ktln2

... and making these "celebrities" kowtow to Chinese censors.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/25/revealed-... [2] https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/26/20883993/tiktok-censorshi...

Short answer: No

Long answer:

Forget about "studying".

If you doesn't like doing research, i.e. try to solve open-ended problems without even knowing if an answer exists, do not do a PhD.

Doing a PhD is like Antarctic expedition - low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness, safe return doubtful. There's no reason to do it unless you really like it.

> While people in Zhuhai and Foshan and Guangzhou learned a second language so they could talk to their neighbors in Dongguan and Shenzhen and Huizhou, many Hongkongers did not.

I agree with most of your observations, but this part I am afraid is not true. Most of Hongkongers (especially younger generation, no matter what kind of political views they have) has operational proficiency in Mandarin, given that 1. it is taught in school after 1997 and 2. most jobs involves talking to Mainlander/Taiwanese at some point.

Yes basically this is a state sponsored misinformation campaign.

China has been doing this for a while, not only on social media, but traditional media / institutions too. It's about time to get serious about this problem.

https://www.hoover.org/news/china-exerting-sharp-power-influ...

Don't underestimate the power of these state media. In China the government has almost complete control of every single media channels - social media, TV, radio and even chat apps. They can install whatever they wants into people's mind and the people won't notice a thing.

Hong Kong Police Commander Coordinating With Suspected Attackers: https://streamable.com/7wt53