Hi Hongkonger currently living in the UK and follower of TLDR since 6 years ago here. Thank you for covering HK. However I’d like to point out some errors here. Apart from the difference between the NSL and the Article 23 others have mentioned, the max punishment for some offences in both the NSL and A23 is life imprisonment, 10 years imprisonment is the MINIMUM sentence for serious offenders for some offences under the NSL. Also, Hong Kong has never had universal suffrage apart from the district council election (but the DC election is no longer a free and fair election after Beijing imposed a change to elections in HK in 2021). The 31 August Decision in 2014 decided that Beijing have the power to decide who can be candidates for the Chief Executive, then HKers choose one of the to be the CE. The Decision triggered a mass protest (The Umbrella Movement or Umbrella Revolution if you’re a supporter of localist or HK independence) in 2014. At last, the pro-democracy camp, which held more than 1/3 of the seats, vetoed this fake universal suffrage proposal in the HK legislature (the proposal required two thirds of the votes in the Legislative Council).
Wise decision to get out. Did the same thing, except I was from the other side. Now looking back, how naive was I as a teenager thinking I may be to help change China into something free and democratic one day. Nope, not only is it going the other way, doubling down, it's also ruining HK, becoming an increasing threat to Taiwan, and also might see the old nemesis USA become a fellow authoritarian regime. Wild times.
@@nunyabidness3075 There was a wide range of reasons I would say. One of them was economic. Mass emigration did happen after the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989 which hugely damaged the confidence of HKers. The Joint Declaraion was signed in 1984, so the Handover in 1997 was a fait accompli, many professionals and wealthy people (those who had the necessary economic conditions) left HK for UK, Canada, Australia, etc. Those Hkers who didn't have money had no choice but to stay. Also, some HKers have already got used to the low tax and high wage environment in HK, they can't really adapt to the life in Western society. Second, part of the population in HK have dual nationalities, esp after those who left HK in the 1980s-1990s got foreign citizenship and returned after 1997. The reasons they returned also vary. One of them may be HKers found out Beijing largely kept their promise to let HK had its autonomy (until Beijing started tightening its grip after 2003, HKers organised a mass protest in 2003 to oppose the first Article 23 Bill and ask for universal suffrage promised by Beijiing in the Basic Law of HK. What happened in 2003's the cause of what's happening now I would say) and the life as an immigrant was not that good back then. Also, after the Tiananmen Massacre the UK launched the British Nationality Selection Scheme and gave many HK civil servants, professionals and entrepreneurs British citizenship. So those who have dual nationalities always have a door to escape if things happen, they can just stay in HK till the last minute (Many of my friends got their foreign citizenship through their parents). Third, many people have their parents (or even grandparents) who are already old and can't leave HK with their children (otherwise, they will lose their friends and supporting network). So many people decided to stay and take care of their parents. They probably have a plan to emigrate but they won't go until their parents pass away.
@@chris_hyk Thanks for the info. I hope people get serious about leaving sooner rather than later. Anyone not ethnically Chinese might be able to escape, but I especially worry about the whole idea the Party seems to have that they own all the Han.
I am a HKer who moved under the BNO visa scheme to the UK 2 years ago. Thank you for covering HK's recent news. I couldn't help but to shed tears after learning the hearing results.
@@robocop581 There's no contradiction here. Most people have emotional attachment to where they grew up even if they left. Think of the Chinese overseas in America etc who funded China's defence against Japan in WWII. They left and some had no intention of returning but still cared.
As a Hongkonger, I am biding my time here, saving money and working up on a plan for emigrating elsewhere. I just graduated though so the plan is very far fetched. But I am giving myself 5-7 years of time to grind and save money here. Life is relatively normal ngl but you can feel the influence of politics and invisible pressure people have on their faces. Students are now required to take NSL courses and secondary schools have NSL ideals intergrated in their subjects. But life is still relatively normal and I hope things will stay the same for 5 to 7 years.
