Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Why Hong Kong Needs A Directly Elected Chief Executive

Carrie Lam has zero incentive to respond to the street protests. 13 weeks of protests and she is still saying the extradition bill can not be withdrawn. She answers to Beijing, not to Hong Kong citizens. 
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Sunday, August 25, 2019

Ajit Doval, John Bolton

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The Hong Kong Protest Lacks Political Sophistication

The Hong Kong protests are the most heartwarming political action on the planet right now, with Andrew Yang surging in the US a close second. It is good to see people care about an issue enough to shut a city down.

But what is happening in Hong Kong is a protest movement. It is not yet a political movement. If success is getting people out into the streets, this has been success 13 weeks in a row. But getting people out into the streets is not the end goal, can not be.

Everybody who is out in the streets should come together in one political organization and should elect itself leaders at various levels, with a central committee, and ultimately one elected leader. It should put out its five key demands and set a deadline. Unless Beijing meets its five key demands within a set time period, the goal of full political independence should be announced. That is the only political threat Beijing will respond to. As for protests, Beijing simply plans to wait it out. I would not be surprised if the logjam continues even after 23 weeks of protests.

One country, two systems is not a bad idea. But Beijing has been eroding the rights of Hong Kong citizens. The key demands right now keep Hong Kong within one country, two systems. But it is telling that Beijing has not accepted even the most important demand. 13 weeks of unprecedented protests and Beijing still has not scrapped the extradition bill. As good as dead is not dead. There is a proper procedure to withdraw a bill.

The Chinese army's saber-rattling in Shenzen is not a threat to snuff out the protests. It is a threat to invade should Hong Kong declare independence. And to that end Hong Kong needs to seek out global allies. It needs to ask for solidarity in all major cities of the world.





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Friday, August 23, 2019

Black Panther for Women (Twitter Marketing)






















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The Insanity Of The US-China Trade War



Is this what the US-China trade war feels like? And now we have a meaningless Trump order. You have to ask, when is Trump going to get a tattoo!

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Article 370 And MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal



MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has saved the day for the BJP on this issue. But the true test is when normalcy and democracy are restored in Kashmir and it elects itself a state legislature, and locally elected leaders put forth a roadmap to attain full statehood for Kashmir down the line.

Instead of saying Paksitan occupied Kashmir is ours, Asksai Chin is ours, India should show the world that democracy has blossomed in Ladakh and Kashmir.

I want leaders of all Muslim countries to talk about human rights issues in Kashmir. That will open the door to talk about human rights in all Muslim countries.


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Hong Kong: The Shenzen Angle

Looks like China has its own Bay Area.



The Bay Area in California is not big enough for all the innovation that needs to happen.

If you make Shenzen like Hong Kong, that only adds to Hong Kong.

And, of course, the big backdrop is the South China Sea, the most geopolitically seismic zone on the planet. Peace and harmony here will make space for the ocean cities of tomorrow.

The Hong Kong protests have not gone to a higher level and become a political movement. It will be more productive as a political movement.

The recent move by Beijing on Shenzen is smart and positive. They intend to make Shenzen more like Hong Kong. The gesture, I hope, is or is made credible.

I don't understand the intransigence on the part of the Hong Kong leadership. Why not meet the top demand immediately? Why not formally pull out the extradition bill?

That a massacre is not likely is good news. On the other hand, the protests can not go on forever. Three months is a long time.

I happen to think this Hong Kong Greater Bay Area is more like the US Northeast than the Bay Area in California. Short route hyperloops could closely integrate the region into one megacity.

I don't see evidence this Shenzen move is abrupt. It has been a long time coming. I also don't see it as a move to spite Hong Kong. It is actually a mature move. It is a signal to Hong Kong that Hong Kong will not become more like Shenzen, rather Shenzen will become more like Hong Kong.

I am pleased with this move by Beijing. It is non-violent, it is respectful, it is mature. It is also politically sound from Beijing's perspective.

What has been happening in Hong Kong are at the level of a protest movement, not a political movement. An official end to the now shelved extradition bill will go a long way to soothe nerves.

My primary concern is that there should be no violence. From either side.



