Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Hong Kong elections – Wake-up call for Beijing? | To The Point" video.

  1.  Chi Ng  But I'm talking about the protesters, whom they did support.
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  2. There's less logistics involved in China letting go of Hong Kong and the Hongkongers staying put.
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  3. You must be very desperate to suggest cutting Hong Kong off. Not that I'm surprised, however. We're witnessing the slow-but-sure demise of the CCP.
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  4. We all live in glass houses these days. Get used to it.
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  5.  @holboroman  Yes, and they sympathized with the pro-democracy protesters rather than with the pro-Beijing faction.
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  6. I suppose not... China doesn't care much for democracy.
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  7. No one in their right mind wants the job. I bet Carrie Lam has been begging Beijing to let her go.
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  8. Democracy must be a new concept to you.
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  9. You keep fooling yourself if that brings you solace in these dire times for Beijing. Sadly for China, it all looks very pitiful in the eyes of the outside world.
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  10.  @abdeenn3  Aw, you suffer from paranoia. We've all suffered injustices at the hands of other powers, but we don't keep whining about it. "In the eyes of the world" -- do you have anything --- surveys, studies or whatever apart from paranoia-fueled gut feelings -- to back that up?
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  11. If you replace Hong Kong with Shenzen, you'll only see the problem spread to Shenzen. Sooner or later, people will stand up for their democratic rights.
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  12. Now's the time for Beijing to face reality, or face the consequences of more intransigence -- more violent protests.
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  13.  @wallybords  It looks like you can't separate cause from consequence. The civil strife in Hong Kong is a consequence of discontent with Beijing's interference in local affairs. You call it the result of brainwashing of a few, but the recent elections showed that the same discontent that motivates the rioters is felt far and wide within Hong Kong society. If Beijing keeps refusing to address the root cause, the discontent will continue to manifest itself in one form or another. Perhaps as continued riots, or perhaps the next move will be that foreign passport-holders leave en masse. Hong Kong will be really gutted then.
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  14.  @wallybords  Why would you compare the status quo with what was during British rule? That's over and done with. Why can't Hong Kong compare itself to the best? In many respects, theirs is a highly-developed society and now they want improvement in the one respect where they're lagging behind: democracy. If I were a Hongkonger, I would find it unacceptable that mainland China keeps dragging Hong Kong down. I understand that Beijing fears a dangerous precedent in a truly democratic Hong Kong, because it would open the door for other developed regions of China wanting the same rights. That would spell the end of the CCP's monopoly on power -- and rightly so. Also, it is unavoidable. It looks like all you've set out to prove is that present-day Hong Kong sucks less than colonial Hong Kong. That's a no-brainer, but Hong Kong shouldn't suck at all.
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  15.  @wallybords  By comparing what was to what is, you are dragging Hong Kong down. You're dragging Hong Kong down further by comparing it to mainland China, as if the Hongkongers should be eternally grateful for even a modicum of more political freedom than what the mainlanders enjoy. If that's the rule, China is a millstone around Hong Kong's neck. Being able to voice one's grievances as opposed to having the power to address those grievances are two entirely different things. I consider the riots a direct consequence of one not leading to the other. You're still unable to distinguish cause from consequence.
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  16. We've seen the Hongkongers protest for democracy for six months. Now it's established beyond doubt that the populace stands behind them. Where's the surprise?
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  17.  @Santeh60  If that's what the Californians want, why not? Their right to self-determination is no different from that of the Hongkongers. You seem to think present-day national borders are carved in stone. Not so -- they're changing all the time.
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  18.  @Santeh60  In California, no bloodshed. The same goes for Scotland, Catalonia, Flanders, Northern Ireland and what not. There are plenty of precedents, too. Czechoslovakia dissolved very peacefully. Amazingly, even the Soviet Union came to a relatively peacefully end. There's a good case study for China.
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