Juris Paiders
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
On 5 March, the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress was opened – an event that was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The session began with the proposal of several reforms that will have a huge impact on the already restricted democracy of Hong Kong.
At a time when West is becoming increasingly concerned about China’s global influence, including in the defense sphere, in the beginning of the session the Chinese Ministry of Finance said that this year will see a 6.8% increase in China’s defense budget. Last year, China’s defense budget, which is the second largest in the world after the US, increased by 6.6%. This year, Beijing intends to spend 1.36 yen (176 billion euros) on defense. This means that we can expect new developments in Beijing’s attempts to tighten its control over Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997. Beijing promised that it will uphold the “one country, two systems” principle that would allow Hong Kong to retain some democratic rights, for instance, the freedom of speech and press. However, in recent years Hong Kong activists have complained that Beijing is attempting to implement increasingly stricter control.
The situation is becoming increasingly worse, and we can see time and time again that Beijing has decided to change the rules in Hong Kong. I believe that during China’s National People’s Congress even more laws will be passed that will directly affect Hong Kong and restrict the ability of the citizens of Hong Kong to govern themselves.
One of the proposals intends granting Beijing the right to veto any candidate for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The reform is aimed at ensuring that only Chinese “patriots” can hold power in Hong Kong.
In the last years, we’ve seen people from Hong Kong turning to, for instance, Washington to ask that sanctions be imposed against Hong Kong and China. Regardless of what kind of people each of us considers patriots, I believe it’s easy to identify those who are not.
“The unpatriotic actions of these people would be considered treasonous in numerous countries around the world. This means that these people are not patriots and they shouldn’t be a part of the government of Hong Kong,” former chief executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying expressed.
It has now been proposed that the Hong Kong Election Committee, controlled by Beijing, would have the right to elect the majority of members of the Legislative Council and directly participate in the nomination process. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the congress always approves all of the submitted proposals, therefore this shouldn’t be an exception.
The EU has also expressed its thoughts regarding the proposal by urging Beijing to carefully consider any new decision related to reforming Hong Kong’s electoral system and its political and economic consequences.
Hong Kong’s democratic rights activists believe that that if passed this proposal will completely eliminate Hong Kong’s special democratic rights that should have not been changed for 50 years according to the agreement between the UK and China.
Sunday, Chinese authorities arrested 47 activists and accused them of threatening national security. The current reality is that all the prominent Hong Kong democracy activists are either being tried, or they’ve gone into exile.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
was there democracy in Hong Kong? .. since when?
is there democracy in the US? .. since when?
You might have missed it since it was renamed a cartoon show.
Under those champions of it, the Brits. LOL
Good question mijji. I too have been asking supporters of the protestors in H.K. to tell us all, when was the last time THEY were given the opportunity to VOTE on their Government whilst under British rule. To date, not one, has been able to provide me with such details. L.O.L. That’s because they did not HAVE Democracy whilst under the British Yoke, and are too dumb to understand that. Moreover, they have no idea of what Democracy really is, as they’ve never had it anyway.
Democracy and freedom is slowly being destroyed in the UK as well. Freedoms are being removed and people kid themselves those freedoms will be returned – they won’t. The introduction of a centralised digital id should be ringing alarm bells but it’s not. Additionally the latest crime bill will make it effectively illegal to protest. It will be illegal to protest if any corporation shows that any gathering is damaging its profits! What’s that word again that describes the marriage of state and corporotocracy? British people are sleep-walking into a very dystopian era. Is this really what people want for… Read more »
Democracy democracy? The Democracy under British rule? Maybe it would be Democracy if Thor Halvesson and Garry Kasparov’s crypto-fascists from the fake NED funded Human Rights Foundation with their Ukrainian “activists” managed to achieve their State Dept color revelation? Honestly, this word “democracy” has been utterly debased, it’s only used by Western politicians and brainwashed partisan supporters and the grifters who seek to use the West to take power instead of the grifters in power now. https://youtu.be/JIjVBUwpri8 The Duran might have a disclaimer for the authors of these articles, but that doesn’t excuse them from allowing Frank Gaffney type rabid… Read more »
Another Sino-phobic rant based on pure bullshit.
Cool now do Puerto Rico next, you neocon shills.
Better yet lets do the ultimate one titled “The US Government is quickly killing democracy in the US”, same could be said for the fascist government in the UK..
What sort of a democracy supports fascists and islamofascists committing war crimes abroad with its weapons but whose sphincter puckers up when some political dissident from the right lights up a match on capital hill and calls it an attempted siege of government?
A sham one!
The United States Of America never had Democracy in the first place. In fact, it seems the U.S. Government HATES democracy with a pashion as every country that tries Democracy, is targeted and attacked by the U.S.
Go and write your propaganda for your masters elsewhere, you tool.
“Hong Kong’s democratic rights activists believe that that if passed this proposal will completely eliminate Hong Kong’s special democratic rights that should have not been changed for 50 years…”
Well, these activists turned out to be US/UK tools, as you admit yourself – calling for US intervention is what led to Beijing tightening the control.
What did you expect? That HK become another “unsinkable US aircraft carrier”?
Do wake up from this silly dream which will get you nowhere.
