Pepe Escobar weighs in on Hong Kong civil disobedience


I’ll only focus on the Pepe’s Hong Kong portion, as I’ll bring other viewpoints as well.  A recent reader asked me to say that my (limited thoughts and content) are in violet,  hyperlinks turn blue at c99%; all else is in black.  This is longish, but given the current anti-China realpolitik afoot, this is a very big deal in my estimation.  Feel free to weigh in, even with contrasting sources and opinions.  Dagnabbit, I’d forgotten to see if Joe Biden’s blaming the protests on the Russians on Twitter.

‘Hong Kong, Kashmir: a Tale of Two Occupations’ Pepe Escobar, August 7, 2019,  strategic-culture.com (CC w/ attribution):

“Readers from myriad latitudes have been asking me about Hong Kong. They know it’s one of my previous homes. I developed a complex, multi-faceted relationship with Hong Kong ever since the 1997 handover, which I covered extensively. Right now, if you allow me, I’d rather cut to the chase.

Much to the distress of neocons and humanitarian imperialists, there won’t be a bloody mainland China crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong – a Tiananmen 2.0. Why? Because it’s not worth it.

Beijing has clearly identified the color revolution provocation inbuilt in the protests – with the NED excelling as CIA soft, facilitating the sprawl of fifth columnists even in the civil service.

There are other components, of course. The fact that Hong Kongers are right to be angry about what is a de facto Tycoon Club oligarchy controlling every nook and cranny of the economy. The local backlash against “the invasion of the mainlanders”. And the relentless cultural war of Cantonese vs. Beijing, north vs. south, province vs. political center.

What these protests have accelerated is Beijing’s conviction that Hong Kong is not worth its trust as a key node in China’s massive integration/development project. Beijing invested no less than $18.8 billion to build the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, as part of the Greater Bay Area, to integrate Hong Kong with the mainland, not to snub it.

Now a bunch of useful idiots at least has graphically proven they don’t deserve any sort of preferential treatment anymore.

The big story in Hong Kong is not even the savage, counter-productive protests (imagine if this was in France, where Macron’s army is actually maiming and even killing Gilets Jaunes/Yellow Vests). The big story is the rot consuming HSBC – which has all the makings of the new Deutsche Bank scandal.

HSBC holds $2.6 trillion in assets and an intergalactic horde of cockroaches in their basement – asking serious questions about money laundering and dodgy deals operated by global turbo-capitalist elites.

In the end, Hong Kong will be left to its own internally corroding devices – slowly degrading to its final tawdry status as a Chinese Disneyland with a Western veneer. Shanghai is already in the process of being boosted as China’s top financial center. And Shenzhen already is the top high-tech hub. Hong Kong will be just an afterthought.”

‘Civil Disobedience in Hong Kong or US Color Revolution Attempt?’, Stephen Lendman, Global Research, August 13, 2019

As the saying goes, if it walks, talks, and quacks like a duck, chances are it is one.

What’s been going on for months in Hong Kong has all the earmarks of a US orchestrated color revolution, aimed at destabilizing China by targeting its soft Hong Kong underbelly. 

In calling for reunification of China in the early 1980s, then-leader Deng Xiaoping said Hong Kong and Macau could retain their own economic, financial and governmental systems, Taiwan as well under a “one country, two systems” arrangement.

The above would be something like what the US 10th Amendment stipulates, stating:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Each of the 50 US states has its own electoral system, governing procedures, and laws that may differ from federal ones.

China’s soft underbelly in Western-oriented Hong Kong left it vulnerable to what’s going on. US dirty hands likely orchestrated and manipulated pro-Western 5th column elements behind months of anti-Beijing protests.

Dubbed Occupy Central, China’s leadership is well aware of what’s going on and the high stakes. Beijing is faced with a dilemma.

Cracking down forcefully to end disruptive Hong Kong protests could discourage foreign investments. Letting them continue endlessly can destabilize the nation.

US war on China by other means aims to marginalize, weaken, contain, and isolate the country — because of its sovereign independence, unwillingness to bend to US interests, and its growing political, economic, financial, and military development.

China’s emergence as a world power threatens Washington’s aim to control other countries, their resources and populations worldwide.

