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https://www.techdirt.com/2022/05/11/china-finalizes-hong-kong-police-state-by-installing-man-who-led-crackdown-on-protests-as-its-next-leader/>
"The country that promised to allow Hong Kong to choose its own leadership
until at least 2047 is putting the finishing touches on its ahead-of-schedule
oppression. Pro-democracy protests greeted China’s incursion into the area,
alerting the world to the fact the ultra-profitable region was being invaded by
forces indistinguishable from those that had turned China into a
quasi-socialist nation by murdering millions of people who disagreed with the
government’s means and methods.
Hong Kong never really had a chance. It takes a nation of millions to hold a
nation of billions back, but the current Chinese government doesn’t really care
what the rest of the world thinks about it or its actions. While pretending
Hong Kong was still a democracy, the Chinese government not-so-quietly
installed its own leaders and laws, criminalizing pro-democracy activity and
bypassing what little was left of Hong Kong’s democracy to put its preferred
representatives in charge.
Carrie Lam, a pro-China stooge, was given the reins to Hong Kong. She was very
useful to the Chinese government, advancing its laws and efforts without
questioning the damage to the electorate she no longer needed to be worried
about. The Chinese government then made it clear “police state” wasn’t
something theoretical and/or metaphorical by moving up former Secretary of
Security John Lee to second-in-command. It also promoted a former police
commissioner to fill Lee’s spot.
Lee’s pedigree had apparently impressed his Chinese handlers. Lee was
instrumental in the crackdowns on pro-democracy protests, heading up police
efforts to enforce Chinese laws written specifically to punish protesters,
critics, and dissenters.
To further rig things in its favor, the Chinese government decided its version
of “democracy” would only pertain to “patriots” who supported its premature
takeover of Hong Kong. Instead of counting votes cast by unhappy Hong Kong
residents, the “election” of new officials would be handled by a
Chinese-appointed “committee” that would handpick 40 or 90 city legislators,
including the most important position: Chief Executive of the region."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
