# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/121 "2019-10-15T17:28:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It looks like Beijing has about had enough, perhaps: [Lam says Chinese military could step in if uprising gets bad](https://apnews.com/ec4972c4c35a486e89acb12586cb62ef). > > Basically, everyone is now acknowledging that this is a revolutionary movement.“No longer a peaceful movement” is a really polite way of saying “violent crazy people with no purpose but to cause havoc and woe” but the underlying meaning (“they’re going to deserve what we are about to give them”) stands out pretty well, I think. Maybe don’t let Lam define the movement. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/122 "2019-11-24T19:39:49Z")
Elections yesterday, and the early votes show a strong surge for the pro-democracy/anti-Beijing side. [Out of 160 seats to be declared thus far, the pro-democracy factions have taken 140 versus just 17 for the pro-Beijingers.](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50531408) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/123 "2019-11-24T19:45:48Z")
Edit: The numbers are apparently being continuously updated and changing in that article. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/124 "2019-11-24T20:05:50Z")
The elections aren’t going to matter for Hong Kong in the long term. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/125 "2019-11-24T23:38:49Z")
Do we know what kind of voting system was being used? Was there a paper record or was it all electronic? I also wonder how they secured everything from the CPC’s prying eyes (or maybe they didn’t). Not so much that Xi would interfere with anything, more that the Chinese might be keeping track of who voted for whom. A quick search wasn’t helpful. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/126 "2019-11-25T01:14:18Z")
I agree with octopus: I think Beijing will simply write this off as fake news and claim that HK has been corrupted by the US and UK. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/127 "2019-11-25T01:23:47Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Do we know what kind of voting system was being used? Was there a paper record or was it all electronic? > > I also wonder how they secured everything from the CPC’s prying eyes (or maybe they didn’t). Not so much that Xi would interfere with anything, more that the Chinese might be keeping track of who voted for whom. > > A quick search wasn’t helpful. AIUI, most if not all ballots are paper, and usually they are counted out loud, visibly in public, although in some precincts some cops tried to close off the vote-counting from public eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/128 "2019-11-25T01:35:02Z")
I think this may be one of the first political threads on the Straight Dope in which everyone is pretty much on the same side. Good work, China. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/129 "2019-11-26T02:40:35Z")
> **[Analysis: Hong Kong election shows desire for change](https://apnews.com/article/beijing-ap-top-news-elections-international-news-asia-pacific-772a858088b14848a3beeb4b4490365c)** > > HONG KONG (AP) — The people of Hong Kong have said in no uncertain terms that they want change. The question is whether they will get it — or a return to the violent protests that have plagued the city for nearly six months. > [@](#): > > The election cleared up any doubts people may have had about Hong Kong’s silent majority. > > The central government in Beijing has portrayed the protests as the work of a small group of rioters wreaking havoc, disrupting and even endangering the lives of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million people in the process. > > Pro-government candidates said a vote for them would be a vote to end the violence and restore stability in the city. > > The black-clad protesters believed they still had public support — including the office workers who joined lunchtime demonstrations in a central business district — even as they smashed storefronts, threw gasoline bombs and blocked rush hour traffic and trains in escalating tactics designed to get the government to bend to their demands, including full democracy and police accountability. > > The protesters, it seems, were right. The pro-democracy forces trounced the ruling pro-Beijing camp in the election, taking control of 17 of the 18 district councils. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/130 "2019-12-01T20:33:31Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > The elections aren’t going to matter for Hong Kong in the long term. They haven’t mattered much since July 2017. _“Now Hong Kong has returned to the motherland’s embrace for 20 years, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any practical significance, and it is not at all binding for the central government’s management over Hong Kong…”_ ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/131 "2019-12-02T03:00:51Z")
Two additional points to consider are the history of HK and U.S. interests (in terms of trade surplus and use of the area for legal and financial work). ---
