3 ms·

Did you forget about what happened with Hong Kong?

by villish 2mo ago

pepperoni_pizza 2mo ago
He's probably forbidden from speaking about it.
pjc50 2mo ago
The eradication of democracy in HK is extremely sad, but unfortunately it was only ever leased from China and the UK did not have a sound basis in international law for not handing it back.
- Lio 2mo ago
  > it was only ever leased from China Only part of Hong Kong, the New Territories, was leased from China. Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded to the UK in perpetuality. The UK didn't have to give them back but it also didn't have a reliable fresh water supply for such a large city that didn't depend on mainland China.
  - throw4r53w4 2mo ago
    Ceded at gunpoint. When might makes right, it makes sense China would try to get it back when strong enough.
    - Lio 2mo ago
      The same is true for Vladivostok but Xi seems pretty relaxed about that.
- HexDecOctBin 2mo ago
  Ah, so international law matters? In that case, surely China will follow the verdict of the South China Sea Arbitration?
  - maxglute 2mo ago
    No, because PCA ruling is lawfare and not international law. PRC is legally fully compliant with her UNCLOS accession obligations.
throw4r53w4 2mo ago
(throwaway for this comment) I see this question a lot and as someone who has traveled to and sometimes lived in Hong Kong for the past 20 years, the truth is on a day-to-day level, there isn’t really much change. I’m sure if you’re an activist there are huge changes. But as a regular person, life feels the same (even my local and expat friends feel this way). Also one thing to be clear about is Hong Kong never had a democracy. The governor was always appointed by the UK. It was only when the handover was certain, the UK tried to introduce voting. The UK also tried to pressure Portugal to stop giving citizenship to the people of Macau, because the UK didn’t want to do the same for Hongkongers.

3 ms·

Did you forget about what happened with Hong Kong?

by villish 2mo ago

Did you forget about what happened with Hong Kong?

pepperoni_pizza 2mo ago
He's probably forbidden from speaking about it.
pjc50 2mo ago
The eradication of democracy in HK is extremely sad, but unfortunately it was only ever leased from China and the UK did not have a sound basis in international law for not handing it back.
- Lio 2mo ago
  > it was only ever leased from China Only part of Hong Kong, the New Territories, was leased from China. Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded to the UK in perpetuality. The UK didn't have to give them back but it also didn't have a reliable fresh water supply for such a large city that didn't depend on mainland China.
  - throw4r53w4 2mo ago
    Ceded at gunpoint. When might makes right, it makes sense China would try to get it back when strong enough.
    - Lio 2mo ago
      The same is true for Vladivostok but Xi seems pretty relaxed about that.
- HexDecOctBin 2mo ago
  Ah, so international law matters? In that case, surely China will follow the verdict of the South China Sea Arbitration?
  - maxglute 2mo ago
    No, because PCA ruling is lawfare and not international law. PRC is legally fully compliant with her UNCLOS accession obligations.
throw4r53w4 2mo ago
(throwaway for this comment) I see this question a lot and as someone who has traveled to and sometimes lived in Hong Kong for the past 20 years, the truth is on a day-to-day level, there isn’t really much change. I’m sure if you’re an activist there are huge changes. But as a regular person, life feels the same (even my local and expat friends feel this way). Also one thing to be clear about is Hong Kong never had a democracy. The governor was always appointed by the UK. It was only when the handover was certain, the UK tried to introduce voting. The UK also tried to pressure Portugal to stop giving citizenship to the people of Macau, because the UK didn’t want to do the same for Hongkongers.