Oh yes, shocking. What does it have to do with me exactly? Why is there this obsession with the internal affairs of other sovereign states? How come the West is so blameless. The imperial Atlanticist juggernaut has been responsible for literally millions rpt millions of deaths in the global south. I remember no less a person than Donald Trump being interviewed by some media nonentity. It went something like this. ‘Putin is a killer isn’t he?’ Trump, ‘Yeah, killers, we have killers too, what you think we are so innocent.’ The interviewer was absolutely and visibly shocked at this blasphemy.… Read more »
The quote goes on ”even while it was happening it wasn’t happening.’
See Pinter’s valediction on youtube
“Slowly?” China has crushed it already – there is NO democracy left in Hongkong! And the West watched and did do nothing about it! Same will happen to Taiwan if the West does not quick recognize it as an independent Nation! In 5 years time, China will be untouchable (militarily and economically) – the time runs out, Europe gets “africanized”, the USA will become a unrecognizable or “cancelled” landmass! No good times lie ahead! Act now!
twaddle
The spoiled brats got spanked for rioting on behalf of america. Good. america has betrayed me and now it has betrayed them. Learn.
I live in Europe and are getting increasingly unhappy with China around the corner. But we can only blame ourselves for this.
We could have won the hearts and minds of the Africans, simply by doing as we say.
Same with the Arabs, if we had stood up against the Zionists.
Same with the Russians, if we had just threated them fairly.
But we did the opposite.
Europeans are loopy. Except the Italians. They give a middle finger to government every chance they get. 😉
My family migrated from Europe after WW 2. One day I asked my Dad, why he thought migrating was a good idea. His reply was, ” in his opinion, all during his life, Europe was at odds with everybody, wars fought all over the place and no one getting along. He believed all citizens in Europe were totally crazy and that there was no future in Europe.” Keep in mind, this was in 1950. today we look at Europe and what do we see, nothing but continuation of exactly what my Dad said. Maybe they’ll do us all a favor… Read more »
China has an effective democracy, and certain freedoms that we would dream of in the U$. Freedom is a right of all people, but said freedom does not have to be a corrupt, violent, war exporting American “democracy”.
Racist jerk.
There has NEVER been any Democracy in H.K. in the first place, so “how” could it be crushed ?
Cancelling the US, such as it’s become, could only be a plus, even for us Americans.
From polluted ashes be reborn.
It is amazing the amount of negativity being expressed towards pro democracy articles!?! Propaganda trolls in action. Cheap negative rhetoric without facts on very serious issues and topics. I expect there are a number of followers/members of the “the philosophy and strategic outlook of Lyndon LaRouche and the International Schiller Institute.” This institute is a belt and road propaganda outlet when run by LaRoche, even though it is supposedly pro-democracy. However, since the death of Lyndon LaRouche, the organization has begun to criticize the CCP causing an internal war with Mr Larouche’s widow.
You show me a democracy and not a blood drenched clown show masquerading as one and maybe we’ll talk. Until then, stuff it Poncho.
Free SpeachFan, you claim, “Cheap negative rhetoric without facts on very serious issues and topics.” Fine. So I’ll simply ask you ONE question, and I expect you to fulfill your own post and give an answer that’s FACTUAL
Question ; How many times, in the 99 years of British Rule of Hong Kong, did the citizens of Hong Kong go to the Polls to pick their representatives of Government, in accordance to the Democratic principles being espoused today ?
Nascient democracies in progress are only supported by the US in order to get its teeth into them. It’s all just an American boloney and air bread sandwich.
Wonder Bread….”I can’t believe they call it bread”.
PS: Has anyone ever tried to squeeze a loaf of America’s staple: Wonder Bread as far as they could? You end up with a golf ball’s worth of dough. Reminds me of the US Governmentm and mass media.
China’s second biggest military budget!!!!
You mind quoting numbers?
Not such a good opinion of your readers 🙂
Look…. a genuine homegrown and sovereign democracy would be a good thing. But no such democracy exists. What goes by the name of ‘democracy’ means comprador-collaborator-elites working with the US empire to subvert nations and systems relatively independent of the globo-homo US empire run by Jews. Hong Kong ‘democracy’ is a joke. It’s about rich Hong Kong elites trained and brainwashed by the globo-homo Jewish-dominated West to turn the East into a political and cultural puppet of the decadent West. And it’s hilarious that the West should talk about democracy. Western European ‘democracies’ imprison patriots and nationalists. They ban free… Read more »
The Hong Kong oligarchs are the descendants of the big opium drug lords who took refuge in Hong Kong when Mao rose to power in China.
America has turned the modern construct of ‘democracy’ into a bag of bloated nothingness. Just as well for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a province of China, and Hong Kong will remain a province of China. In time Hong Kong will be governed in the same manner as China. Do my fellow Americans really think they are going to steal Hong Kong from China? Would my fellow Americans consider relinquishing Texas to China? That should be simple enough even for my fellow Americans to understand.
Well your fellow Americans did steal land from the Mexicans and the Hawai’ans, so stealing from the Chinese should be a piece of cake, right ?
Old American deep state proverb.
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I think you idiots need to wake up and see who really is killing democracy – and not only in Hong Kong. And as a bonus, I will give you BBC and CNN watchers a clue. It ain’t China, it’s closer to home than you think – if you actually think at all.