Hong Kong protests

Didn't see a topic on this.

Here's a breakdown of the crazy footage of the first protester being shot. Sorry for posting a graphic thing. It's just crazy. I think they had the biggest protest ever, with maybe a million people? 

Why are these protesters acting so nuts? Chasing down cops with pipes, wrenches, and hammers? Then throwing molotovs into a group of cops? Of course I wonder about agent provocateurs, but I don't see anything too obvious in that video.

Be safe, if you're over there, please.

  On 10/2/2019 at 5:57 PM, very honest said:

Why are these protesters acting so nuts? Chasing down cops with pipes, wrenches, and hammers?

acab

  On 10/2/2019 at 6:00 PM, MIXL2 said:

acab

This is a super simplified, not-helpful response.

Can't watch youtub at work, but they are probably chasing the cops because the police response to the protests has been increasing in its brutality. These are police who are not used to having a light shone on their actions,and have committed some pretty heinous crimes themselves.

That said, the protestors can definitely be said to be getting a little extreme at times.

  On 10/2/2019 at 6:44 PM, chenGOD said:

This is a super simplified, not-helpful response.

Can't watch youtub at work, but they are probably chasing the cops because the police response to the protests has been increasing in its brutality. These are police who are not used to having a light shone on their actions,and have committed some pretty heinous crimes themselves.

That said, the protestors can definitely be said to be getting a little extreme at times.

 

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interesting. i wasn't siding with the cops, of course. it's just... protesting is a delicate thing. you've got to comport yourself and keep an eye on the others.

the syrian civil war started as Arab Spring protests... this is not the same thing, of course. actually, i remember getting the impression that the syrian protesters were rather peaceful, in comparison to what i'm seeing in the above video. but assad dialed the oppression up to brutal pretty quickly.

The super-simplified bit was directed at that stupid "acab" acronym, not at you - apologies for any confusion.

Agreed with you on the protesting, gotta be balanced - but tough to do so with cops shooting you.

Nah, ACAB is pretty fitting in spite of historical and cultural context.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-48607723

  Quote

The fact that protests have now returned is not necessarily surprising. There's a rich history of dissent in Hong Kong, stretching back further even than the past few years.

In 1966, demonstrations broke out after the Star Ferry Company decided to increase its fares. The protests escalated into riots, a full curfew was declared and hundreds of troops took to the streets.

There are literally millions of police-citizen interactions every year that occur without incident. Of course the ones that go wrong receive more attention, but don't let that detract from the majority of cops who aren't fuck-ups.

For the record, I do think that the whole closing ranks around bad officers is a reprehensible practice. You have a catch-22 situation in the US (and to a lesser degree in other countries): law enforcement are looked down on, and so it's harder to attract good people to the field. More people who are inclined to abuse power then fill the vacancies, leading to the public further looking down on law enforcement. What needs to happen is to recognize that law enforcement should be striving to attract individuals with critical thinking skills, who can approach policing matters with more nuance than simply trying to further militarize the police.

Of course the whole "wild west" mythos of the US doesn't help matters.

On topic: that was a really good article from the BBC - thanks for posting.

There's no posters from Hong Kong here so it's hard to get too emotionally involved. When starting a lazily conceived thread from a news story for the sake of having something to say always consider your audience. 

They are protesting because they don’t want to be extradited to mainland China and have their organs harvested

  On 10/2/2019 at 5:57 PM, very honest said:

Didn't see a topic on this.

 

Here's a breakdown of the crazy footage of the first protester being shot. Sorry for posting a graphic thing. It's just crazy. I think they had the biggest protest ever, with maybe a million people? 

 

 

 

Why are these protesters acting so nuts? Chasing down cops with pipes, wrenches, and hammers? Then throwing molotovs into a group of cops? Of course I wonder about agent provocateurs, but I don't see anything too obvious in that video.

 

Be safe, if you're over there, please.

