3 ms·

> The agreement was signed in 1984/5, when the U.K. was a member of the EU, and did so with the EU’s blessing and backing. Could you point to such an "EU's ble

> The agreement was signed in 1984/5, when the U.K. was a member of the EU, and did so with the EU’s blessing and backing. Could you point to such an "EU's blessing and backing"? Evoking the UN doesn't really make that case, in that context, you could evoke some kind of "obligation" from literally every UN country. > It’s overly simplistic to consider them divorced because their name isn’t in the agreement title, and incorrect to say they did not have anything to do with it. Imho it's overly simplistic to evoke EU obligation on the fact that in 1985 the UK only ratified the Single European Act, at that point, it was still the "European Community" which is not the same as the European Union. Particularly in the context that back then HK was still considered UK territory, which the EC would have very little clout nor the authority to mess in. Even the modern-day EU does mostly refrain from interfering in such domestic territorial issues (Catalonia) as that's considered to be meddling too much in an individual EU country's sovereignty. You have to remember that the EU isn't some kind of "federal European government" that dictates to member states, the EC was even less so.

aksss 6y ago
> in that context, you could evoke some kind of "obligation" from literally every UN country. Wasn’t that the point?
- freeflight 6y ago
  The point for the UN maybe, but it still does not explain what any of that would have to do with the EU as the EU itself does not have voting rights in the UN but only holds enhanced observer status. I also don't see the UN interfering because if the UN would be willing and able to go there, then the whole Taiwan situation wouldn't exist. That's why as unpopular of a opinion it might be, I don't see the HK protesters getting any kind of international backing and if countries like the UK and US are so insistent on getting involved there then their best bet would be to offer people from HK citizenship, and with that, I mean actual proper citizenship and not this lip-service pseudo-citizenship. But I don't see that happening because none of these countries actually care about that HK situation, for them, just like pretty much all Five Eyes countries, this is very much torn in China's side they can keep on twisting to justify further antagonizing of China on the international stage. It's ice-cold and calculated geopolitics, the whole "humanitarian" angle might be pushed in the mainstream, like it's always to justify international interventions, but one has to be very naive to think any of that is rooted in serious and honest convictions and not just the "feel good" narrative it actually is.

aksss 6y ago

> in that context, you could evoke some kind of "obligation" from literally every UN country. Wasn’t that the point?

freeflight 6y ago
The point for the UN maybe, but it still does not explain what any of that would have to do with the EU as the EU itself does not have voting rights in the UN but only holds enhanced observer status. I also don't see the UN interfering because if the UN would be willing and able to go there, then the whole Taiwan situation wouldn't exist. That's why as unpopular of a opinion it might be, I don't see the HK protesters getting any kind of international backing and if countries like the UK and US are so insistent on getting involved there then their best bet would be to offer people from HK citizenship, and with that, I mean actual proper citizenship and not this lip-service pseudo-citizenship. But I don't see that happening because none of these countries actually care about that HK situation, for them, just like pretty much all Five Eyes countries, this is very much torn in China's side they can keep on twisting to justify further antagonizing of China on the international stage. It's ice-cold and calculated geopolitics, the whole "humanitarian" angle might be pushed in the mainstream, like it's always to justify international interventions, but one has to be very naive to think any of that is rooted in serious and honest convictions and not just the "feel good" narrative it actually is.