**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:** [May 22, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/132 "2020-05-22T00:46:29Z")
Looks like China is going for broke: > [@WAPO](#): > > **[China to impose sweeping national security law in Hong Kong, bypassing city’s legislature](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-signals-plan-to-take-full-control-of-hong-kong-realigning-citys-status/2020/05/21/2c3850ee-9b48-11ea-ad79-eef7cd734641_story.html)** The harder the people of Hong Kong protest, the more crushing will be Xi’s response. I get that they are screwed in 27 years no matter what. But I am not sure that all of Hong Kong’s citizens will be willing to surrender their freedoms ahead of time. It’s going to get ugly, incrementally ugly, and with pandemics to worry about now, and god knows what in the future, no one outside Hong Kong will be able to do anything other than to wring their hands furiously. ---
**Author:** ![burrunderthe\_saddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@burrunderthe\_saddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burrunderthe_saddle)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/133 "2020-05-26T18:39:05Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Is there a good link where I could get more information? > **[Crossroads](https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/crossroads)** > > JOSHUA PHILIPP > Get Deeper Insights into News, Culture & Society with "Crossroads" | Hosted by Joshua Philipp | Watch Now on Epoch Times > **[China Uncensored](https://www.youtube.com/user/NTDChinaUncensored/featured)** > > China Uncensored will bring you the uncensored truth about the Chinese Communist Party's secret plan to take over the world. Just kidding. Sort of... > > Contact: chinauncensored\[@\]gmail.com > Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChinaUncensored > Facebook:... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/corqhVJvxWU/maxresdefault.jpg "China flags willingness to 'retake Taiwan' with aggressive tactics") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corqhVJvxWU) ---
**Author:** ![burrunderthe\_saddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@burrunderthe\_saddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burrunderthe_saddle)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/134 "2020-05-26T18:40:47Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I get that they are screwed in 27 years no matter. What makes you think that communist China will be around in 27 years? > **[China escalates hostilities against US journalists; Poll Shows 40% Americans...](https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/china-escalates-hostilities-against-us-journalists-poll-shows-40-americans-wont-buy-made-in-china-3357391)** > > An editorial in China’s state-run Global Times says China is “countermeasures ready” for a “prolonged ‘war’” with the United States. This is in context of ... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/135 "2020-05-26T18:52:32Z")
I remember quite some years ago we had a debate on what nation is "most free’ and Hong Kong was brought up. I pointed out that China could and would crack down anytime they wanted, and that made some HK fan get into a fit of gibbering rage. HK is exactly as “free” as China will let it be. I was sure this was gonna happen- absent China itself becoming a free nation. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/136 "2020-07-01T15:37:06Z")
So the new security law has finally been implemented and it feels like the protesters have lost. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this. In response the UK is offering a route to British citizenship to 3m Hong Kong residents: > **[Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53246899)** > > Up to three million people living in the former colony are being given the chance to settle in the UK. ---
**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 1, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/137 "2020-07-01T18:18:37Z")
Yeah, looks like two-systems is pretty much dead. China can extradite critics to the mainland and jail them indefinitely. For pro-democracy politicians and critics of Beijing, now’s the time to get that passport ready and get the hell outta HK. It might not be obvious at the moment, but the failure to sustain HK’s democracy also has future implications on democracy everywhere. China will not be shy about pressuring countries to change their culture to fit their agenda, and they will have more muscle behind that pressure as time moves forward. We’re wrong if we think they’re going to limit themselves to HK and their own backyard. ---
**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 1, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/138 "2020-07-01T18:30:47Z")
Aye; China is increasingly seeing success with the tactic of “throwing our considerable weight around” and will prolly see much more in the coming decade or two. ---
**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 1, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/139 "2020-07-01T19:00:13Z")
No coincidence that they’re throwing their weight around at a time when its main competitor is increasingly feckless. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620/140 "2020-07-04T13:15:39Z")
[Hong Kong was once a home for critics of Beijing. Now they might not even be safe at the airport](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/03/asia/hong-kong-airport-arrests-national-security-intl-hnk/index.html). China has now passed a law that will allow them to arrest ANYONE who has criticized China, even if they only set foot in the Hong Kong airport. Seriously, WTF? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hong-kong-2047-and-the-current-protests/835620.md?page=8)