Current state of Hong Kong

[Jersey mike]

Ok I’m wondering if anyone has an thought or opinion on the current state of affairs in Hong Kong.

They want to keep their separate affairs from China. China is looking for total control.

I know the British left in 1998.

What I’m interested in knowing is can Hong Kong “shop themselves around” for a new partner country or look to become part of another country for the protection?

[..]

Too late. China has HK firmly under  ontrol.

[Jersey mike]

I thought Hong Kong was suppose to remain independent until 2030 or something.

Well I guess this was a wasted post.

[Oss]

The better question is whether Taiwan (Formosa) under Biden will survive

Even if Trump remains 4 more years it is still a big question

[carolinarider09]

Hong Kong is gone.  It belongs totally to the Chi Coms.

Taiwan/Formosa is next.  If Biden is President, Taiwan is lost as a separate country.  The first thing that will happen is Biden will not allow the US Navy to travel though the Straits of Taiwan.  The will effectively isolate the country from the rest of the world.  

Although President Trump has authorized sale of defensive weapons systems to Taiwan, if Biden assumes the position of President of the US that deal will be terminated.  

Next, Biden would minimize the travel of the US Navy in the South China Sea.  Control of the South China Sea provides control of South East Asia and the Philippines.  Thus making China the King of the area and they will slowly take over these governments.  

[old2soon]

          I've been in those very waters during my tours off Nam. Been to Hong Kong Japan The P I Thailand. Great food friendly people gorgeous woman. Picked up enough language to git my faced slapped in a bunch of different languages. I would hate to see these Countries dissappear but I guess with the Real Threat of Military Destruction and out gunned and outnumbered !  Wasn't it McArthur that stated Do Not git into a land battle on the Asian land mass? WHEN does a single person or a country have ENOUGH of anything? RIDE SAFE.

[Jersey mike]

I hope my ignorance on the matter is a forgivable sin. I’ll be honest I don’t keep on top of everything that happens out there. I see somethings on tv, read some things in the news but I don’t have the real clear picture.

I know there has been protests, but I did not know Hong Kong actually came back under the control of China.

[carolinarider09]

It depends on how you look at it.

Hong Kong was suppose to be an independent state while at the same time being part of China.  This was part of the deal the Brits made with the Chi Coms.

The Chi Coms honored the deal as they saw fit.  The most recent "change" was a law that allowed them, the Chi Coms to arrest Hong Kong residents who violated certain things (I'd have to look it up but I think it allowed them to arrest people that were negativity profiling the Chi Coms.  This was not part of the deal with the Brits for the 50 year period)

Yesterday Pro-Democracy Hong Kong Lawmakers decided to Resign After Four of Their Members Kicked Out. 

Part of a new “security law” that China has rammed down Hong Kong’s throat includes the power of the government to “disqualify” legislators for being “unpatriotic.”

The law gave the government power to remove any legislators deemed “a threat to national security” without going through the courts. Hong Kong promptly removed four of the more visible members of the pro-democracy movement, leading the remaining 15 members of the Legislative Council to resign.


Now the legislature is a rubber stamp for Chinese policy. What that means going forward is that China can impose its will on Hong Kong “legally” and there will be few complaints.

After all, is it worth going to war for Hong Kong’s independence? I didn’t think so.

Chinese Communism is not like the old Soviet-style communism. China is not expansionist — yet. And they have recognized the value of semi-free markets. But in regime brutality, they match the Soviet Union body for body.

Hong Kong will be milked dry by Beijing and the people left wondering what happened.

So, basically Hong Kong is no longer free.

[scooperhsd]

Hong Kong stopped being free the minute the British turned it over to Beijeng. They had the illusion of being free, and as Beijeng is applying more pressure - Hang Kong is less and less free. I wouldn't visit Hong Kong without following the same rules and standards of behaviour that I would for mainland China / Russia / other remaining blocks of ex-Soviet territory.

No, it would not be worth going to war over. You would end up destroying that which you were going to "save".

The South China Sea is still open ocean, subject to the law of the sea (even if Beijeng loudly proclaims it isn't), because the US Navy (along with our fellow services and allies) is still a potent enough force to enforce that. China knows that if they wanted to raise that much of a stink - there would no longer be a Navy portion of the PLAN - we can still wipe their Navy out without losing too much if any of our own.

Defeating the Army of the PLAN - that's an entirely different proposition. Step 1 is the above dismantling of their Navy, to stop goods from going in and out of China. But without using  nucs, I don't see a really good way to soften up / force a landing on hostile shores, defeating their land forces since they would outnumber us so badly. This is a problem I would leave to the bright boys and girls in the Pentagon to solve.

[carolinarider09]

Quote:

The South China Sea is still open ocean, subject to the law of the sea (even if Beijeng loudly proclaims it isn't), because the US Navy (along with our fellow services and allies) is still a potent enough force to enforce that. China knows that if they wanted to raise that much of a stink - there would no longer be a Navy portion of the PLAN - we can still wipe their Navy out without losing too much if any of our own.

I agree and disagree.  Yes, the South China Sea still is "open" if you observer the law of the sea.  However, the Chi Coms do not obey such laws if it does not suit them and if Biden becomes President, he will not stand in their way.  They have him over a barrel. 

It will be much like Obama and that ship thant was "captured" in the gulf.

China has created its own island in the South China Sea

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/chinas-south-china-sea-man-made-islands-could-collapse-sea-171944

This is the first part of the process. Even though the island is artificial, the Chi Coms say they own the area around the island and it belongs to the Chi Coms.  What is the limit, 12 miles.   Build more island, take over more sea area. 

Again, if Biden wins, the Chi Coms won't need to many more islands.