Its successful economic model, producing sustained growth, embarrasses the US-led unfair, exploitative Western “free market”  system.

The US eliminated the Japanese economic threat in the 1980s, a similar one from the Asian Tiger economies in the 1990s, and now it’s China’s turn to be taken down.

Its leadership understands what’s going on and is countering it in its own way. China is a more formidable and resourceful US adversary than earlier ones.

Its strategy includes taking a longterm approach toward achieving its objectives with plenty of economic and financial ability to counter US tactics.

It may become the first post-WW II nation to defeat Washington’s imperial game, making the new millennium China’s century in the decades ahead.

US strategies to control other nations include preemptive wars of aggression, old-fashioned coups, and color revolutions — what appears to be going on in Hong Kong.

This form of covert war first played out in Belgrade, Serbia in 2000. What appeared to be a spontaneous political uprising was developed by RAND Corporation strategist in the 1990s — the concept of swarming.

It replicates “communication patterns and movement of” bees and other insects used against nations to destabilize and topple their governments.

The CIA, (anti-democratic) National Endowment for Democracy (NED), International Republican Institute (IRI), National (undemocratic) Democratic Institute, and USAID are involved.

Their mission is disruptively subverting democracy and instigating regime change through labor strikes, mass street protests, major media agitprop, and whatever else it takes short of military conflict.

Belgrade in 2000 was the prototype test drive for this strategy. When subsequently used, it experienced successes and failures, the former notably in Ukraine twice — in late 2004/early 2005, again in late 2013/early 2014.

US color revolution attempts have a common thread, aiming to achieve what the Pentagon calls “full spectrum dominance” — notably by neutralizing and controlling Russia and China, Washington’s main rival powers, adversaries because of their sovereign independence.

Controlling resource-rich Eurasia, that includes the Middle East, along with Venezuelan world’s largest oil reserves, is a key US imperial aim.”

‘Hong Kong protests met with denunciations and threats’, Peter Symonds,  14 August 2019, wsws.org

“Yesterday, amid an occupation numbering in the thousands, the airport authority was compelled to halt all check-in services for flights after 4.30 p.m., resulting in the cancellation of some 300 departures. Clashes erupted between riot police in the evening after protesters seized a mainland Chinese man who they accused of being an undercover police officer.

According to the South China Morning Post, the riot police used pepper spray in the airport to drive out protesters. It reported that as of this morning only a small group of some 30 protesters remained.

The airport occupation has dramatically raised the stakes in the political confrontation that is now in its 10th week. The huge protests in June over planned legislation to allow extradition from Hong Kong to China have morphed into a protest movement making wider democratic demands, including action against police violence and free elections based on universal suffrage.

The city’s administration, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam and backed by Beijing, has adamantly refused to make any concessions to the protesters, other than to suspend the legislation. At a press conference yesterday, Lam denounced the “illegal activities” of the protesters, defended the violent actions of the police and warned that “riot activities [have] pushed Hong Kong to the brink of no return.”

Lam’s remarks echoed those of Hong Kong business leaders amid falling share prices and fears of an economic downturn, especially in the property sector. Swire Pacific, a wealthy family-owned business empire that owns the Cathay Pacific airline and an extensive property portfolio, issued a statement condemning “illegal activities and violent behaviour” and gave Lam and the police full support “in their efforts to restore law and order.” Sun Hung Kai Properties, controlled by Asia’s third richest family, also called on Tuesday for the restoration of social order and backed Lam.

Sections of the Hong Kong business elite, concerned at Beijing’s encroachment on their interests, had initially supported the protests against the extradition bill but are now calling for an end to the protest movement. Property tycoon Peter Woo said in a statement on Monday that the protests had already forced the government to shelve the legislation and claimed that some people were using the issue to “purposely stir up trouble.”

The huge social gulf between the handful of billionaires who dominate Hong Kong, economically and politically, and the vast majority of the city’s population looms large. Low wages, economic insecurity, the lack of opportunities for young people, unaffordable housing, and threadbare welfare services are all fuelling discontent and anger.”

