business and finance ties, strongly law-abiding and highly family oriented, and a great many speak flawless English. So... Canada got them. HongKongers are a unique breed. We would be wise to not repeat our past mistake.
  - pkaye 6y ago
    However the US is in worse shape than back then. Do you think they would still prefer the US over Canada?
    - cal5k 6y ago
      It really isn't, though. America's real GDP growth rate has been outpacing Canada's for decades now, and it's reflected in Canada's low average salaries relative to the US in a lot of top fields. Add to that the Canadian dollar's likely continued weak performance and you can make significantly more in the US if you're at the top of your field. The difference in GDP per capita, even adjusted for PPP, is significant and quite durable: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD?locations=CA-US https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD?locat... I personally don't see how that gap doesn't become wider over time, because our economic policies favour oligopolies over robust competition in many sectors, and we've been actively sabotaging any attempt to develop our bountiful natural resources.
jbay808 6y ago
At least the UK ought to do so.
- tibbydudeza 6y ago
  Hong Kong was lost the day the agreement was signed with the UK. Like they did in South Africa they just packed their bags when it became expedient to do so and buggered off without worrying about the consequences.
purple_ferret 6y ago
So Hong Kong is only filled with CPC supporters, which just further cements China's claim? At a certain point and time, Hong Kongers should be given political asylum, but the standards should also apply to mainland and Tibetan residents.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  > So Hong Kong is only filled with China supporters, which just further cements China's claim? From an American policy or geopolitical perspective, Hong Kong as an island is meaningless. Its people are its capital. > the standards should also apply to mainland and Tibetan residents Perfect is the enemy of good.
  - CerealFounder 6y ago
    You're telling me, an island, literally connected, to our greatest current world foe (sorry Russia), is geopolitically meaningless? You think Newsome would would be indifferent if China grabbed Catalina Island?
    - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
      > an island, literally connected, to our greatest current world foe (sorry Russia), is geopolitically meaningless? Strategically speaking, yes. Nobody is landing troops or planes on Hong Kong. And China's ability to project military power onto it is unconstrained, today, by non-diplomatic factors. Between leaving the population in place in hopes it makes Beijing's life more difficult, and offering them relief, the advantage--to the people and outsiders--seems heavily one sided. > You think Newsome would would be indifferent if China grabbed Catalina Island? Most Americans would be pissed if anyone grabbed any sliver of American territory. That doesn't make every inch of American territory high ground.
      - inimino 6y ago
        Shipping, finance, and industry, man. Sure, asylum for anyone who wants it may be the right thing to do, but you can't seriously say that the geographical location of HK is meaningless, or that having a tiny outpost of liberalism as a check on the worst impulses of the mainland has no value and we should just airlift out half the population, can you?
BurningFrog 6y ago
> If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong Hong Kong is lost. But its people can still be saved.
- hitpointdrew 6y ago
  > Hong Kong is lost. With that attitude it certainly is. Maybe if we had the balls to sanction China for its myriad of human rights violations, or you know do what we have 0 problems doing in the middle east, provide arms and training to resisting movement (but I guess we only have to balls to do that when the country poses no real military threat to us).
  - thebooktocome 6y ago
    America's leadership isn't currently strong enough to project that much soft power, particularly as the current admin has been wantonly destroying any relationship we had with countries in the region opposed to China. (Japan is perhaps an exception, but they seem apathetic to HK in general.)
    - ceilingcorner 6y ago
      What countries? As far as I can tell, relations with Vietnam and Korea are quite good. Possibly historical highs with Vietnam.
      - remarkEon 6y ago
        What power projection does Vietnam do on the US' behalf in SEA? Any?
        CapricornNoble 6y ago
        Potentially naval basing. https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/will-vietnam-lease-cam-ranh-bay-to-the-united-states/ https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/will-vietnam-lease-cam-ranh-...
zucker42 6y ago
Won't that mostly benefit the more well off people in Hong Kong, since it's quite a big cost and risk to move? Not that I don't support freer immigration; I just think exodus is kind of the worst case scenario.
michaelcampbell 6y ago
> If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong Was that the goal here? Was Pompeo's testimony in any doubt, almost without regard to Hong Kong's situation?
- skoskie 6y ago
  It’s a comment on the content of the article you didn’t read. > “The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong as they struggle against the CCP’s increasing denial of the autonomy that they were promised."
  - seneca 6y ago
    > It’s a comment on the content of the article you didn’t read. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html > Please don't comment on whether someone read an article.
malandrew 6y ago
They need to also move all the physical capital that makes the place worthwhile and leave the place as scorched earth. If I remember correctly, the HSBC building was actually designed so that much of it could be dismantled and removed from HK if the CCP handover did not go well. The only thing that would remain would be the large cantilevered pilons supporting all the removable floors.
ryuukk_ 6y ago
see, brainwashed people like you, they think HK is not chine, you don't even know the history of HK this is why there are wars everyday, because retards like you are breathing
hker 6y ago
There is a related discussion for migrating Hong Kong people in another thread right now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326670 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326670

