<
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/09/09/hong-kongs-puppet-government-convicts-two-more-journalists-on-sedition-charges/>
"The Chinese government wants the money that flows through Hong Kong. It has no
desire to put up with the freedom and democracy Hong Kong has enjoyed since
being freed of its colonialist overlords.
The UK government exited Hong Kong only to see the Chinese government replace
it as the new colonialists. The Chinese government agreed to take a hands-off
approach for 50 years after the UK’s exit, but almost immediately violated this
agreement to shut down dissent while it siphons off the wealth.
Pro-democracy protests that received worldwide coverage resulted in
hastily-written, extremely draconian national security laws that expanded the
Chinese government’s direct control of Hong Kong. Since then, the Chinese
government has ousted pro-democracy politicians and replaced them with
hand-picked hardliners willing to exchange their humanity for just a little bit
more power.
Controlling the government is one thing. Controlling the population is a bit
more difficult. But it’s been made much easier with new laws that treat dissent
as a threat to national security. This has resulted in censorship — something
usually enforced by arrests and jail sentences for critics, dissenters, and
even pop artists who chose to speak up against the Chinese government.
Hong Kong’s new national security law was used to arrest Jimmy Lai, a prominent
pro-democracy media tycoon, making it clear to everyone that while the Chinese
government’s version of capitalism might allow people to become rich, it will
never allow citizens to become powerful — not if they’re unwilling to fully
bend the knee.
Two more journalists are now facing criminal charges for publishing articles
critical of the Chinese government. And while the Chinese government has
conveniently forgotten its promise to exiting UK colonialists to take a
hands-off approach to governing Hong Kong, it’s more than happy to use laws
written by UK colonialists to punish its critics."
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