‘Violent Protests In Hong Kong Reach Their Last Stage; The riots in Hong Kong are about to end’, August 14, 2019, moonofalabama.org

The protests, as originally started in June, were against a law that would have allowed criminal extraditions to Taiwan, Macao and mainland China. The law was retracted and the large protests have since died down. What is left are a few thousand students who, as advertised in a New York Times op-ed, intentionally seek to provoke the police with “marginal violence”:

Such actions are a way to make noise and gain attention. And if they prompt the police to respond with unnecessary force, as happened on June 12, then the public will feel disapproval and disgust for the authorities. The protesters should thoughtfully escalate nonviolence, maybe even resort to mild force, to push the government to the edge. That was the goal of many people who surrounded and barricaded police headquarters for hours on June 21.

The protesters now use the same violent methods that were used in the Maidan protests in the Ukraine. The U.S. seems to hope that China will intervene and create a second Tianamen scene. That U.S. color revolution attempt failed but was an excellent instrument to demonize China. A repeat in Hong Kong would allow the U.S. to declare a “clash of civilization” and increase ‘western’ hostility against China. But while China is prepared to intervene it is unlikely to do the U.S. that favor. Its government expressed confidence that the local authorities will be able to handle the issue.

There are rumors that some Hong Kong oligarchs were originally behind the protests to prevent their extradition for shady deals they made in China. There may be some truth to that. China’s president Xi Jingpin is waging a fierce campaign against corruption and Hong Kong is a target rich environment for fighting that crime.” [snip]

“Rents and apartment prices in Hong Kong are high. People from the mainland who buy up apartments with probably illegally gained money only increase the scarcity. This is one reason why the Cantonese speaking Hong Kong protesters spray slurs against the Mandarin speaking people from the mainland. The people in Hong Kong also grieve over their declining importance. Hong Kong lost its once important economical position. In 1993 Hong Kong’s share of China’s GDP was 27%. It is now less than a tenths of that and the city is now more or less irrelevant to mainland China.”

‘World is watching’: US reaction points to Hong Kong as a ‘color revolution’,  12 Aug, 2019, RT.com

“One cannot help but recall that the same phrasing was used for Ukraine, during the Maidan protests of 2013 that culminated in a violent coup in February 2014 – and plunged that country into secession of Crimea and civil war in the Donbass, eastern Ukraine.

The impression is only reinforced by the images reminiscent of Kiev coming out of Hong Kong, showing helmeted protesters in black masks firing grenades and throwing firebombs at police – none of which has stopped the chorus of US media from calling the protesters
“pro-democracy.”

OMG.

“There is even nationalism, albeit of a xeno variety: some protesters have brandished flags of Hong Kong’s former colonial master, the UK. Others have embraced the US flag, telling reporters it stands for “freedom, human rights and democracy.” [snip]

“Even though US President Donald Trump has steered clear of Hong Kong and made sure to describe is as an internal Chinese matter, focusing his diatribes entirely on trade, the Chinese public is becoming increasingly convinced that Washington is instigating turmoil in Hong Kong along the lines of “color revolutions” elsewhere.”

And for a it of comic relief: ‘Hong Kong phooey! Would you like any hypocrisy with that?, George Galloway, August 13, 2019, RT.com

“Like a homing pigeon in reverse the entire UK media has flown like a bat out of hell away from France all the way to Hong Kong (as they had earlier flown to Caracas until the big protests turned into the wrong kind of protests).

There is nothing, except the shoe-sizes, of the demonstrators in Hong Kong that I don’t know thanks to the veritable blizzard of in-depth analysis of the protestors there and their each and every demand. Protesters in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can be executed, but we will never be told their names.

And the hypocrisy of the media is just for starters.

If a group of British protesters broke into the British Parliament and hung, for argument’s sake, a Russian flag over the Speaker’s chair it is “highly likely” that a commando force would quickly and violently overwhelm and arrest them accompanied by volleys of accusations about Russian interference.

If a crowd of British protestors occupied Heathrow Airport in such numbers and so disruptively that British Airways had to stop flights in and out of the airport, causing massive financial loss, dislocation, and personal inconvenience, I promise you that their protest would have been cleared out by the above mentioned commandos on the very first day of their protests.

If protesters in London were hoisting Chinese flags and singing the Chinese national anthem then, well, I’m sure you get my point.

The struggle between the government of China and its citizens is no more the business of the British than it is of the Slovakians. It’s true that Hong Kong was a British colony for 150 years but the least said about the shame and disgrace of how that came to be, the better, I promise you.

