# Hong Kong, 2047, and the current protests. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 16, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620 "2019-06-16T22:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/41 "2019-07-07T15:25:31Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Likewise, why would China want at best an embarrassing confrontation? How is mainland China harmed by letting Hong Kong be a special district? Wow. There’s a lot of history behind what’s happening, first. Then there’s the whole “desires of an autocrat” thing, which is the most important thing. What about modern China, especially cities like Shenzhen and Beijing, leads you to think the goal is anything less than total conformity to the stated ideals and goals? Did you not read the link about Xinjiang? Have you not heard what they are doing to Muslims and Christians? Not heard about the social credit program? The unbelievably ubiquitous coverage of areas by cameras with facial recognition software? 😕 Xi’s China is all about control and conformity. They narrow the acceptable down a little bit every year; they believe they have lots of time. I mean, it’s not like Xi is going to be voted out of office or anything. And a Hong Kong that operates differently is out of the question for a “unified” China. They still have a couple of decades to squeeze, but they’re confidant they can mold Hong Kong into the shape they want. Many HK citizens are starting to feel the squeeze and know it won’t abate, only intensify, and they aren’t feeling happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/42 "2019-07-07T15:42:57Z")
[Here is an article about Xinjiang.](https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-life-like-in-xinjiang-reeducation-camps-china-2018-5) It’s serious horror-movie shit happening in real life. Try not to think about who China’s largest trade partner is, who’s money (and technology) flows into China that makes them prosperous enough to do this. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/43 "2019-07-07T18:44:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > . . . Once they strike a deal, they can go back to sending more Mainland Chinese to live and work there and continue to inundate Hong Kongers with Mandarin speaking migrants. Or, so long as Xi and the CCP give them no more ‘issues’ to rally around, the movement may peter out (and then they can send more mainland Chinese to live and work there). I know Hong Kong mostly through what I’ve heard from ex-pats and from what I’ve read, so may be wrong about this, but a common theme seems to be that Hong Kong is very crowded and very expensive. If that’s true, is there even decent housing for lots more mainlanders? Who pays their rent once they’re in HK? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/44 "2019-07-07T20:55:58Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > That’s what China’s worried of right now: HK’s demonstrators are inspiring the next generation of Mainland protesters. The smart move, IMO, would be for Beijing (via its proxies in HK’s parliament) to negotiate for some sort of guaranteed semi-autonomy with no further restrictions for the foreseeable future. Beijing should even offer some concessions. Once they strike a deal, they can go back to sending more Mainland Chinese to live and work there and continue to inundate Hong Kongers with Mandarin speaking migrants. Beijing’s mistake was that Xi Jinping was too ambitious and moved too quickly, a mistake he’s made often. With all due respect, Canto speaking Honkies are not the tail wagging the youth dog in China. Honkies treated the mainlanders like shit in the 80’s, 90’s and beyond. There is a determined lack of sympathy by the mainlanders towards hong kong based on a lot of anecdotal experiences. My wife being one of them. “the Chinese” believe in their manifest empire destiny". Tibetans, uigyers, Manchurians, Mongolians, etc have all historically been part of the motherland, and to the motherland they shall be integrated. Hong Kong, being nominally Han Chinese, is no different. Honkies are fucked and they know it. It’s just how slowly can they be integrated to the Borg and is there any autonomy that can be carved out? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/45 "2019-07-07T23:08:21Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > With all due respect, Canto speaking Honkies are not the tail wagging the youth dog in China. > > Honkies treated the mainlanders like shit in the 80’s, 90’s and beyond. There is a determined lack of sympathy by the mainlanders towards hong kong based on a lot of anecdotal experiences. My wife being one of them. > > “the Chinese” believe in their manifest empire destiny". Tibetans, uigyers, Manchurians, Mongolians, etc have all historically been part of the motherland, and to the motherland they shall be integrated. Hong Kong, being nominally Han Chinese, is no different. > > Honkies are fucked and they know it. It’s just how slowly can they be integrated to the Borg and is there any autonomy that can be carved out? Understood, and I don’t really disagree with the thrust of what you’ve written, but lack of sympathy or not, the free flow of ideas is the free flow of ideas. Case in point, the Middle East is a region full of bitter rivals, and yet the Arab Spring was something that spread from one country to the next, which is not to suggest that there’s going to be a Chinese Spring, but there is no question in my mind that Beijing is more than just a little concerned about the possibility of the scenario I laid out. You could have an entire generation of 15-24 year-old kids traveling in and out of HK who view the Hong Kongers are stuck up - they can still have a highly negative opinion of Hong Kongers and yet admire their fighting spirit and give it a test run under the right circumstances. Personally, I don’t think that this would happen unless the economy really deteriorated, and in response, Beijing did something stupid, like raiding pensions or other benefits, or hiking up taxes – there’s always good old fashioned inflation, too. Don’t think for a moment that under the right circumstances that certain impressionable youth wouldn’t fight back, especially if there are lots of unemployed, under-sexed young males running around. People living in China dismiss this possibility at their own peril. I don’t give a shit how tightly they monitor We-Chat or Weibo. Humans are humans, and when they’re pissed in sufficient numbers, watch out. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/46 "2019-07-14T18:41:44Z")
[It continues](https://apnews.com/ee9cbf5f0e9442908cad72898e51e1be): > [@](#): > > Police in Hong Kong fought with protesters on Sunday as they broke up a demonstration by thousands of people demanding the resignation of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s chief executive and an investigation into complaints of police violence. > > The protest in the northern district of Sha Tin was peaceful for most of the day, but scuffles broke out when police started clearing streets after nightfall. Some protesters retreated into a shopping complex where they and police hit each other with clubs and umbrellas. > > Police appeared to arrest some people, but reporters couldn’t see how many. The violence wound down toward midnight as the remaining protesters left the area. > [@](#): > > On Sunday, some protesters called for genuinely democratic voting in Hong Kong elections. A few demanded independence. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/47 "2019-07-14T20:18:17Z")
[Reuters has video from today’s protests](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l37KoDPOr8o) (1:46 video) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/48 "2019-07-14T22:00:33Z")
I get the sense that HK’s Beijing-leaning government and Beijing are trying to find a face-saving way to back down without making it look like they’re intimidated. But the fact is, mass demonstrations are intimidating. It’s the ultimate show of power. I don’t give a shit how sophisticated the surveillance state is: when people get angry and feel like they’ve been crossed to the point where they don’t care what happens to them, that’s a terrifying feeling for a government official to be in. It’s unpredictable. Elections are great, but what happens when representatives the people elect ignore the citizens? There’s a reason the freedom to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress is the First Amendment to the Constitution. Don’t for a moment think that the significance of having masses of humanity show their teeth was lost on the likes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/49 "2019-07-17T02:55:00Z")
[Hong Kong protests expand to oppose China, with no end near](https://apnews.com/743e65aa181043d09a8a62d7da9088c2): > [@](#): > > What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed — and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. “Hong Kong is not China” has become a refrain of the movement in what is a Chinese territory, but with its own laws and a separate legal system under a “one country, two systems” framework. > > Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Hong Kong in three marches last month to oppose the extradition legislation, which would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China, where critics fear they would face opaque charges and unfair trials. > > In recent weeks, the demonstrations have also included two smaller protests led by nativist-leaning groups against an influx of mainland Chinese into the city of 7.4 million people. All of it traces back to an underlying mistrust of the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities, which fuels calls for a more responsive government that protesters believe democracy would bring. > [@](#): > > Across these issues, protesters have increasingly held up signs expressing a broader wish: a yearning for greater democracy. > > Slogans such as “Free Hong Kong” and “Democracy Now” have become more widely used, said Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong-based lawyer and author of a book about the city’s recent protest history who has been attending the protests since they began. > > “People are fundamentally saying that they don’t trust the mainland Communist government,” he said. “There’s an underlying anxiety and fear in Hong Kong of what they’re going to do.” > > Pro-democracy sentiment has become more pronounced in recent years as Hong Kong residents increasingly feel that Beijing, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, is encroaching on their promised freedoms. > > A principal demand has been for “universal suffrage,” which means allowing Hong Kong citizens to vote directly for their chief executive and Legislative Council. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/50 "2019-07-17T03:08:33Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Hong Kong protests expand to oppose China, with no end near](https://apnews.com/743e65aa181043d09a8a62d7da9088c2): The timing of the HK protests, coinciding with an increasingly unstable economy on the Mainland, is going to make the situation even more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/51 "2019-07-20T07:54:22Z")
