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> What freedoms are they fighting for, that they don't already have? Are they not protesting against the erosion of those freedoms via the new security laws?

FooBarWidget 6y ago
3 million people signed the petition in support for the security law. Why would they support it if they are against it?
- raxxorrax 6y ago
  Doesn't mean anything since businesses already fear repercussions if they do not. There are billions on the line. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/HSBC-takes-fire-from-top-investor-and-US-for-backing-China-law https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/HSBC-takes-fire-fro... > "C.Y. Leung, the former chief executive of Hong Kong and a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Beijing's top advisory council, had publicly threatened HSBC with a consumer boycott over its earlier reticence about the national security laws." People love security laws...
- joshuaissac 6y ago
  Hong Kong has a population of about 7.5 million, so there is no guarantee that the signers are the same people as the protesters. And if they are, that raises the question, did they really support it if they are actually on the streets opposing it? The 3 million number is actually from two petitions, one offline (with 1.83m signatures) and the other online (with 1.08m signatures).[1] A similar petition purported to be signed by about 2500 entertainers was disavowed by some of the same entertainers who had supposedly signed it,[2] so I would be doubtful about the numbers. 1. https://parstoday.com/en/news/world-i122011-nearly_3_million_people_sign_petition_backing_china%E2%80%99s_security_law_for_hong_kong https://parstoday.com/en/news/world-i122011-nearly_3_million... 2. https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/02/artists-deny-signing-petition-backing-hong-kong-national-security-law/ https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/02/artists-deny-signing-petit...
  - FooBarWidget 6y ago
    Thanks for this info. I did not claim, nor do I believe, that the protesters and the security law supporters are the same group (even though there might be overlap, or people who changed opinion midway). I will update my position about the security law to a more nuanced one. It's not so much that the Hong Kong people, on a whole, support the security law. It means that Hong Kong is divided. It also means that the mainstream media depiction that nearly all HK people oppose the security law, is equally false.

FooBarWidget 6y ago

3 million people signed the petition in support for the security law. Why would they support it if they are against it?

raxxorrax 6y ago
Doesn't mean anything since businesses already fear repercussions if they do not. There are billions on the line. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/HSBC-takes-fire-from-top-investor-and-US-for-backing-China-law https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/HSBC-takes-fire-fro... > "C.Y. Leung, the former chief executive of Hong Kong and a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Beijing's top advisory council, had publicly threatened HSBC with a consumer boycott over its earlier reticence about the national security laws." People love security laws...
joshuaissac 6y ago
Hong Kong has a population of about 7.5 million, so there is no guarantee that the signers are the same people as the protesters. And if they are, that raises the question, did they really support it if they are actually on the streets opposing it? The 3 million number is actually from two petitions, one offline (with 1.83m signatures) and the other online (with 1.08m signatures).[1] A similar petition purported to be signed by about 2500 entertainers was disavowed by some of the same entertainers who had supposedly signed it,[2] so I would be doubtful about the numbers. 1. https://parstoday.com/en/news/world-i122011-nearly_3_million_people_sign_petition_backing_china%E2%80%99s_security_law_for_hong_kong https://parstoday.com/en/news/world-i122011-nearly_3_million... 2. https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/02/artists-deny-signing-petition-backing-hong-kong-national-security-law/ https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/02/artists-deny-signing-petit...
- FooBarWidget 6y ago
  Thanks for this info. I did not claim, nor do I believe, that the protesters and the security law supporters are the same group (even though there might be overlap, or people who changed opinion midway). I will update my position about the security law to a more nuanced one. It's not so much that the Hong Kong people, on a whole, support the security law. It means that Hong Kong is divided. It also means that the mainstream media depiction that nearly all HK people oppose the security law, is equally false.