Suffice to say that to acquire territory by force, followed by unequal treaty at gunboat-point to punish the actual owners of the land for resisting the British opium trade, is, even by British Imperial standards, extraordinary. So shameful is it you’d think the British would want to draw a veil over it. But not so.”

On the other hand, and note sources and today’s date:

‘Chinese military personnel near Hong Kong border’, Ambassador in London says China prepared to intervene ‘if things get worse’; troops 7km from border, Jimmy Yee & AFP, asiatimes.com, August 15, 2019

“Thousands of Chinese military personnel waving red flags paraded at a sports stadium in a city across the border from Hong Kong on Thursday.

Armored vehicles were also seen inside the stadium in Shenzhen, as concerns build that China may intervene to end more than 10 weeks of unrest in Hong Kong.


Trucks and armoured personnel carriers are seen outside the Shenzhen Bay stadium in Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong in China’s southern Guangdong province, on August 15, 2019.

“Indeed, China’s ambassador in London warned several hours later that Beijing was ready to intervene if the crisis gets worse.

“Should the situation in Hong Kong deteriorate further… the central government will not sit on its hands and watch,” Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said at a news conference in the UK. “We have enough solutions and enough power within the limits of Basic Law to quell any unrest swiftly. Their moves are severe and violent offenses, and already shows signs of terrorism.”

China’s state-run media reported this week that the elements of the People’s Armed Police (PAP), which is under the command of the Central Military Commission, were assembling in Shenzhen.

Some of the personnel inside the stadium on Thursday had armed police insignias on their camouflage fatigues, according to an AFP reporter.

The security forces could be seen moving in formation inside the stadium and occasionally running, while others rode around outside on motorbikes.

Outside the stadium – which is around seven kilometers from Hong Kong – there were also dozens of trucks and armored personnel carriers.

The People’s Daily and Global Times, two of the most powerful state-run media outlets, published videos on Monday of what it said was the PAP assembling in Shenzhen.

The Global Times editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin, said the military presence in Shenzhen was a sign that China was prepared to intervene in Hong Kong.

“If they do not pull back from the cliff and continue to push the situation further beyond the critical point, the power of the state may come to Hong Kong at any time,” Hu wrote.

US President Donald Trump also said Tuesday American intelligence had confirmed Chinese troop movements toward the Hong Kong border.

“I hope it works out for everybody including China. I hope it works out peacefully, nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed,” Trump said.

‘Satellite images show China’s military massing near Hong Kong border; A satellite photo has revealed a worrying threat, right on the border with Hong Kong. It indicates Beijing is losing patience’, news.com.au, August 15, 2019

“Satellite photos show what appear to be Chinese armoured personnel carriers and other military vehicles across the border from Hong Kong.

Parked in a sports complex in the city of Shenzhen, the deployment has been interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against pro-democracy protesters.

The pictures, collected on Monday by Maxar’s WorldView, show 500 or more vehicles sitting on and around the soccer stadium at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.

The military force is just across the harbour from the Asian financial hub that has been rocked by near-daily street demonstrations.

Hong Kong’s 10-week political crisis, in which millions of people have taken to the streets calling for a halt to sliding freedoms, is the biggest challenge to Chinese rule of the semi-autonomous city since its 1997 handover from Britain.” [snip]

“The state-run People’s Daily did not comment on the purpose of the vehicles but noted that the People’s Armed Police was in charge of “handling riots, turmoil, seriously violent, criminal activities, terrorist attacks and other societal security incidents”.

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)

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Pluto's Republic's picture

China looks so sleek and modern. But then, so do the futuristic skylines of many Asian and MiddleEast cities. Such economic opulence. Such energy in a rising and thriving middle class.

Sorry for the OT. Pepe Escobar is always a great read when he covers the CIA's activities throughout the world. A rare topic in the tattered old US. Thanks for bringing it.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

simply astounding buildings, and sleek, as you say. pepe's covered so many stories over the decades, and my guess is that he and lendman are altogether correct that this was a USAID, NED, cia prompted rebellion. and you?

now i haven't a clue about the alleged chinese troops massing at the border, nor about any of the attributed to the chinese quotes, but i had pinged: 'and who invented the game of chess?' as i discovered, few claim it was the chinese, most say east indians > persia, etc.

singing the amerikan national anthem? waving UK and US flags? RU kidding me?

thanks for reading and commenting, pluto.