Just be careful that chances of immigration overseas might reduce overtime. Canada is reviewing the number of permanent residency to be allowed in. In UK over half the people thinks immigration number should be reduced. So you need to factor in the risk of saving money but ending up having fewer immigration possibilities in the long run.
it's heartbreaking to see my granddad escape china in 1948, come to hong kong, despite being an orphan with no formal education eventually became a district official, played a huge part in improving the lives of the local community, and now china has come to him. he is 90, has early dementia, and his childhood fears have come back, he feared chinese human trafficking more than the japanese occupation, whenever he's confused he thinks the traffickers are coming to get him
he was 14, when he heard the communists were about to take over he wanted out, he was a southern hakka. my maternal grandparents were from shandong in the north, same story, fled when the communists were about to take over. normal people not swept up by the red craze feared the communists more than anything else, so much that literally millions uprooted and fled, those that could, those that would. many died on the way
My grandma did the same thing! Her family were doctors back in Guangzhou, moved to HK, she met my English grandad, they got married, moved to the UK and had my family. I love going back to HK because it’s the only place in the world I feel at home, and it’s so sad to see it being snatched away. Luckily I’ll probably be a very old man in 2047 when HK is gone forever.
@@Squared_Tablethe Triads doing that were on ccp payroll not HK. HK has relatively less cases than China where it's a norm. don't push your sins on HK.
Hong Kong is not Hong Kong anymore. I visited the city frequently since 1980s, the city has always been wild, prosperous, and intensely confident. My recent trip to HK few months back felt distinct, the exuberance is gone, the city seems subdued, wasting away.
I wonder if this is part of China's plan to "subjugate" them under Chinese authority. Maybe if the EU would seek to do more cooperation with China. We could invest heavily into Hong Kong. I know President Stubb recently visited China.
@@hitlist2105 That will change soon I hope. I think I can bring investments into Hong Kong. I need to speak with Elina about it once I get some stuff sorted out first.
illegally conquering a part of china and ruling over it for 99 years isn‘t the best foreign policy. just bc the people did better doesn‘t mean it was the right thing to do. hong kong was like a kid kidnapped by rich people and after getting rich itself, instead of wanting to go back to his actual family, looked down on his poorer siblings. and now that he isn‘t much richer than his siblings anymore he‘s crying 😂
@realize4368 reach much? Maybe people dont like others trampling on their democratic and economic rights from hundreds of miles away. Hong kong was freer under british rule than under chinese one.
@@realize4368 Keep crying on nonsense, the point is clear, the CCP, or the Chinese government is far more idiotic than what was left behind by others. If you don't wanna see it that's okey, but you are are full of ideology at this point, and that's why you keep failing at important things.
I feel terrible for Hong Kongers, they really developed the place into a special place in Asia. I hope you feel to migrate to the UK and please understand we are going through a bit of upheavable culturally but I hope you feel welcome here too.
This is what the people of Hong Kong voted for when they chose to leave the UK for China. This is their bed, and they can lie in it. There’s no need for Britain to bail them out of their own bad decisions.
Nah, most especially the young don't care about German, dutch, swedish, polish and Italians. It's just the Curry smelling and Muslims. Hong kongers are smart, educated, civilized and take baths. @@8qk67acq5
Hong Kong was a model of success for us Southeast Asian countries. We studied and aspired how to be like them. I visited Hong Kong a couple of times and I was amazed how advanced they are. Even though I'm not a Hong Konger I'm really sad about their decline.
Just keep a close eye on Singapore's pro-CCP factions there, i.e., you'd be surprised by how many Han supremacist, CCP shills are out there--EVEN as Han demographics are plummeting towards near extinction levels...
Thanks for all the money. We are now at least thrice or four times as rich as Japan, and undoubtedly the richest and most prosperous nation in all of Asia. Singaporean elites are laughing to the bank and going on lavish Christmas holidays.
@@kageyamareijikun Problem is, what % of Singapore's Han Chinese are pro-CCP,, Uyghur genocide apologists, this side of Holocaust denialism? After all, we all know that Hong Kong's NEVER the end--as opposed to the means of not only subjugating Taiwan--or even all of Far East Asia (especially with Singapore in mind), but even the entire world. There's understandable reasons why Albert Einstein said what he said about how miserably dreary the world will be if the Chinese supplanted all other races, ethnicities on this planet--which coincidentally also explains Han Chinese anti-Semitism (even pre-Oct. 7th).