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This one is nuts. Saw it on r/HongKong

The gradual militarization is what's surreal. Masked mainland cops being sent in without badges or any basic form of unit ID, PRC backed vigilantes and false flag agents as you mentioned are likely getting involved. Hundreds (if not thousands) of protesters being detained at the moment without bail or any parole facing serious charges, etc. I can only imagine the terror of being among literally millions and still being vulnerable to arrest with trumped up charges. The scary thing, and I saw this as an outsider not following in detail, is I don't know the end game. Beyond Tiananmen Square horrific events like the July_2009_Ürümqi_riots are a reason for the protesters to worry, and media coverage of that one is still very suppressed. That entire region is still under dystonia level curfew and monitoring. Beyond China the Gwangju_Uprising in 1980 in the ROK comes to mind. I'm certain chenGOD has a way more informed take on that event. I bring it up because it eventually led to reforms and end of military dictatorship rule in the ROK but it literally took decades. While the PRC is not the same ally the ROK was with the US in 1980 it still begs the question of how much the West will tolerate in terms of oppression in order to maintain the status quo while paying lip service to HK. I have no idea what the threshold is that would trigger substantive global government support for a independent HK, assuming there is a threshold at all.

Agreed. But I have to say Hong Kong is like Narnia or Middle Earth such is the detachment of the common man. A skyscraper filled with cocaine fuelled bankers and some Indonesian hookers is less relatable than when all those hobbits and dwarfs got balls deep in Helms Deep. 

Dude log off. 

Hope the protesters beat the shit out of these soulless whores

one of the leaders of the peaceful pro democracy group was attacked with hammers. 

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3033256/jimmy-sham-leader-hong-kong-democracy-group-civil

The disinfo spread on all sides in regards to these events is pretty massive and it's very hard to get any kind of neutral perspective on what's happening. The whole extradition shitshow started with Taiwan actually but obviously it has far deeper consequenses if it allows extradition also to mainland China. Basically a Hong Kong resident went to Taiwan and murdered his girlfriend, came back to HK and confessed but the police couldn't do anything.

From wikipedia:

  Quote

The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 was first proposed by the government of Hong Kong on February 2019 in response to the 2018 murder of Poon Hiu-wing by her boyfriend Chan Tong-kai in Taiwan, where the two Hong Kong residents were visiting as tourists. As there is no extradition treaty with Taiwan (because the government of China does not recognise its sovereignty), the Hong Kong government proposed an amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (Cap. 525) to establish a mechanism for case-by-case transfers of fugitives, on the order of the Chief Executive, to any jurisdiction with which the city lacks a formal extradition treaty. One such jurisdiction would be mainland China.

How much this is just an excuse to allow extradition to PRC I have no idea and tqfh the whole PRC - HK - Taiwan situation is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. It boggles my western mind and sense of geopolitics.

The bill would have allowed China order asset freezes in HK - despite Lam claiming it was purely to plug a hole for this one case. Even Taiwan said they were totally against it and they would never seek this guys extradition if it became law. It's 100% Beijing trying to exploit an opportunity to exert more control over Hong Kong. Unfortunately its only going to end one way as China won't lose face with what it sees as an internal matter (but with an international audience).

Recently in Boston there were some pro-Hong Kong democracy people protesting or demonstrating or whatever. Word. I agree with them.

But apparently some pro-mainland, authoritarian China people showed up to counter protest and insult them, basically call them lazy hippies or whatever the Chinese equivalent is. Like... ok... what the fuck are you even doing here then? If you hate democracy that much then GTFO

Needless to say, we live in politically divisive times. But despite what our affiliations are, I think we're all in agreement that the Chinese government can eat a dick.

Also, fuck Blizzard Entertainment for banning pro-Hong Kong players.

And lol @ South Park getting banned in China this month as well.

I think it's sad but unsurprising to see western corporations fess up to their true allegiances, like Blizzard and the NBA. The market is so insanely crowded and competitive that any losses in market share and shareholder confidence could spell death. People I know who play Blizz games have been frustrated by entertainment and politics being conflated like this, but it's exactly what oblivious consumers need to see. The world is that intertwined these days. 

The tactics deployed so far are really unnerving. The protestor behavior looks pretty crazy in some shots but what'd you expect? They're getting ganged up by Triads. The extradition bill was reversed and now it looks like a hodge podge of demands for recognition and democratic reform. I'm curious what the repercussions will be if the protestors step down without amnesty. Jinping the Pooh has promised bones and ash if this goes on and it doesn't look well...

Let’s all turn into anarchists and grief blizzard games. What’s that game? Overwatch? 

i would like to drink a beer or two with sheathe. i feel like we would get along

I saw that the police is spraying blue dye mixed with teargas at people standing in front of a mosque.

  On 10/21/2019 at 2:50 PM, Squee said:

I saw that the police is spraying blue dye mixed with teargas at people standing in front of a mosque.

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Something something, Aryan race, something something...?