Too Many Message Boards

Utterly ruthless - just lock them up, no trial & no prospect of one, until eventually people become so dispirited they'll plead guilty. How to snuff out democracy & protest.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61235777


[b]"China's national security law imposed on Hong Kong nearly two years ago has completely changed the territory's political landscape.[/b]
Free speech has been curtailed, civil society groups have closed down and only Beijing-approved candidates can stand in elections.
The law has also upended several long-standing legal principles - with one of the most radical changes relating to bail.


Previously, defendants would usually remain free until their trial, but under the national security law the presumption is that they will be remanded in custody after being charged.

Critics say this pre-trial detention undermines the idea of innocence until proven guilty - and is designed to break the will of those accused."

Sadly, was always going to happen, Hong Kong is now China...

Yep it was always on the cards; you have to wonder whether at some future point, the Chinese communist party might release its death grip on democracy & allow their people to be free for the first time in a very long while.

(28-04-2022, 05:02 PM)Lilith7 Wrote: [ -> ]Yep it was always on the cards; you have to wonder whether at some future point, the Chinese communist party might release its death grip on democracy & allow their people to be free for the first time in a very long while.

I can't see that happening.   They have been tightening the grip on HK for many years.   I travelled to HK many times before the pandemic , about every two years starting in the 70s.  The difference in atmosphere on the streets after the handover was stark and then it just got bleaker and bleaker.   I don't think it would take much for a Shanghai-style lockdown to be imposed and not just for health reasons.

(28-04-2022, 07:19 PM)Olive Wrote: [ -> ]

(28-04-2022, 05:02 PM)Lilith7 Wrote: [ -> ]Yep it was always on the cards; you have to wonder whether at some future point, the Chinese communist party might release its death grip on democracy & allow their people to be free for the first time in a very long while.

I can't see that happening.   They have been tightening the grip on HK for many years.   I travelled to HK many times before the pandemic , about every two years starting in the 70s.  The difference in atmosphere on the streets after the handover was stark and then it just got bleaker and bleaker.   I don't think it would take much for a Shanghai-style lockdown to be imposed and not just for health reasons.

I can't see it either, but perhaps one day far in the future. You just never know what's around the corner.