The only down side with this approach is that the exiles would likely become powerful lobbyists in China’s liberal democratic adversaries, making detente and rapprochements difficult.
Hong-Kong Protests
- Thread starter Pika
- Start date
antiterror13
Brigadier
I think they should just stay in the UK as they said before that they'd prefer to be a beggar but "free" than a prince in HK
There is really no point to go back to HK and not happy and complaint all the time ...... and potentially creating a trouble
But the big question is whether the British want them to live there. Also whether HK people and govt want them to go back to HK
That’s the beauty of it, no matter how high they climb up eventually the allure of rapprochement will be too high and they’ll get tossed away by their masters again. It’s even funnier a second time!
Like what happened to Joshua Wong, the Uighurs, and all those protesters during Xi’s 2023 visit to San Francisco.
More so that the government cannot disobey the rule of law. The capital punishments which many if not most people would like to see befall these criminals are reserved for treason, but treason under Chinese law requires very specific conditions to be triggered. Despite how illogical it seems, taking foreign bribes and advocating for their interests isn't specific enough to put them under for treason. This crime is only enough for a few years in jail and/or fines.
Ultimately the country can't function by mob justice. If capital punishment were widely used on HK cockroaches, it would also mean lowering the tolerance across the whole nation.
Realistically, China isn't going to tighten up its laws greatly, it's just not the type of country or people that prefer to use such solutions. The current NSL is the best we can get, a moderate security policy, on par with some EU countries. We are not US and aren't gonna throw people into torture camps over political disagreement.
The only speculation I have is that maybe the NSL arrest for her was not valid since its been 3 years without formal charges/court date. Maybe someone was overzealous , maybe lack of evidence, not sufficient reasons, evidence by bad informant, etc... Letting a high profile person a chance to run off would save the embarrassment of having to drop the charges.
One thing worth mentioning is a mini double standard regarding how the West treats China and Russia. If those rioters (like Joshua Wong and the two Leungs) were in Russia, Putin would certainly have had them shot, and Washington would say nothing. However, should Xi to shot them and dump their bodies into the Victoria Bay, expect loads of sanctions from Washington and London.
White privilege.
Nah I don't think so. They would complain momentarily but not dare to take lasting actions.
US is just gambling on being able to use China's laws against China itself, which works to some extent because unlike Russia, we have and greatly value a fair legal system.
US did sanction Russia when some political dissent gets poisoned. This was very famous in the news.
Treasury Targets Individuals Involved in the Poisoning of Aleksey Navalny
Anyways, I hope they don't let Joshua Wong escape so easily too. Also, it's quite lonely and boring to escape to Canada by yourself, I guarantee Agnes Chow will soon want to return to HK.