I've had family and friends in Hong Kong and have visited the city many times over the years. It's shocking just how the city has changed, especially post pandemic. The city just feels lifeless and everywhere shuts down very early. The city used to feel very energetic and uniquely "hong kong" but now all that is gone. Now all my family has moved to the UK and the mass exodus is continuing, especially with the young once they start thinking about starting families or don't have any commitments that make them remain. Meanwhile, more mainland chinese are taking up the spaces and HK is just fast becoming another Chinese city.
4:07 I’m a Hongkonger myself. It’s not just the destruction of democracy and freedom that has been eating away HK, but also the persecution of Hongkongers, Cantonese language and culture (importing masses of Mainland Chinese to live in HK, increasing the influence of Mandarin in schools, work etc) through Mandarinization has been eroding every fabric of HK even more. It’s exactly the Asian equivalent of Russification and cultural genocide of Ukrainian identity esp in Mariupol and every occupied city and territories of Ukraine by Russia.
Both Mainland China and Taiwan only use Mandarin. Even in Singapore and Malaysia, Mandarin is far more popular than Cantonese. I don't know why you have such a prejudice that Cantonese has a sense of superiority
@@stunstar4553 No one is erasing Cantonese language, teaching you second language is not erasure of culture. Plenty of Canton speaking people in the south of China. But, Mandarin is much easier to learn than Canton, while most of Cantonese people can speak Mandarin the inverse is not true.
I'd say its less trying to remove Cantonese language and culture, more just wanting a universal language. Its not just a thing that "barbaric northerners" did, Sun Yat Sen who was a Cantonese also supported this. Mainly cuz Mandarin is a Chinese language and also much simpler. Would teaching English be considered persecution and Englishification?
Thank you TLDR for covering my dear lost home. I am an engineer who just got established in my career but was forced to leave because of the oppression. Despite of the multiple glaring error in governance no one dare to talk back to the Government because everyone was feared of getting prosecuted. And seeing my dear home sinking lower everyday because of the incompetence is extremely depressing - the officials now act like "saints" and every word they speak is "truth" and is unchallenged. Many of my friends and families have already fled our home. The Hong Kong everyone knew will never come back and will only lives in our memories.
The Hong Kongers who left want to return because life is worse in the West. In the West, HKgers face discrimination and racism in employment, education, housing and everyday life. For Westerners, they don't care if your are from HK, Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan or Vietnam, they will judge you by your skin color.
i lived in HK for 41 years. Many of my friends and colleagues has emigrated. Many immgrants are from China. Democracy is there, at some places. But when things are done, it is almost always top-down. Putonghua is gradually becoming common. Cantonese is also spoken but a little less now. All english based materials on various notice boards are slowly reducing. Multi national companies are moving to SG. All of that is true. But tourists are coming back. We have seen growth after a lot of stimulus packages introduced by the gov. There is a north-border-development-zone that is going to happen. There is a whole island to be developed. Let us see what more stimulus packages the Gov brings and how this impacts HK. I have right to work in UK, HK and AU. for now, I am staying put; because salaries are higher and tax is low.
That's basically why people come and stay in Hong Kong over the past century. Regardless of the politics, it's an overcrowded, over-competitive place. Expats are attracted because of the career opportunities and the bilingual environment, otherwise there are much more forgiving places to live.
Its entire advantage was its western connections. Being a british colony is what it a city, rather than an uninhabited island. Now its just another chinese city and increasingly will be treated as such. Once that happens, itll keep declining and may even become largely abandoned.
i was born and raised here, we love the place and call it home, unfortunately i realised in 2013 (age 18) this was a misunderstanding, aside from the native villagers, the vast majority escaped china and fled to hong kong, they thought this was home and felt safe, forgetting they were still under the shadow of the ccp. this safety and freedom was only temporary, and now the time is up
Safety and freedom from what? I'm in Hong Kong all the time and I don't see what is so horrible. Can I not find a job, make a living, go party, drink my bollocks off, start a family, relax at a park, run a marathon, or eat bad@$$ food? Or is your standard for "freedom" for us Hong Kongers, to obey foreign whims to overthrow the government? Because that's not a good or productive life in my book, provided that the government and the society have not failed to let us do the above things in life. Yes, you can argue that Hong Kong's social mobility is not what it once was, but that's true in many other countries today. I didn't find a good career in Hong Kong so I unfortunately can't be based there in the short term. But I would LOVE to be able to live there again someday.