by ausbah 6y ago

dade_ 6y ago

Military support for Taiwan, Republic of China, would be much more interesting.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
Until nukes start flying.
- dade_ 6y ago
  We are still in the dick swinging stage.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  I'm pretty sure that China isn't going to start flinging nukes over Taiwan. They lose more than they gain by any conceivable metric.
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    Well, GP is talking about military support for Taiwan.
    - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
      Not all military support takes the form of nukes, though.
      - TeMPOraL 6y ago
        I was thinking that the US getting directly involved, sending troops to Taiwan, would be a very big escalation of the tensions that are between the States and China.
  - blackrock 6y ago
    If nukes start flying, Taiwan is not the target. A far more important opponent is.
thejynxed 6y ago
The U.S.A. at least, has a military obligation to protect Taiwan due to several treaties dating back to WWII. The most recent POTUS to formally and publicly remind mainland China of this fact was Bush Jr.

pkaye 6y ago

Though they might gravitate towards Canada which has the highest population of Hong Kong citizens outside of Hong Kong itself.

BurningFrog 6y ago
I don't think Canada has offered though...
SeanLuke 6y ago
Doubtful. The United States is a high immigration priority among the Hong Kong chinese. Vancouver (and Australia) received the bulk of Hong Kong immigrants because, during the handover exodus, the US imposed extraordinary hurdles on immigrants from there. This turned out to be a really, really stupid thing to do. The Hong Kong chinese are essentially the ideal immigrant: extremely industrious, very well educated, highly motivated to integrate their children, possessing unusually strong international business and finance ties, strongly law-abiding and highly family oriented, and a great many speak flawless English. So... Canada got them. HongKongers are a unique breed. We would be wise to not repeat our past mistake.
- pkaye 6y ago
  However the US is in worse shape than back then. Do you think they would still prefer the US over Canada?
  - cal5k 6y ago
    It really isn't, though. America's real GDP growth rate has been outpacing Canada's for decades now, and it's reflected in Canada's low average salaries relative to the US in a lot of top fields. Add to that the Canadian dollar's likely continued weak performance and you can make significantly more in the US if you're at the top of your field. The difference in GDP per capita, even adjusted for PPP, is significant and quite durable: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD?locations=CA-US https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD?locat... I personally don't see how that gap doesn't become wider over time, because our economic policies favour oligopolies over robust competition in many sectors, and we've been actively sabotaging any attempt to develop our bountiful natural resources.

jbay808 6y ago

At least the UK ought to do so.

tibbydudeza 6y ago
Hong Kong was lost the day the agreement was signed with the UK. Like they did in South Africa they just packed their bags when it became expedient to do so and buggered off without worrying about the consequences.

purple_ferret 6y ago

So Hong Kong is only filled with CPC supporters, which just further cements China's claim? At a certain point and time, Hong Kongers should be given political asylum, but the standards should also apply to mainland and Tibetan residents.

JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> So Hong Kong is only filled with China supporters, which just further cements China's claim? From an American policy or geopolitical perspective, Hong Kong as an island is meaningless. Its people are its capital. > the standards should also apply to mainland and Tibetan residents Perfect is the enemy of good.
- CerealFounder 6y ago
  You're telling me, an island, literally connected, to our greatest current world foe (sorry Russia), is geopolitically meaningless? You think Newsome would would be indifferent if China grabbed Catalina Island?
  - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
    > an island, literally connected, to our greatest current world foe (sorry Russia), is geopolitically meaningless? Strategically speaking, yes. Nobody is landing troops or planes on Hong Kong. And China's ability to project military power onto it is unconstrained, today, by non-diplomatic factors. Between leaving the population in place in hopes it makes Beijing's life more difficult, and offering them relief, the advantage--to the people and outsiders--seems heavily one sided. > You think Newsome would would be indifferent if China grabbed Catalina Island? Most Americans would be pissed if anyone grabbed any sliver of American territory. That doesn't make every inch of American territory high ground.
    - inimino 6y ago
      Shipping, finance, and industry, man. Sure, asylum for anyone who wants it may be the right thing to do, but you can't seriously say that the geographical location of HK is meaningless, or that having a tiny outpost of liberalism as a check on the worst impulses of the mainland has no value and we should just airlift out half the population, can you?

BurningFrog 6y ago

> If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong Hong Kong is lost. But its people can still be saved.

hitpointdrew 6y ago
> Hong Kong is lost. With that attitude it certainly is. Maybe if we had the balls to sanction China for its myriad of human rights violations, or you know do what we have 0 problems doing in the middle east, provide arms and training to resisting movement (but I guess we only have to balls to do that when the country poses no real military threat to us).
- thebooktocome 6y ago
  America's leadership isn't currently strong enough to project that much soft power, particularly as the current admin has been wantonly destroying any relationship we had with countries in the region opposed to China. (Japan is perhaps an exception, but they seem apathetic to HK in general.)
  - ceilingcorner 6y ago
    What countries? As far as I can tell, relations with Vietnam and Korea are quite good. Possibly historical highs with Vietnam.
    - remarkEon 6y ago
      What power projection does Vietnam do on the US' behalf in SEA? Any?
      - CapricornNoble 6y ago
        Potentially naval basing. https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/will-vietnam-lease-cam-ranh-bay-to-the-united-states/ https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/will-vietnam-lease-cam-ranh-...

zucker42 6y ago

Won't that mostly benefit the more well off people in Hong Kong, since it's quite a big cost and risk to move? Not that I don't support freer immigration; I just think exodus is kind of the worst case scenario.

michaelcampbell 6y ago

> If the US really wants to show its support for Hong Kong Was that the goal here? Was Pompeo's testimony in any doubt, almost without regard to Hong Kong's situation?

skoskie 6y ago
It’s a comment on the content of the article you didn’t read. > “The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong as they struggle against the CCP’s increasing denial of the autonomy that they were promised."
- seneca 6y ago
  > It’s a comment on the content of the article you didn’t read. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html > Please don't comment on whether someone read an article.

malandrew 6y ago

They need to also move all the physical capital that makes the place worthwhile and leave the place as scorched earth. If I remember correctly, the HSBC building was actually designed so that much of it could be dismantled and removed from HK if the CCP handover did not go well. The only thing that would remain would be the large cantilevered pilons supporting all the removable floors.

ryuukk_ 6y ago

see, brainwashed people like you, they think HK is not chine, you don't even know the history of HK this is why there are wars everyday, because retards like you are breathing

hker 6y ago

There is a related discussion for migrating Hong Kong people in another thread right now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326670 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326670