Comment by winrid | Hacker News Reader

Comment by winrid | Hacker News Reader

Stuff like this makes me feel like we're the suckers.

1. What if the law that's being opposed is legitimate? Should someone that commits murder in Taiwan be able to escape the law in HK?

2. All the accounts are created through VPNs. Well, YT is blocked in China. If Chinese people are trying to show us what the protesters are actually like (I don't know for real either way) they would have to use a VPN. And they would be inclined to work together to vote up related content for awareness.

3. If a state like let's say Texas in the US had a legal system where I could commit a crime in PA and escape to Texas, wouldn't we want to fix that? Of course there would be protests. Think of the recent protests we've had in France, just for tax reasons. You think if this kind of law changed in Texas you wouldn't see fires and overturned cars?

My point is, maybe our view into that side of the world is not as clear as we think.

> 1. What if the law that's being opposed is legitimate? Should someone that commits murder in Taiwan be able to escape the law in HK?

This is a good example of a particularly sinister argumentation style, and you can see it everywhere these days. It typically goes like this:

1. Take an objectively bad reality. "Citizens of Hong Kong could possibly be extradited to a totalitarian state for any thing that state decides was a crime."

2. Restate it as an abstract ideal or extreme case, ignoring the details that make it bad, and ask why one wouldn't want this thing that's actually good: "But shouldn't people who commit crimes in other countries have to face justice?" / "Should someone that commits murder in Taiwan be able to escape the law in HK?"

I'm not sure what to call it, but it would be good to have a two or three word phrase to succinctly call this kind of thing out. I'll have to think, but would appreciate input from others who have noticed it as well.

Edit: I would add that the really "sinister" part is that those bad details are ignored for the sake of making the argument, but are, in fact, the end goal.

Not trying to be sinister. That is the reality right? It's a hard question.

Chinese people trying to show us what protesters are like would be free to upload videos from Hong Kong, because YouTube is not blocked in Hong Kong, only in Mainland China.

But government agents in China posting deceptive or false stuff wouldn't be blocked.

It's pretty clear what the view in Hong Kong is too. On "their side" of the world.

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