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@Pluto's Republic living in Shenzhen right now.

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wendy davis's picture

@mweens

that you're living in Shenzhen right now, and not that Pluto's Republic is? if so, do you have anything to add to this story? it could be by way of first-hand, second-hand reporting, i'd think, mweens.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@mweens

Feel free to balance our perceptions with reality.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

"It may become the first post-WW II nation to defeat Washington’s imperial game, making the new millennium China’s century in the decades ahead." As a citizen of the U.S., which will be devastated when the dollar is dropped as the reserve currency... I'm rooting for China.

I very much appreciate this piece. While I did experience a "ding!" moment when I saw the NED referenced, because I just watched a video on it yesterday, I was nevertheless pathetically oblivious to what the U.S. is doing.

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wendy davis's picture

@tle

back up again today. you'll like the abundance of information and tweets alex rubenstein brought on june 13, 2019:

American Gov’t, NGOs Fuel and Fund Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Protests
It is inconceivable that the organizers of the protests are unaware of the NED ties to some of its members’ (one outtake in a lengthy exposé):

As MintPress News previously reported:

“The NED was founded in 1983 following a series of scandals that exposed the CIA’s blood-soaked covert actions against foreign governments. ‘It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA,’ NED President Carl Gershman told the New York Times in 1986. ‘We saw that in the Sixties, and that’s why it has been discontinued. We have not had the capability of doing this, and that’s why the endowment was created.’

Another NED founder, Allen Weinstein, conceded to the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, ‘A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.’”

this wasn't on alex's, but:

on edit: the subtweets under cohen's original are great! robert mackey was not amused....

now one thing to remember is that pierre omidyar was a deep contributor to centre ua, and either NED or USAID before maidan and the putsch in ukraine. i haven't read the intercept link, but mackey (i'm fairly certain) was one of the five 'fearless investigative journalists' who'd smeared julian assange while he was down.

glad you've found this compilation of value, tle; me too.

on second edit: i did remember correctly, as it turns out. from my recent diary on the crushing of julian assange (this via oscar grenfell):

An article by Robert Mackey in November, 2017 accused the WikiLeaks founder of a “willingness to traffic in false or misleading information,” of “working on behalf of Trump” and of transforming “the WikiLeaks Twitter feed into a vehicle for smearing Clinton.”

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@wendy davis MintPress looks interesting.

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wendy davis's picture

@tle

and i'll say that i wished i'd (virtually) met whitney webb years ago. it would have my life easier reporting on the Intercept (and other sites') smears against julian assange, and the nasty other features concerning Pierre's 'Intercept' Palace. no wonder they'd named it that; how apt a name.

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wendy davis's picture

noted that commenter karlov1 had urged others to click into b's tianemen scene hyperlink, which goes to his own june 4, 2019Tian An Men Square - What Really Happened (Updated)’ (including grisly photos)

“Since 1989 the western media write anniversary pieces on the June 4 removal of protesters from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The view seems always quite one sided and stereotyped with a brutal military that suppresses peaceful protests.
That is not the full picture. Thanks to Wikileaks we have a few situation reports from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing at that time. They describe a different scene than the one western media paint to this day.”

he's also brought any number of tweeted descriptions of similar violence perpetrated by protestors on those they believe might be undercover police, and this telling paragraph:

"“While the protests against the extradition bill may have been backed by some tycoons, it is obvious that there is also a large U.S. government influence behind them. It is the U.S., not some oligarchs, which is behind the current rioting phase.
In 1992 Congress adopted the United States–Hong Kong Policy Act which mandates U.S. government 'pro-democracy' policies in Hong Kong. Some Senators and lobbyists now push for a Support Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act which would intensify the interference. Before the June protests started Secretary of State (and former CIA head) Mike Pompeo met with the Hong Kong 'pro-democracy' leader Martin Lee and later with 'pro-democracy' media tycoon Jimmy Lai. The National Endowment for Democracy finances several of the groups behind the protests.”

again, you can find it all here; good job, b!

i have a few relevant tweets to embed in a bit.