3:32 The National Security Law is not Article 23 of Basic Law, but instead a special legislation imposed by the NPC. It is stricter than the Article 23, which also render Article 23 meaningless now.
Actually, no.... all their rich gangsters decided to come to Singapore shortly after the 1997. We manage to keep most of them at bay. And Singapore wasn't really trying to challenge HK, it was the media that made it seems so. Anyway, after HK went down, there is still Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc. So it wasn't really a gain.
Not necessarily. Remember that Singapore has a nickname “fine city”? Also, the brother of former Prime Minister Lee had freed to the UK to seek asylum.
@@antonyho87228 Our fine are for people who don't have a moral/ethical consciousness. They are there to protect the public. Lee Hsieh Yang is seriously overdoing this. When he was young he was never interested in politics, but became one after his father's death. That said, I am not a PAP fanboi.
@@peachyjam9440Not extreme? The democracy campaigners were imprisoned, and for what? Running a primary election, and strategising on how to score political wins in the Legislative Council, all within bounds of the law. The new laws they were tried under were presided over by judges vetted and appointed by the Chief Executive, and foregoes a jury. 45 of the 47 have been sentenced, and the Department of Justice is appealing over the last two who were released. Not extreme? I will thank you to read up on the topic before you speak on it in the future.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 Oh wow 45 people were arrested? Everyone better leave the city immediately! This is less than a single day in an average American city
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 American police kills 4 people a day and imprisons thousands based on nothing, an innocent man was just executed by the state several weeks ago, the "democratic" supposedly better and progressive presidential candidate kept people convicted of victimless crimes in prison beyond their terms because they bring the state money, as the country with the biggest prison population in the world, bigger than China's which has 4 times the amount of people, allows slave labour within prisons. Yet America is the hub of global finance and I haven't even mentioned all the wars they do
Chinese Tourists visiting HK before it was part of China made sense, it was unique and felt different. Now, it's the same thing as mainland China and amount of tourists going will probably never each the same level as before
@@joceyim The populated parts were not part of the lease, only the New Territories, which were and still are less developed. In theory the UK could have kept HK Island and Kowloon after the lease, When 1997 happened HK was almost certainly fated to become just another Chinese city, maybe with a few cultural differences. It was only a matter of time.
I don't have a way to compare HK in the 80s to now, because I just only recently visited for the first time. But it still doesn't feel like any other Chinese city. It's still a different place...but hopefully it doesn't get all its soul taken from it
@@joceyimThe lease didn't cover Hong Kong Island, which IIRC was perpetual. It and the rest was returned to China early because it was the right thing to do. If it was just the letter of the law, The UK could have technically kept the richest parts of Hong Kong forever. The reality was what was negotiated and planned by Deng Xiaoping and the CCP made a lot of sense and was win-win-win. The CCP has since become an authoritarian under one man and thus China is now an authoritarian state. As such, they accelerated a timeline that is both bad for China and Hong Kong. I don't think it affects the rest of the world since the added drag of moving regional business to a place like Singapore is a rounding error for these large multinationals. For the political world as opposed to economics and business (e.g. foreign countries like mine, the US), Hong Kong was always seen as being part of China, hence an integration that would have occurred in 15 years anyways, which on the scale of Chinese history is less than a rounding error. Unfortunately for Hong Kong and a China, that amount of time is much of much for a dictator's life. At the minimum, he wouldn't want to known as just executing on a plan laid out by his predecessors and wants to make his mark. But more maximally (and realistically), this form of ethno-nationalism and sabre rattling helps distract from long running problems. My country did the same for at least 4 decades preceding its bloodiest period (the American Civil War), so it's hard to put the blame solely on him. He is, after all, just a product of the conditions that created him and those conditions were not set by him alone.
@@FreshTunahey can I hear how different they feel? Haven’t gotten explored much around China and I feel like travellers always have a good eye on how’s a city’s vibe like.
HK is an incredible city in terms of health and safety and infrastructure, but once you take away the political advantages it once had, its economic fundamentals just aren't there anymore. That said, a slow/negative growth HK will still be ahead of other Chinese cities for years to come in terms of quality of life, because most of the infrastructure is mature. Like a Boomer living in a paid off suburban mansion while working a part time food service job, HK will be able to experience a comfortable sundown while other developing cities struggle with growing pains.
