Hacker News Reader

> Hong Kong is a province of China with some exemptions, and one of the exemptions is changed

Which involves Xi’s government breaching an agreement, with the U.K. and Hong Kong people, from 1997.

Countries are sovereign. But reputations matter. Any country dealing with Xi would be mad to take his word.

The repercussions of these actions in neighbouring countries, such as Taiwan and the Philippines, will be interesting to see unfold.

> such as Taiwan... Taiwan is not yet a country based on wishes of its founding father, it’s still one part of China (Chiang Kai Shek‘a body is still waiting for going to China to have a proper burial one day when Taiwan and China is one). I doubt USA will ever help them to be an independent country because than they won’t play a part of being puppet in its bidding to control Asia Pacific, given Taiwan At present is playing a puppet in hands of USA, and with 40% economic downturn it’s just a matter of time they will fight US’s war and suffer the consequences.

If you look at the language of the CPC meeting today you will know they have already removed the word peaceful reunification, which is an indication that they have accepted that if push comes to shove they need to fight USA through Taiwan (which will be very unfortunate in my view as they should determine their own course, independent of USA).

I've seen multiple American protests with the Russian flag. If we include flags of historic Nations I've also seen the swastika and Soviet Union flag. This along with desecration of the countries own flag at protests happens in most Western Nations.

It's called freedom of expression.

Please try in the largest democracy India and many other commonwealth democracy with common law jurisdiction. It’s an offence and that too criminal and many of those nations will invoke British colonial era, sedition laws to punish, torture protestors.

If USA or for that matter any country condemn China, they should do the same condemnation and restrictions on other country with same fervour, don’t have dual standards. What I see here is the same Cold War, not a reasonable or justifiable action.

I do understand the definition of freedom of expression as defined in many constitutions and also in common law jurisdiction, which I understand better than continental law jurisdiction followed by Germany, Japan and China.

> I have yet to see an example in a democratic nation where population can take a flag of another country or a colonial ruler in protest against their own country

This was your assertion, word for word. You were given an obvious counterexample, and now you're deflecting to claim you only meant India?

Here's another example: in New Zealand, burning the flag was most recently punished by... An NZ$500 fine. Nothing like what you're claiming.

How about the UK? In 2011, 20-30 students publicly burned a large British flag. They got a verbal warning. Waving American flags is legal.

How about Northern Ireland? Burning the flag is literally legal. Waving American flags: also legal.

How about Japan? Once again, burning the Japanese flag is legal. Waving American flags: also legal.

And as you know, the USA legally allows flag-burning as well, and waving whatever flag you want.

> torture protestors

Do you have any links/data regarding modern events to back up your extraordinary claims?

> If USA or for that matter any country condemn China, they should do the same condemnation and restrictions on other country with same fervour

Classic whataboutism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpSMtoBt3Qk

The actions of India in Kashmir have certainly been strongly condemned as well. What happens there is terrible.

Perhaps the Kashmir situation got less media attention than Hong Kong, but I think that's more of a result of more developed regions getting more global news attention in general. It's the same reason that the Uyghur situation doesn't get as much media attention as Hong Kong either.

Comparing HK to California seems intellectual dishonest. The history is not comparable at all. The very existence of the notion 'One Country Two Systems' should tell you that the Hong Kong situation is quite special.

As for 'desecrating the Chinese flag'. You can also see that as a hint that people are really angry. I don't understand at all how oppression is a sensible answer to that.

Hong Kong was broken off of China so that the British could push heroin opium on Chinamen. It's a laugh that westerners think they still have some colonial claim at what goes on in Hong Kong, based on their old drug pushing operation.

Well 156 years of ruling a place will change its culture. That is a long time, PRC won’t have ruled Hong Kong for that long until 2153 if you begin at 1997.

Unless newborns start living into their 130s no one alive today will witness it.

You can’t “fast-forward” and erase 156 years in a few decades.

Portugal ruled Macao for 400 years (interestingly Macao does not seem to face any unrest, btw). The British were in India for close to 400 years as well.

This is not evidence of anything and I think this is quite irrelevant here.

The main issue is not the length of the British "occupation", it is the Chinese political division that has existed since the Civil War. Many in HK (like in Taiwan) fled the communists and the others moved there during "old China" times. The issue is opposition to communist forces.