Cultural Revolution didn't die on its own. What's happening in HK now is very very similar to what happened during the Cultural Revolution
Everyone sees the parallels, but there's a huge difference, no Jiang Qiang. Someone mentioned the idea of "leaderlessness" was a tactic to maximize chaos. It's working well. Just to continue on the cult mentality road, many of these radicals have turned on their own parents who tell them not to engage in the violence.
You don't need to be interested in politics to be know your identity.
Huawei experienced a surge of sales in China after being targeted by the US. Most of those who opted for Huawei instead of Apple or Samsung probably never thought of politics.
The problem with HK is not a disinterest in politics, it's the fact that a large segment of the population do not feel pride at being Chinese.
That's probably true for the radical and anti-PRC groups, I don't think that's true for the "silent majority" that was being discussed. If you were totally apolitical, a strong China is good for the economy from an HK perspective. There are some non-political downsides, loss of Cantonese identity, even more crowding, but I don't think those things alone would create a feeling that you are "not Chinese".
I still say that the "silent majority" is not apathetic, but simply at a loss when it comes to a solution. "If the police/government can't solve it, what can I do?"
As an aside, Huawei's surge in sales isn't simply because of patriotism, they have some of the best engineered camera modules, best non-Apple phone/tablet CPU, some of the first 5G phones. It was as much a coincidence as it was politics.
Something that has always sat weird with me about these riots is that the terrorists wear black t-shirts and you can see their arms are so skinny they look like the type to get shoved into lockers 3 times a week at school.
Not the first time someone has pointed this out. They are so weak looking, just sad really. Someone get these guys some steak, eggs, and some milk!
Anyone Asian and 180+ lbs. stands out like a sore thumb there.
Great video of foreigners telling it how it is!
Allan Zeman is not a "foreigner". He has lived in HK for decades. Sadly, this is precisely the sort of atmosphere that the rioters have created. They are extremist in their identity, that even Taiwanese students are leaving.
