Police extremism in the Hong Kong subway
update at October 5 - after months of protest and escalation, and some excessive violence by police and thugs against protesters, I am starting to admire the Hong Kong police a bit for their restraint.
That is certainly not the popular attitude among protesters and supporters in Hong Kong. But the police are caught in situations more war-like than preserving-the-peace like.
Video of destruction at subway stations - there are many such videos from the last few months, but the extent of the damage is causing Hong Kong to shut down - more here and here. No one knows where this goes or at this point what the intent can be. At some point, shutting down Hong Kong only plays into the hands of the government. The mainland needs Hong Kong, that is true; but Hong Kongers need Hong Kong as well.
Chinese Officials Threaten Mainland Parents of Student Attending Australian Protest
Chinese Officials Threaten Mainland Parents of Student Attending Australian Protest
It is important to remember what we are dealing with. Let's review -
From the Sydney Morning Herald, August 7 - Chinese authorities approached the family of an international student who participated in high-profile protests at an Australian university and warned his parents of the potential consequences of political dissent.
Let's remember what we are dealing with ...
Let's remember what we are dealing with ...
News reporting is so uneven. No mass shooting in the US is censored information in China - in fact, the news is prominently featured. From China Xinhua News on Twitter -
Shootings this weekend at a Texas Walmart and a bar in Ohio have left 30 people dead. Retail employees are taking to social media to say they're terrified to go to work. Workers fear getting shot at their workplace
Soft power? We don’t need no stinking soft power.
Soft power? We don’t need no stinking soft power.
Update at August 28 - the affronts to human dignity, scholarship, free speech, trade fairness and personal expression now seem to come on a daily basis. China under Mr. Xi is really carving a new international image, and it is neither "peaceful rise" nor "responsible stakeholder in the community of nations."
No Wechat conversation is safe. Anytime. Anywhere. What Chinese are (not) talking about (4)
No Wechat conversation is safe. Anytime. Anywhere. What Chinese are (not) talking about (4)
Wechat is almost universal. It is ubiquitous in China, and among the Chinese diaspora and their foreign friends and families. Its functionality for social media, news, and buying things makes it a better choice than any combination of applications available in the west. It is Twitter, Facebook, Googlemaps, Tinder and Apple Pay all rolled into one. And it is free.
Free does not mean without cost, of course, and in this case, the cost is the Chinese government being ready, willing, and able to monitor what you say, what you text, what you watch, what videos you post. In China and outside. If you think the long arm of Chinese government censorship doesn't reach into the US - well, you would be wrong.
Money Talks in the Clash of Civilizations
Money Talks in the Clash of Civilizations
What else would you expect?
You remember Samuel Huntington’s article in Foreign Affairs in 1993 –
The central axis of world politics in the future is likely to be, in Kishore Mahbubani’s phrase, the conflict between "the West and the Rest" and the responses of non-Western civilizations to Western power and values…. The third alternative is to attempt to "balance" the West by developing economic and military power and cooperating with other non-Western societies against the West, while preserving indigenous values and institutions; in short, to modernize but not to Westernize.
Take a look at the three maps below.
