Introduction to What is at Stake in Hong Kong:
For the past few weeks I have been doing compilations of interesting, conservative articles to give y’all a more comprehensive picture of what is going on. While doing so has been interesting, it gives me less space in which I can talk about an important subject. So, this week I’m going to revert back to the old one article format so that I can better describe what is at stake in Hong Kong.
Protests have rocked Hong Kong and its environs for weeks now. Protesters have taken over the airport. Police, thugs, and protesters battle it out in the streets as brave citizens demand the continuation of democracy and autonomy in their city. Chinese troops are massing along the border. It is a tense situation. And more importantly, there is a lot at stake.
If you’re confused or shocked, don’t worry. It seems like most of the world is. Luckily, this week there was a great article by James Carafano in The Daily Signal about what started the Hong Kong protests, what the protests show about China’s plans for the world, and what is at stake in Hong Kong now that the protests have dragged on for so long.
Read the article here: https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/08/14/what-hong-kong-unrest-tells-us-about-chinas-plans-for-the-rest-of-the-world/
Summary of What is at Stake in Hong Kong:
The article begins by describing how the Hong Kong protests began. As some of you may know, the Hong Kong legislature had been considering a bill that would allow the extradition to China of citizens accused of crimes against the mainland.
Fearful that that bill would be used to strike back against “thought criminals,” like red flag laws would be in the US, the citizens of Hong Kong rose up in protest. They wouldn’t accept that unjust bill. While the extradition bill was taken out of consideration relatively quickly by the legislature, it still struck a chord with Hong Kong’s citizens, so they have continued to protest. Now, they fight with police and government thugs every day.
Carafano then describes what is at stake in Hong Kong. The protesters have no weapons to fight tyranny with; the Chinese government have tanks. If the protests continue, Carafano says, the Chinese government is likely to send in those tanks. That would mean an end to Hong Kong’s autonomy and democratic system. It would be replaced with communist tyranny.
Additionally, Carafano describes secondary effects that the protests will have that raise the stakes even higher for the protesters. One is that if Hong Kong loses its autonomy, it will no longer be a global financial hub; markets and banks won’t trust it and won’t want to risk doing business in it.
Another secondary effect is that if Hong Kong is no longer freer than mainland China, foreign direct investment in it will almost certainly drop. Why would a bank or company invest in a politically blacklisted zone? Those two effects could prove devastating to Hong Kong’s economy and continued prosperity.
Finally, Carafano ends his article by describing what the Hong Kong protests and China’s reaction show about China’s plans and future trajectory. He says that they will continue to break promises. Or, to quote him directly:
“Finally, there are lessons for the rest of us. China’s encroachment on Hong Kong represents yet another in a long string of promises broken by the communist regime.
It has violated its commitments to U.N. Convention on the Law Seas, violated U.N. sanctions (which it voted for) against North Korea, and delivered debt and corruption (rather than the promised prosperity) through its vaunted Belt and Road economic “initiative.”
In sum, Beijing has a well-deserved rep for playing fast and loose with the rules as it tries to bully its way to the top—and its actions with Hong Kong only reinforce that reputation.”
Carafano on what China’s behavior in Hong Kong Shows
China has broken the rules many times before. Carafano thinks that it will only continue to do so, especially if the West doesn’t intervene because it is scared that it couldn’t win a war with China. What is at stake for Hong Kong is its future freedom and prosperity. That is worth rolling the dice on; we need to defend freedom.
Analysis:
I think Carafano did a terrific job of describing what the situation in Hong Kong is, why it exists, what is at stake for Hong Kong, and what the situation shows about China’s future path. I would highly recommend that you read his article.
One thing I would like to analyze further is the last section- what the situation shows about China and its rule breaking. As I discussed in my article on the most important lesson of the 20th Century, socialist nations can’t be trusted or dealt with. They are scheming, authoritarian systems with dishonest leaders. The West can’t and shouldn’t try to deal with them, and that includes China.
Trump is currently trying to tame China so that we can have truly fair trade with it for the first time. While I applaud his efforts, I doubt they will be successful.
Not because of him, but because of history and the Chinese system; China is a socialist nation, and if you look at the 20th Century it is readily apparent that not only do socialist nations always fail, but also they are impossible to deal with.
Hong Kong and what is at stake in Hong Kong show that point excellently. We can’t trust China; not even its own citizens can trust it.
Conclusion to What is At Stake in Hong Kong:
Carafano’s article is great. Read it. You need to understand what is at stake in Hong Kong, as do all Americans. What is at stake in Hong Kong speaks to the future of this great nation and the free world.
America should be willing to recognize what is at stake in Hong Kong and act to defend the freedom of a people that want to be free. French and Spanish aid was crucial to our gaining freedom from a tyrannical power, as you can read about in To Begin the World Anew, and the British were far less evil than the modern Chinese communist state.
Let’s recognize what is at stake in Hong Kong and pay forward what the French and Spanish gave to us in the 1770s and 1780s: precious liberty. China is crushing freedom in Hong Kong despite its previous agreement with the British government not too. That is what is at stake in Hong Kong; freedom for a million people and international law. Force the Chinese to comply. Otherwise, they’ll keep acting in this horrible manner.
Read the article here: https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/08/14/what-hong-kong-unrest-tells-us-about-chinas-plans-for-the-rest-of-the-world/
By: Gen Z Conservative