This is sadly true, and Singapore has worked out how the replicate Hong Kong's former political advantages with a much more sustainable arrangement. Add to that the fact that Singapore simply makes much more sense geographically as the Asian and Oceania headquarters of multinationals, it is unsurprising that Singapore is growing at the expense of Hong Kong. I will, however, always regard Hong Kong as the best city in the world for food until I have the chance to explore Bangkok and Saigon properly as food destinations.
Visited HK in 2008 for the first time. Fell in love with that beautiful vibrant city. Came back in 2016, 17, 18, 19 and 23 for new year's eves. Through those years I saw the slow decline in every aspect. My last visit was heartbreaking. I doubt I will ever come back there and it kills me as I loved this city maddly. I felt strangely at home there. I used to even joke that I had to live there in my previous incarnation.
Your last visit was bad because Hong Kong badly botched their Covid strategy, killing off a lot of small businesses with excessively long lockdowns. It's not related to the political crises of 2019.
Sad but true, I was there from 1997 to 2018, the SAR in Hong Kong and Macau were said at the time to be Deng Xiao Ping's plan to make China more like Hong Kong and allow the economic growth pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and for Mainland China to be a global influencer in Trade. Unfortunately the current Chairman of Everything didn't get the memo, and he appears to want to drag Hong Kong into his vision of Mainland China, but the important international finance business links and the legal system have been changed forever and only brave investors will put investments directly into the Mainland because of its opaque legal system. I suppose all good things must come to an end.
United States did genocide on a whole continent, Puerto Rico, Hawaii etc. China lifted 800 million people out of poverty in the biggest poverty alleviation campaign in human history
@@ziyu8061 if the username is anything to go by they are Japanese. Japanese people are still thinking what they did when they setup a puppet government in Manchuria during world war 2 was to free the Manchu people. 😂😂😂😂 instead the Manchu people got Unit 731….
I am not a native Hong Konger but I live here..It is insane that I have to take an NSL course to be able to graduate lol...Things have changed a bit and It no longer feels like the one I arrived to in late 2010's In terms of City Life, Careers and socialization.Most newer expats are from Mainland China and very few Europeans/North Americans with TTPS scheme are able to get jobs within the 2-year time scale...My expat and tertiary friends have left, so are some of my local Native friends to UK / Australia and Canada. Its becoming harder to find "English" Jobs in Banking and the only compromise is lower salary with Tech startups.......May also move out soon but lets see how it goes
Yeah but these companies are leaving because they are British. They are a remnant of the British colonial rule. If they don't leave, there is no hope for HK to ever be free. It must get worse before it can get better. Unfortunately for HK people, not many are seeing this as an opportunity to start their own, native business and instead are leaving HK so they can continue licking British boots and feel superior about it.
It's insane that you have to take a course telling you not to overthrow the government. It's even more insane that it took a year of violent riots, sedition and insurrection, to get us to this point. So, we'll deal with these short-term pains, and when the insane obsession with "overthrowing the Communists" (whoever they are) fades into obscurity, we can ease up on the education.
Thanks for covering this. Most of what you said is true. But I have to point out that 47 people were put into jail not because they raised an un-official election , but because they intended to vote a no to all budget plans of the government, and finally achieve a re-election of the government.
It'll make it easier for the CCP to absorb HK. At least with economic strength, HK has leverage. If HK became impoverished, they have no leverage, more and more HK'ers will look at the wealthier, more prosperous Shenzen next door and will agree to a CCP takeover.
Sadly, Everything you need to know about British society is embodied, typified and virtually personified, in the filthy behaviour of ALL societal groups in relation to the “Post Office Scandal” - a systemic and intentional Stalinesque injustice continuously weeping for over 20 years. 1 Parliamentarians: Criminal disinterest in the whole affair. 2 Corporations/Post Office: Criminal violence against innocent people to protect their own “names” and fortunes. 3 Judiciary: Criminal negligence of duty to ensure that JUSTICE is actually done. 4 The Legal “Profession”: Greed and Graft without a smidgen of honour. 5 Police: Totally failed to uphold the law. Abject failure to research or uncover criminal behaviour. 6 Fujitsu: Criminal failure to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about its Horizon software failures. 7 Finally, The Timid and Weak People: Millions upon millions of people who merely watched on - much like the Nazis did when the gas ovens spewed smoke…. DID NOTHING.
