I believe that you can be a protester and not participate in destroying property or attacking people (both have victims). Within the group can be a combination of protesters and protesting criminals.
Here's how I see it going down: Chinese military goes into HK and attempts to quall protests. If that doesn't work, it will enact a blackout to disperse the protests. The smoke clears and the protests slowly die off and eventually go away. What actually happens is the CCP hauls off arrested dissidents to a remote province. It and the HK government cooperate to look at school/work records and find people who missed attendance on known protest days. It looks at travel records into HK on said days and examines a litany of surveillance techniques to pinpoint GPS/cell triangulation/etc people who took part in them. These people also slowly are ghosted. The world won't care because the human rights violations were committed behind closed doors so there won't be a push for the world to care. China is too important and has already positioned itself (illegally, I might add) as the major global supplier of aluminum and steel. This will be held as collateral to ensure the world doesn't care.
(but fortunate enough to be living within walking distance) These two concepts are the same--doing illegal activity. So then if that in parenthesis is true, and I believe that it is, then a consistent position would say that fortune favors both scenariosz Do you disagree, or just don't like the attribution, despite the thought being the same?
Then in the illegals group, there are those who just did misdemeanor level activity that you should bivercate out as well. Which would be the equivalent of a peaceful protest loitering. So you have illegal immigrants and criminally illegal immigrants.
Yup. It's almost like an oil controlling country offing journalists and holding oil as ransom against anyone caring. Gas is necessary. Steel is necessary. People are not.
Whether it’s by crossing the U.S. border with a "coyote" or buying a fake U.S. passport, a foreign national who enters the U.S. illegally can be both convicted of a crime and held responsible for a civil violation under the U.S. immigration laws. What's a word used to describe someone who commits a crime?
Lets be up front and honest here... this country is fractured. Severely. The US cannot stand up on it's own, it would need a world coalition to stand up to China. Military coalition? The UN has been exposed as a toothless organization after it watched China basically enact a genocide in Darfur to maintain control of the Sudanese government. The UN also only really exists to promote world peace and ignore local hotspots of violence. I have doubts that most European countries are populated with people that would even defend their own country, much less Hong Kong. Organizational coalition? The EU is breaking apart and most countries in it are economically close to ruin. Plus, the US would effectively ask them to nudge closer to economic ruin to edge China out as a global economic bully. They won't make that commitment as China is pushing hard for the New Silk Road and Germany willfully signed a massive tech transfer and rail deal last summer They stole solar and rail tech from the Germans... and then sold it back to the Germans. The Germans don't care and even agreed with the Chinese government that it's cheaper this way. If the New Silk Road develops and BRICS continues emerging as a world player, it's over. China will bring Europe to heel and already has colonized Africa. The US will fade away, hastened by our burgeoning debt. IMO? We've already lost. We lost when China/Germany signed the New Silk Road into being and when China spearheaded the revolt against the US-led world with the formation of BRICS. The NSR and BRICS undermine basically everything the US has used for the last 50 years to maintain (somewhat) global peace. The NSR is much quicker and more efficient than ocean-based trade. The US got edged out back in 2011-2014. /rant
Speeders. Loiterers. Trespssses. Generally, "innocent until proved guilty." But Now tell me which got criminal charges, and which got civil charges, and which got convictions? But is a charge enough, or the action? I get it, you love inconsistency. I don't. But because you are one of the few people that will actually read this, and give it some thought, consider this: The primary thing someone is picked up for is generally their label. So murderers are picked up for murder, not use of a firearm in public, or some such. So with that in mind, what was the genesis of those "criminals" being picked up for, illegal immigration... or forgery?
They're central planners. They're not going to become the new world order. They're going to have issues with people gaining wealth, and still wanting to be controlled and told what to do in their everyday lives.
Probably before 2011. We can be squeezed. And with our infrastructure, we might not even need to be squeezed hard. We do have tactical advantage, as we own ground all over. But that doesn't buy us much. I think Europe will tire of being played a puppet. Not now, but eventually. The question is can we hold out that long?
There's a growing middle class though. They'll start getting their own ideas. Just like we did in the West as our wealth increased.
I just don't see it. Mainly because there will always be fractions based on the different nations to allow it to happen.
The ball was definitely rolling way before 2011, agreed. The second we "opened the doors to China" in the 60s we were [uck fay]ed. We were either arrogant and didn't understand a thing about Chinese history/culture or it was a purposeful move to destroy the US from within. Depends how much you believe Bezmenov. 2011 was just the nail in the coffin. It was a clear shot that they had significantly more clout over Europe than the US did.
China doesn't have anywhere near the legislated freedoms that the US has. China's CCP has heavily clamped down on the freedom of information and actively monitors it's citizens. If you speak your mind too much, you'll be blacklisted from loans/transportation/etc. Also, almost every billionare is the Chinese government. The Chinese state owns now almost every single major corporation and controls every single bank. There is no independent wealthy class, by design. There is no independent middle-class, by design. Everyone is structured and well controlled. They are mankind's dystopic future. Authoritarians are licking their chops as they don't have to worry about pesky elections and appeasement of an educated and independent people. China's way is so much easier and, to be honest, more stable in the long run. The monarchies of Europe persisted for well over 1,000 years. The US's system is chaotic and will be lucky to see 350 years.
