How quickly we've reached this juncture. Despite a nifty way of getting around the great firewall a friend of mine has helped me out with, the question of exactly how close I should allow my blog to get to some Chinese no-nos has been up in the air. Alas, Hong Kong and ambiguity go hand in hand.
A brief history of how we got to where we are today. In the first Opium War in the 1840s the British demanded China cede Hong Kong island to British colonial rule permanently. A few decades later the peninsula (Kowloon peninsula, where I'm staying) just above the island was added to the colony. In 1898 Britain leased yet more of the mainland just above Kowloon, “the New Territories” for 99 years. Fast forward to Margaret Thatcher. British hegemony long waned and with the lease of the New Territories coming to an end the Thatcher government signed the Joint Declaration with the PRC negotiating the return of not just the New Territories, but Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula as well. Considering that China held all of the cards (had Kowloon and Hong Kong not been handed back as well the only thing dividing the PRC and British territory would have been a street quite literally named "Boundary"). British diplomacy proved adroit. At the heart of the Joint Declaration was that the Hong Kong way of life remain unchanged for 50 years. The British being the sneaky capitalists they are shortly after the signing of this document in 1984 Hong Kong underwent a crash course in political liberalization. Though PRC objected and it was partially reversed Hong Kong remains somewhat democratic and largely autonomous. Surprisingly so.
To understand exactly how autonomous, another piece of history is useful. In 1898 a strange rebellion broke out in China which the Chinese government later decided to roll with in opposition to the western powers. The “Boxers”, (more accurately the society of the righteous and harmonious fist) believed that the brand of martial arts they had developed made them impervious to modern weaponry. Though they are largely lionized in China today, the belief in these magical powers proved destabilizing and ultimately disastrous to the Qing dynasty. As of the last few decades another group has popped up claiming to bestow magical powers unto it's followers vis-a-vis a variation of Tai-Chi. Granted, that's a vast oversimplification, kind of like focusing on Mormonism and it's protective underwear, but the point is that it's spread like wildfire. The CCP decided instead of letting it get to Boxer rebellion proportions to crack down, and did so brutally. Today the group (initials F.G., look it up), however delusional they may be, are persecuted mercilessly. Terms relating to the group are firewalled, their internet activities are restricted and public practice will land one in a prison very quickly (probably one with torture facilities). Placing oneself in the shoes of CCP policy makers you can kind of see where they're coming from. The country has riots regularly and from my understanding there has remained a fragmented movement for political reform ever since the events of two decades ago. If rioters suddenly believed they were impervious to any methods at the government's disposal things could get out of hand quickly. Yet, pragmatic as it may be these actions on the part of the government are a major source of the China's human rights violations. Basically... it's a touchy issue.
So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the following:
A brief history of how we got to where we are today. In the first Opium War in the 1840s the British demanded China cede Hong Kong island to British colonial rule permanently. A few decades later the peninsula (Kowloon peninsula, where I'm staying) just above the island was added to the colony. In 1898 Britain leased yet more of the mainland just above Kowloon, “the New Territories” for 99 years. Fast forward to Margaret Thatcher. British hegemony long waned and with the lease of the New Territories coming to an end the Thatcher government signed the Joint Declaration with the PRC negotiating the return of not just the New Territories, but Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula as well. Considering that China held all of the cards (had Kowloon and Hong Kong not been handed back as well the only thing dividing the PRC and British territory would have been a street quite literally named "Boundary"). British diplomacy proved adroit. At the heart of the Joint Declaration was that the Hong Kong way of life remain unchanged for 50 years. The British being the sneaky capitalists they are shortly after the signing of this document in 1984 Hong Kong underwent a crash course in political liberalization. Though PRC objected and it was partially reversed Hong Kong remains somewhat democratic and largely autonomous. Surprisingly so.
To understand exactly how autonomous, another piece of history is useful. In 1898 a strange rebellion broke out in China which the Chinese government later decided to roll with in opposition to the western powers. The “Boxers”, (more accurately the society of the righteous and harmonious fist) believed that the brand of martial arts they had developed made them impervious to modern weaponry. Though they are largely lionized in China today, the belief in these magical powers proved destabilizing and ultimately disastrous to the Qing dynasty. As of the last few decades another group has popped up claiming to bestow magical powers unto it's followers vis-a-vis a variation of Tai-Chi. Granted, that's a vast oversimplification, kind of like focusing on Mormonism and it's protective underwear, but the point is that it's spread like wildfire. The CCP decided instead of letting it get to Boxer rebellion proportions to crack down, and did so brutally. Today the group (initials F.G., look it up), however delusional they may be, are persecuted mercilessly. Terms relating to the group are firewalled, their internet activities are restricted and public practice will land one in a prison very quickly (probably one with torture facilities). Placing oneself in the shoes of CCP policy makers you can kind of see where they're coming from. The country has riots regularly and from my understanding there has remained a fragmented movement for political reform ever since the events of two decades ago. If rioters suddenly believed they were impervious to any methods at the government's disposal things could get out of hand quickly. Yet, pragmatic as it may be these actions on the part of the government are a major source of the China's human rights violations. Basically... it's a touchy issue.
So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the following:
Large, very public displays not only advocating the group but denouncing the CCP as well. The blue banner reads "Heaven destroys CCP". The last one was located by a a statue celebrating the return of Hong Kong to Chinese control and a very popular tourist attraction for Chinese at this time of year. The displays always seem to have people reading the details too. So apparently the British did an exceedingly good job negotiating this fifty year, one country two systems policy and apparently the PRC has good reason to respect the treaty. Two thoughts on the latter: (a) it's to entice Taiwan into coming into the fold, (b) they don't want to kill the golden goose. Hong Kong is a major financial center, why deter capital with archaic political jibber jabber? Either way, kudos to the British. 7 million more people have relative freedom of speech than would have otherwise.
And though unrelated, I thought this was totally awesome:
And though unrelated, I thought this was totally awesome:
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