Post#179 » by Vae Victus » Mon Oct 7, 2019 12:39 am
I'm getting a general feeling that alot of posters here dont exactly know whats going in regards to the HK protests. Im just seeing alot of "**** CHINA" posts and saying that China is the main cause for the unrest. Which is understandable, if a crapton of Americans dont even understand their own domestic politics, understanding ANOTHER country's is another huge gulf that one needs to be willing to put time into reading and understanding. I also heavily blame the Western media for not covering the events in a more detailed and objective manner. It's mostly spent just showing China and HK government in the worst light, without really diving deep into WHY the wheels fell off.
No, the People' Republic of China isnt the real reason why HK is literally setting itself on fire. Sure the PRC would love if HK morphs into another good little mainland city where people just stfu and keep their heads down for fear of the secret police, but HK has been managed in a super duper hands off manner, in comparison to most authoritarian nations, so blaming the PRC in totality is just wrong, there' a shitton of blame and most of it doesnt fall on them.
PRC kept their noses (for the most part, but not completely) out of local HK government cuz they wanted to use the place as a lightning rod to attract foreign investment and to be used as a way to dodge tariffs nations would levy upon China. This is GREAT for HK as they get to be treated special and get WAAAAY more rights in comparison to other mainland cities. It's called the "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement. It's hard to explain so im gonna use an example using the US and Los Angeles. It wont be perfect but itll get the general gist through.
Imagine, if say, LA became a Free City administered by local LA natives where the only oversight from the US government is that the local leaders who run for election are vetted (IE cannot be Los Angeles seperatists who want independence), where the US charges minimal (if any) federal taxes, heavily subsidizes utilities routing in a ton of cheap power and water, provides national defense, and uses the trade port as a major method of making overseas trade money. Naturally many non LA Americans are gonna go flooding over cuz LA IS AWESOME and there's tons of cash to be made.
Of course the US government wants to assert more control and dominance over LA, but arrangements were made that the US government isnt allowed to be so overbearing. The US gov't is constantly trying to be cute infringing on local LA affairs, but overall neither party wants to rock the boat too much cuz LOTS OF MONEY IS BEING MADE... primarily for China and the local LA business tycoons. Los Angeles has the most billionaires per capita in the world.
Fast forward 20 years, income inequality is getting insanely wider, property prices in LA is so literally insane an average 1000 square foot apartment is like 2.5 million USD. Basically folks are required to drive/commute from San Diego and Santa Barbara to get less insane housing prices, but its starting to get to the point that even SD and SB are also approaching similarly insane LA housing prices. Even upper middle class folks with incomes in the 150-250k find it impossible to live in LA, those types of jobs are also becoming harder and harder to get. Vast majority of fresh college graduates literally have no future, also... so many goddamn non-Los Angelenos in town taking our good paying jobs that should goto local Los Angelenos.
Why are property prices so goddamn nuts? Cuz local LA politicians (who are 100% bought and sold by the LA Business Tycoons) essentially do not allow more residential zoning, so no new houses are being made. Maybe they'll allow a small trickle of new zoning, which are then immediately bought up by the Tycoons to do as they will. By drastically reducing the flow new zoning, it keeps property prices ultra sky high (which is mostly in the tycoons hands), allowing for the priviliged few to reap all the advantages.
Now with all this wealth inequality and rising tensions with the poor and middle class... what does the local LA government do? "It's those goddamn cockroach stupid fat Murikans fault. HOW DARE THEY INVADE OUR CITY AND STEAL OUR JOBS MEANT FOR LOS ANGELENOS !!!" The LA politicians cant exactly blame their Tycoon paymasters, so theyre gonna blame the "foreigners" and divert attention however they can.
LA's Mayor then came up with an incredibly stupid idea in the hopes of sucking up to the USA government, hoping for a nice cushy
post government lobbying/political TV pundit job later on in life. The people of LA already pissed off due to local economic conditions EXPLODE.
LA cops start doing their thing, in general a pretty good police force all things considered, but a sizable number of bad apples that get publicized to all hell thus turning public opinion them.
Now the poor and middle class have taken up that rallying cry, blaming the local LA government, Americans, and the US government for everything. The people have taken to the streets for months, crazy young hotheads with improvised weapons and armor, start fighting cops in the streets where despite months of street battles no one has died. The people of LA has made several demands, many of which are non starters to the US government.
Other nations press cover the protests in loving detail everytime an LA cop screws up, but go silent whenever protestors go overboard. Many Americans working/living in LA are assaulted in the streets and being threatened by the crazed Los Angeleno locals. Talking with a non local accent or speaking positively of the US government can get your ass kicked.
The US government cant send in troops to crackdown, due to not wanting to be called all sorts of mean names and other nations like say China, Russia, etc threatening to launch sanctions (empty threats but still annoying as hell and need to be factored in). Many nations are still butthurt at how strong the US is and constantly denigrate her as a warmonger, who doesnt give a crap about its citizens.
Los Angeleno Radicals have declared theyre eager to have LA burn down into the ground to hurt the US, they feel they have nothing to lose and are willing to fight a suicidal battle. Theyre angry and just want to lash out at any convenient targets.
This is basically the HK/China situation in a nutshell. Ultra rich bastards got the poor/middle class HKers to blame the mainland Chinese government and now things have gone completey out of control. The HK Tycoons and politicians tried to ride the China Outrage Tiger and now they get cant off, no matter how much they want to (Tycoon businesses are taking it up the bum from the constant protests). Is China blameless, **** no, but the whole anti China narrative is just bull as the majority blame for HK on fire really doesnt belong to them. But until the HK protestors can understand that and thus adjust their demands accordingly, HK is simply gonna be left burning.
if the poor and middle class of HK were smart... theyd have used the PRC central government as a club to bitch slap the local HK Tycoons and politicians into line. Force more progressive taxation on the rich, increase residential zoning for more new homes or outright just have the government build more cheap public housing.
The HK riots is a goddamn tragedy, the people really are suffering but theyre venting their anger at the wrong targets. Also they;re being a bunch of racist **** too, to any non HK native, and as an progressive liberal Asian American Los Angeleno that pisses me off to no end.