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studentofearth's picture

@wendy davis access to Tienanmen Square the afternoon of April 21, 1989. They were identified by our Travel Guide as being brought in for crowd control for mourners of Hu Yaobang. I was politically naive at the time, and this was my first international trip, probably overlooked a lot of unusual activities. It was several days later in another Chinese city my fellow travelers suggested out the momentary disruptions of CNN was probably censorship. I did not become aware of protests in Beijing or the other areas in China until I arrived back in the States, after ending the trip with 3 days in Hong Kong.

China has spent an immense amount of resources modernizing mainland ports. Shanghai has reclaimed its place as a financial hub and shipping center. Yangshan Port (26 min) is the largest deep marine port in the world.

The troop build up might be looked as a method of reducing the likely hood of the unrest spreading to the mainland, not just as a deployment into Hong Kong. Contain the infection, let nature takes its course vs lancing before the source of the infection is found.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

wendy davis's picture

@studentofearth

the troops, it may be so. i'm so envious that you've been to hong kong, most especially. the only two places i'd craved to see, yet failed, were hong kong and florence, italy.

i'm not getting what you mean here, though:

"It was several days later in another Chinese city my fellow travelers suggested out the momentary disruptions of CNN was probably censorship."

did you click into the link to b's earlier (revisionist) Tienanmen square link i gave upthread?

thanks for the video; i hope i have time to watch a bit of it.

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studentofearth's picture

@wendy davis for a few minutes was originally assumed to be poor reception in a "third world" country. Breakfast discussions none of us brought up the thought of deliberate censorship. We were actually surprised we could get US news. As we traveled the country, individuals approached us on the street and asked what we know about happenings in Beijing. We began to look for other explanations.

Simply an example of nativity of a group of US professionals traveling on a cultural interchange trip.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

wendy davis's picture

@studentofearth

do you mean that cnn was engaging in censorship of who was really murdering whom in tienanman square as per b's link upthread? now on this occasion, oddly enough, b has some CNN (global?) reporter's tweets describing barbaric protestors' brutality against assumed police.

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studentofearth's picture

@wendy davis I saw no no news regarding China in any nightly CNN broadcast until was back on US soil. There would simply be a few moment of periodic static. Since I and others in the group used rabbit ears most of the time for TV reception periodic interruptions for various reasons was not unusual and did not create suspicion. Then we noticed only country not included in news was China. Considered it normal at the time, fit the expectation of information control in a communist country.

Now many years from the event it becomes unverifiable speculation. Government requirement nationwide with or without knowledge of CNN or specific to a locality. Now that I have done more traveling, there were many oddities on that trip.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

wendy davis's picture

@studentofearth

answer. i will say that to me, your world travels are so enviable they make my mouth water. the substitute, and a poor one for me, was thinking (and reading) is the second-best way to travel.

my bookshelves groan with the weight of fine art books...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoYbGPO_KKs]

dunno about this as i haven't read it yet, but one of my favorite socialists on twitter recommends this highly:

Dongping Han's "Unknown Cultural Revolution" is essential. His short piece here also illuminating: http://www.rupe-india.org/59/han.html

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studentofearth's picture

@wendy davis have become a substitute for physical travel the last few years. Thanks for the link it was an interesting read and will look for the book. One key is finding works written by individuals without a Western culture lens, when read simultaneously with our traditional works it creates a deeper experience.

Enjoyed traveling in time and into a different culture with this series on the Development of Chinese Civilization.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

wendy davis's picture

@studentofearth

series, it looks enticing. if i find the time (a big IF these days), i'll watch a couple of them, and hope that others will as well.

but now i know the origin of your screen name. ; ) mine, otoh, could be Mainly Provincial.

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lotlizard's picture

@studentofearth  
here in Germany had unexplained long gaps of dead air in it. Presumably by suppressing reports of the riots they were trying to avoid exacerbating racial tensions in the ranks.