[I thought this was interesting; I suggest concerned Americans read it carefully](https://apnews.com/07914fb22f3e484789e5f2e7b0f20fe9): > [@](#): > > Hong Kong’s youth are no rookies when it comes to protests. > > The city’s young activists have fine-tuned their strategies since Occupy Central in 2014, a months-long pro-democracy demonstration that ended without tangible victories. Using a range of new tactics, they have helped rally hundreds of thousands of fellow Hong Kong residents to take to the streets over the past month. > [@](#): > > Another large march is planned for Sunday. From hand signals to Post-it notes, the protesters have honed multiple strategies and tools to maximize effectiveness, contend with police and keep up momentum: > [@](#): > > The power of the protesters’ nonverbal communication was apparent when a massive, dense crowd parted seamlessly to make way for an oncoming ambulance. Online videos capturing the moment spurred praise on social media for the protesters’ politeness and deft coordination. [Crowd parting for ambulance video here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwFHZbRZZuQ). > [@](#): > > Hong Kong activists first created their own Lennon Wall during the 2014 protests, covering a wall with a vibrant Post-it notes calling for democratic reform. This time, they have taken to sticking the neon-colored notes everywhere, erecting impromptu Lennon Walls across the city as quickly as others might tear them down. Some protesters have called it “flowers blossoming everywhere.” > > The fluid walls fit the movement’s mobile nature, said Antony Dapiran, the author of a book about dissent in Hong Kong. In contrast to the sit-in style of Occupy, he said, the current protesters will quickly evacuate a location once they’ve made an impact and move to another. > [@](#): > > While police put up barriers to deter demonstrators, protesters built their own barricades to protect themselves, block roads and prevent lawmakers from reaching the legislature. Like their shields, the protesters’ barricades are often repurposed materials, such as fences used to separate traffic lanes. > > In the movement’s early weeks, the protesters’ road blocks prevented a Legislative Council meeting that had been scheduled to discuss the extradition bill. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/52 "2019-07-20T14:09:28Z")
The protesters have a game plan, and they’re coordinating and implementing it to near perfection. One critical lesson they learned is not to discredit themselves by being unnecessarily disruptive; they’re focusing on their targets, and they’re garnering sympathy while not letting their behavior impede the lives of ordinary people. What’s fascinating, and perhaps unique about the HK protests, is that it’s not taking place concurrently with elections or campaigning; it’s a reaction to a law being enacted by an existing and legitimate government. As such, this perceived crisis requires an innovative approach, and HK’s protesters appear to have adapted to the times. They’re one or more moves ahead of local authorities, and they’re forcing Beijing to consider their own response to a crisis they didn’t anticipate. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/53 "2019-07-20T14:14:26Z")
Correct: they have stopped reacting and are now acting. They are controlling the narrative. And they are doing it in a way that allows them to form or disperse with near-telepathic communication that their opposition cannot penetrate. They also are communicating with the general public in a similar way, although with less focus, through the Post-It notes. Like I said, IMO concerned Americans should take note of these tactics. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/54 "2019-07-20T14:28:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Correct: they have stopped reacting and are now acting. They are controlling the narrative. And they are doing it in a way that allows them to form or disperse with near-telepathic communication that their opposition cannot penetrate. They also are communicating with the general public in a similar way, although with less focus, through the Post-It notes. > > Like I said, IMO concerned Americans should take note of these tactics. In absolute agreement. But first, Americans need to be pissed enough to get out of their homes in the first place. I’m not seeing it right now. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/55 "2019-07-20T14:40:42Z")
Nope. People have streaming video and can buy Doritos still. Not there yet. Not sure the American left can get there, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/56 "2019-07-20T14:46:40Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Nope. People have streaming video and can buy Doritos still. Not there yet. Not sure the American left can get there, to be honest. Yeah, lots of memes and sick burn online, but not an outpouring of passion. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/57 "2019-07-21T12:38:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Walking in sweltering heat, protesters dressed in black kicked off Sunday’s march from a public park, carrying a large banner that read “Independent Inquiry for Rule of Law.” > > “Free Hong Kong! Democracy now!” the protesters chanted, forming a dense procession through Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district as they were joined by others who had been waiting in side streets. > > “I think the government has never responded to our demands,” said Karen Yu, a 52-year-old Hong Kong resident who has attended four protests since last month. “No matter how much the government can do, at least it should come out and respond to us directly.” > > Marchers ignored orders from police to finish off the procession on a road in Wan Chai, according to police and the Civil Human Rights Front, the march’s organizers. > [@](#): > > Protesters repeated the five points of their “manifesto,” which was first introduced when a small group of them stormed the legislature earlier this month. Their main demands include universal suffrage — direct voting rights for all Hong Kong residents — as well as dropping charges against anti-extradition protesters, withdrawing the characterization of a clash between police and protesters as a “riot” and dissolving the Legislative Council. > > Protesters read the demands aloud in both English and Cantonese in videos released Saturday. > > “We did not want to embark on this path of resisting tyranny with our bare bodies,” they said, “but for too long, our government has lied and deceived, and refused to respond to the demands of the people.” [Clashes involving Hong Kong's protest movement grow violent | AP News](https://apnews.com/0a0597b0f8b34d6d91b84c4e754ee934there's) a picture of people holding signs asking Trump to intervene; not gonna happen, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/58 "2019-07-22T05:00:13Z")
> **[Clashes involving Hong Kong's protest movement grow violent](https://apnews.com/article/0a0597b0f8b34d6d91b84c4e754ee934)** > > HONG KONG (AP) — Clashes involving Hong Kong's protest movement escalated violently late Sunday as police launched tear gas at protesters who didn't disband after a massive march and subway riders were attacked by masked assailants who appeared to... > [@](#): > > Clashes involving Hong Kong’s protest movement escalated violently late Sunday as police launched tear gas at protesters who didn’t disband after a massive march and subway riders were attacked by masked assailants who appeared to target the pro-democracy demonstrators. > > The firing of tear gas was the latest confrontation between police and protesters who have taken to the streets for almost two months to fight a proposed extradition bill and call for electoral reforms in the Chinese territory. > > The march had been peaceful when it reached its police-designated end point in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district in the late afternoon, but thousands continued onward, at various points occupying key government and business districts. They then headed for the Liaison Office, which represents China’s Communist Party-led central government within the city. > [@](#): > > Hong Kong media released video showing masked assailants attacking commuters in a subway station. Among those attacked were protesters clad in their trademark black clothing and yellow hard hats. > > The attackers, meanwhile, were dressed in white with black masks pulled over their heads. On Saturday, demonstrators wore white at a counter-rally in support of police. > > Footage from Apple Daily showed the attackers using umbrellas to beat people in the station and inside a subway car. Subway passengers filmed by Stand News and iCABLE angrily accused police officers of not intervening in the attack. > **[Hong Kong crisis escalates after mob attack on protesters](https://apnews.com/article/43607d409ec84484aba9eb31d6debad2)** > > HONG KONG (AP) — An overnight attack by white-clad assailants apparently targeting pro-democracy protesters raised tensions to new levels in Hong Kong on Monday as China harshly criticized the weekend demonstration, saying "central authority cannot... > [@](#): > > The official People’s Daily newspaper said Monday in a front-page commentary that the protesters’ actions were “intolerable.” > > The article headlined “Central Authority Cannot be Challenged” expanded on a strong condemnation issued the previous night by the government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/59 "2019-07-22T15:25:57Z")
This is the first move by the Mainland. It’ll use “patriots” to fight the protesters. Perhaps they’ll be arrested but receive only slaps on the wrist with special treatment in jail, or perhaps no prosecution at all. They’re no doubt doing this with the support of the government. Goons are more effective at taking out protesters than the local police in this case. As with any protest, there is always risk. We talked up-thread about the possibility of American protesters adopting similar tactics of non-violent protest if things come to a boil in this country. Well this is probably how the radical right wing would respond. They’d send the goons out first. Maybe it’s the militia members. Maybe it’s bad-ass biker gangs. Maybe it’s the Pinkertons or Blackwater. Who knows? But protesting is never without hazard. ---
**Author:** ![Dongyang2016](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58f4c7/32.png) [@Dongyang2016](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dongyang2016)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/60 "2019-07-25T17:49:41Z")
To China Guy (Quote) 1. The UK sold HK down the proverbial river. Long story short, the UK could have put HK on the path to democracy post WW2, and instead treated it like a colony. When it got closer to the 1997 handover and formulation of the Basic Law, the UK suddenly started making noises on democracy and self-rule. The Chinese basically said “you didn’t do jack for a couple of decades, so nuh-uh” This makes no sense. First of all the British Empire basically stole Hong Kong from China with that 99 year deal. But the 99 year deal lasted 99 years. What could have the UK done differently? HK was a colony, and a colony which could not be granted their independence, because they couldn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620.md?page=4)