China’s Grand Plans for Shenzhen The new plan for Shenzhen also shines a light on China’s long-term strategy toward Hong Kong. ........ China’s State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a new guideline earlier this week outlining an ambitious plan for the future of Shenzhen, a major city in southeast China’s Guangzhou province that links Hong Kong to the mainland. ....... a Greater Bay Area that would integrate the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions with nine other municipalities in the surrounding region in Guangdong province (Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai), which account for approximately 12 percent of China’s national GDP and a combined population of 70 million people. ...... “breaking new ground” on economic growth, reforms, and innovation and take the practice of “one country, two systems” a step further ...... Shenzhen has a population of more than 12 million people and was the site of the mainland’s first special economic zone. ...... Chinese technology giants like Huawei and Tencent and telecommunications company ZTE house their headquarters in Shenzhen. The city is also the third largest and busiest container port in the world, while it ranked 14th in the 2019 Global Financial Centers Index (Hong Kong took the third spot, by comparison)....... Shenzhen’s economy surpassed Hong Kong’s for the first time in 2018, reaching HK$2.87 trillion compared to Hong Kong’s HK$2.85 trillion in the same year. The starker difference remains the disparity in the growth rates of the two Pearl River Delta metropolises, with Shenzhen’s GDP notching a 7.6 percent growth rate, while Hong Kong’s economy rose by just 3 percent.

CHINA’S ALLEGED PLANS TO MAKE SHENZHEN BETTER THAN HK NOT QUITE WHAT THEY SEEM The Chinese government has set up additional goals for making its pride city of Shenzhen a world-leading metropolis within the next five years. ...... China’s warning to Hong Kong, amid the ongoing protests in the city. The outlets suggest that the timing of the plan’s release is a signal from China that the central government is willing to siphon benefits away from Hong Kong and toward other municipalities within the Greater Bay Area, should the HKSAR continue to step out of line....... The goal of making Shenzhen a “pilot area for socialism with Chinese characteristics” was first proposed in May 2017 by the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In 2018, the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC outlined a plan for making Shenzhen a “pilot area” from 2018 to 2035. The document was submitted to the central government for approval. ....... By 2025, the government wants Shenzhen to become one of the world’s leading cities in terms of economic strength and quality of development. Its research and development output, industrial innovation capacity, quality of public services and ecological environment are expected to become first-class in the world ....... “High quality development; pilot area of the city of rule of law; model of urban civilization; role model of livelihood and happiness; [and] pioneer of sustainable development” are the six general goals listed in the document...... the plan is proposing to “continuously improve the level of openness of Shenzhen to Macau and Hong Kong, support Shenzhen in building a big data center in the Greater Bay Area, vigorously promote the humanistic spirit in Greater Bay, encourage Shenzhen to co-organize various forms of cultural and artistic activities with Hong Kong and Macau, constantly enhance the sense of identity and cohesiveness of Hong Kong and Macau compatriots, strengthen the cooperation of digital creative industries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, and use Hong Kong and Macau’s exhibition sources and exhibition industry advantages to organize large-scale cultural exhibitions.”

China's State Council calls for Shenzhen integration with Hong Kong, Macau Hong Kong, one of the world’s busiest ports, is on the verge of its first recession in a decade as violent anti-government protests scare off tourists and bite into retail sales and investment....... The directive called for the “modernization of social governance” in Shenzhen via the “comprehensive application of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technologies.” ...... to further develop the Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and “enrich the new practice of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy.” ...... Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that promised wide-ranging freedoms denied to citizens in mainland China, but many in the city believe Beijing has been eroding those freedoms.

China plans to make Shenzhen a 'better place' than Hong Kong China's government has unveiled plans to boost the mainland city of Shenzhen and make it into what state media called a "better place" than neighbouring Hong Kong, following another huge rally in the semi-autonomous financial hub...... Weeks of rallies, demonstrations, and occupations have plunged Hong Kong into crisis - which Beijing is now framing as an opportunity for Shenzhen's development...... By 2035, the southern Chinese city will "lead the world" in overall economic competitiveness, the document said...... Published on Sunday, the timing of the policy document coincided with the 11th week of demonstrations in Hong Kong - the biggest challenge to China's rule of the semi-autonomous city since its 1997 handover from Britain...... The former British colony of Hong Kong operates under a "one country, two systems" framework, which gives citizens rights unseen on the mainland, such as freedom of speech...... The policy document said that individuals who are from Hong Kong and Macau but work and live in Shenzhen would be treated as residents....... The guidelines also support creating a "more open and convenient" entry and exit system at its borders, and allowing foreign permanent residents to launch science and technology enterprises - potentially trying to encroach on Hong Kong's territory as an easy place for international businesses to be based. ...... The city is already a key part of Beijing's "Greater Bay Area" policy, which plans greater integration between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland Guangdong province, where Shenzhen sits........ Beijing is keen to pull the three regions even closer - "enriching" the practice of one country, two systems and "continuously enhancing the sense of identity and cohesiveness of Hong Kong and Macao compatriots" via cross-border cultural activities....... the guideline demands Shenzhen "comprehensively improve its democracy and rule of law and expand people's participation in politics in an orderly manner under leadership of the Communist Party of China".
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