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wendy davis's picture

blaming the russians for the hong kong protests on twitter, here he is:

@JoeBiden 'The brave protestors in Hong Kong are demanding the rights and freedoms promised to them. The U.S. should be leading the free world to rally support behind them and, with one voice, defend our shared democratic ideals and the desire for liberty that beats in every heart.'
12:52 PM - 13 Aug 2019

clinton's is the short version, but the subtweets rock! (cick the aug. 13 date to make it stand-alone)

@HillaryClinton
2016 Democratic Nominee, SecState, Senator, hair icon. Mom, Wife, Grandma x3, lawyer, advocate, fan of walks in the woods & standing up for our democracy

@HillaryClinton · Aug 14 'Russia’s interference in our elections will continue to threaten our democracy until Republicans join Democrats to stop it.

@MichaelBennet’s new book shines a spotlight on this critical issue.

told ya she's preppin' chelsea to run. least it ain't: It Takes a Pillage. ; )

@ChelseaClinton and I are thrilled to announce "The Book of Gutsy Women," out October 1st. It's a conversation about over 100 women who have inspired us—and narrowing it down was a process! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Book-of-Gutsy-Women/Hillary-R...

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Protesting income inequality. The extraditions were briefly a common cause that now the tycoons got settled, they no longer have an alliance. The NED is taking advantage of the Berniecrats.

That doesn't mean we should be pro China. Oppressed workers everywhere should be cheered on.

I think I need an unbiased view of the protestors viewpoint. Something neither side of these reporters are giving me.

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wendy davis's picture

@Battle of Blair Mountain

were broadened, but there aren't simply two sources on the story in the OP, for instance:

Hong Kong protests met with denunciations and threats’, Peter Symonds,
14 August 2019, wsws.org

today mike head at wsws is reporting: As China masses troops on border, Trump calls for end to Hong Kong “problem”, 16 August 2019

Following five days of protests by youth and workers that paralysed Hong Kong airport, US President Donald Trump reinforced his calls for the Chinese regime to bring the upheaval under control. With further mass demonstrations expected this weekend, Trump solidarised himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the “tough business” of dealing with social unrest.

“I know President Xi of China very well,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. “He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a ‘tough business.’ I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?”

Later, as Chinese paramilitary police paraded near the border, Trump urged Xi to “meet directly and personally with the protesters” to produce “a happy and enlightened ending to the Hong Kong problem.”

imo, it's not a Q of being 'pro-china' on this issue, but anti-US NGOs fomenting another color revolution.

maybe mweens above (third comment) can shed some light on the matter. i have no idea if wsws is correct on the issue, but avidly pro-workers human rights they are.

on edit: i'd sent you a personal message on jtc's nifty Messages thingie at the top of the page on the black bar when you're logged in...with further thoughts on a Q you'd asked on my recent 'fascist modi' diary.

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wendy davis's picture

and peace to all who can manage it. tonight's closing song will be a cover of leonard cohen's original, with a few lyrics they've added.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ]

Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya....
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who has seen the Light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

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lotlizard's picture

In Hong Kong the landlines still work, cellphone networks still work, the internet still works, and reports in all media formats are still getting through to the outside world.

In Kashmir, the landlines have been dead, the cellphone networks have been dead, the internet has been dead, and reporting in any form has been all but impossible for over a week.

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wendy davis's picture

@lotlizard @lotlizard

but in alternative news, some have, including my most recent anti-modi essay 'fascist Modi twists the screws even more tightly on Kashmiris">on aug. 9, 2019, and i'd even saved a few quotes from wsws.org on this word document that contradict pepe escobar's thesis, save for his was written a hella lot earlier in time.

to say the truth, i'd opened a whole new word document for a diary to be titled: ♫can’t get enough of that Novichok, Novichok, Novichok...♫♪, kinda for something as absurdist, thus lighter, as like with russiagate, this one refuses to die.

i will offer that i'd fallen asleep for an hour, and to wake up a bit, i'd just gone to consortium news (now a mere shadow of itself under robert parry), and read a bit of this piece by patrick lawrence: Hong Kong’s Inevitable Showdown, aug 16, 2019, and was glad to see he got a hella lot of pushback in the comments.

but no matter if one believes that imran khan 'harbors terrorists', or that hinduvata and modi are killing kashmiris, it does seem to be true that they are pawns between two nuclear powers. as a side note, this was only the most recent of my essays on the thug modi and is refusal to hold a self-determination plebiscite after soooooo many decades.

but i sincerely appreciate your having drawn the comparison, lot lizard; well done!

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