Hong Kong protests: Australia issues travel alert as China warns of worst crisis since 1997

MSN / The Guardian ^ | 4 hrs ago | Christy Choi in Hong Kong

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Australians travelling to Hong Kong have been warned to exercise a “high degree of caution” as China said Hong Kong was facing its worst crisis since the former British colony was handed back in 1997.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said: “There is a risk of violent confrontation between protesters and police, or criminally linked individuals, particularly at unauthorised protests.” Ireland, the UK, and Japan have all issued Hong Kong travel warnings since July.

(please see full article at the link)

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(last paragraph of the article)

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“The effects began to surface in June. Some individual travel agencies have reported a 30% to 50% increase in cancellations of mainland [Chinese] and south-east Asia travel groups to Hong Kong. The hotel and retail sectors expect a double-digit drop in tourist numbers in the second half of the year. The situation is worrying,” he told the SCMP.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hong-kong-protests-australia-issues-travel-alert-as-china-warns-of-worst-crisis-since-1997/ar-AAFrJ39?

[SeekAndFind]

The following are the problems as I see it:

1) The protest does not have an official leader and negotiator who can speak for everyone.

2) The Hongkong executive, Carrie Lam can’t make a darn major decision without Beijing’s approval.

3) Beijing is really the main problem because a lot of the
demands from these protesters cannot be met without major concessions from Beijing, which if conceded, will make their leadership look weak.

HERE ARE THE FIVE MAJOR DEMANDS:

1. The KILLING not SHELVING ( which the HK Executive did )
of the Extradition Bill. NO RESURRECTION IN THE FUTURE.

2. Withdrawal of the charges of rioting against the protesters.

3. Discharge all arrested protesters.
Here, we are in a vicious cycle.
The more people protest, the more protesters will be
charged, and the less likely all of them could be pardoned. A blanket amnesty is simply not on the cards.

4. An independent inquiry. It hinges on the scope and nature of the inquiry. If it’s just to go after police misconduct, it’s a non-starter. If it’s a commission for truth and reconciliation, then that could have wide public
support.

5. Universal suffrage. Beijing has always insisted any such reform must be based on the so-called five steps process, a constitutional procedure involving the Hong Kong government, the legislature and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. My guess is that the protesters and probably most pan-dems would not agree to those five steps. How do we plan on getting past that?
In politics as it is in war, when you set goals that can’t be met, you are bound to lose.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Great summary. This is the first time I’ve seen the five demands and I’ve probably read half a dozen or more articles about the protests.

[Jim Noble]

The Hongkong executive, Carrie Lam can’t make a darn major decision without Beijing’s approval...Beijing is really the main problem because a lot of the demands from these protesters cannot be met without major concessions from Beijing

Hong Kong is part of China. What China decides is what will happen.

[ifinnegan]

You love communists.

[Jim Noble]

I don’t love communists.

I’m mildly favorable towards reality, though. Hong Kong belongs to China, and China can and probably will do whatever they want with it.

[ifinnegan]

The American Colonies are under the Crown. End of discussion.

[ifinnegan]

PS, I’m glad to hear you say this: “I don’t love communists.”

I understand your pessimism, but it sounds like fatalism and as if you agree with and support the communists.

Not saying you do, it just gives that impression.

[Jim Noble]

The American Colonies are under the Crown. End of discussion

And if the PLA had to cross 4000 miles of open ocean in wooden sailing ships in the winter to reoccupy territory taken by a free Hong Kong movement, it might be a challenge.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Hong Kong belongs to China, and China can and probably will do whatever they want with it.

Yes, the only solution lies in changing China. Xi Jinping has taken the country several major steps backward from where they were a decade ago - when we had seen a steady replacement of Old Guard Communists with Technocrat Fascists. Xi seems to think he can force the newly ascendant latter to meet the goals of the declining former. I'm pretty sure the younger generation resents it, and if Hong Kong had been smart enough to recruit supporters among that group in the early 2000's their chances would have been better. As it stands, China will likely just prioritize the development of Guangzhou and Shanghai and Hong Kong will get bypassed, to become a quaint old tourist city without enough financial muscle left to determine its own destiny.