Really, why is the border still there? Last checked I had to go through TWO immigration checkpoints to get from Hong Kong to mainland China. Too much rioter hype.
Import note, Hong Kong has never enjoyed Universal Suffrage. Elections are only held for local district councils, which does not include picking the Chief Executive position 3:04
@@jeffkardosjr.3825our parliament/legislative council is not universally elected. And now they could disqualify candidates to get elected for the legislative council with no reasons.
As a HKer, Filipions are some of the friendliest and nicest people Ive had the pleasure of knowing, I'd been partially raised by a Fillipino, who I consider a 2nd mother I absolutely must visit the Philippines one day, love u guys!
Article 23 is separate from the so-called national security law. Also, it wasn't the HK people clashed with the cops, it was the cops who clashed with the people. We weren't the active party but passive.
No, we HKers did this to ourselves. The million + peaceful protests went well, and the government conceded with the Extradition Bill. But the rioters wanted more attention, so they started to create a bigger and bigger mess, until they crossed the line by making it about sovereignty and overthrowing the Government. We HKers should have stopped the rioters, that would have prevented the NSL from being created. But we sat and coddled them, until they went too far and wrote a cheque that they could not cash. And now we got Beijing involved. We allowed the rioters to go wild, that is us Hong Kongers' fault.
That is a reality. Still, many still stay. Often the reason I hear is for their children. Some have been a bit disillusioned and had some culture shock.
@@bristoled93 And a beloved prime minister today in Montreal. It is more freedom than what is compared to Canada. th-cam.com/video/3umoVm8zOWQ/w-d-xo.html
@@lominiski It depends on the freedom. There is alot of regulation whereas outside of politics etc, Hong Kong is very efficient for business. Many other things are not regulated to the nth degree. They still cannot vote for the head of state and head of government directly in most of those anglo countries.
As a Hongkoner, majority of us are ethnically Chinese but psychologically we didn’t think like majority of people who live in Mainland China, we embraced western culture and values, we believe freedom and democracy, so that mind enough be against CCP ideology, and that’s why people who have that thinking would leave HK, that kind of thinking are dangerous in HK.
@@Aleph-alpha Seems you think that the right not granted from the past means it should not available in the future. The fact is no democracy would be allowed under CCP ruling. Hong Kong people not ruling HK instead ruled by another colonial government but a more authoritarian government .
Seriously, stop with the whole democracy charade, the British appointed your governor and the governor picked your parliament. Hong kong was never a democracy, i really don't know what you were embracing.
@@michaelotieno6524 what you means is telling 30 years without democracy and then after 30 years it have no democracy and freedom of speech. 30 years ago no TH-cam, so why you are here?
@@michaelotieno6524 He probably doesn’t know what the British government did just one week before returning Hong Kong: they removed the treason and separatism sections from the national security law. It’s a setup for the Chinese government.
Very comprehensive video on Hong Kong’s situation. One point to add: The 2020 National Security Law is not exactly Article 23 of Basic Law. It was directly imposed by Beijing, overriding all Hong Kong’s own legislation process by a “backdoor” (annex) in Basic Law. Beijing simply bent every rule for ultimate control over Hong Kong.
I met so many highly talented young professionals form HK. They left that dystopian communist hell hole and started successful business. HK without its people its just an island.
3:33 As a HK politics follower,the national security law completely DIFFERENT from the basic law article 23, the later one is harsher and fully breakdown of speech.
Yup, The so called "national security law" was enacted by the CCP's National People's Congress in 2020, bypassing the HK legislative council. HOWEVER, article 23 did undergone some kind of legislative process in 2024, and its writing style is more towards the common law system.
Sad as it is at the loss of hing kongs democracy and free speech Culturally it is still distinct and surviving in a way that’s different to mainland China. Having been recently it still has its own atmosphere and culture, is very international and economically and culturally still very different to China
Thank you for covering. I've been quite emo in the past few days watching the news -- the courts in HK have delivered a heavy-handed sentence to the opposition wishing to win a parliamentary election, and it's likely to be the same for a separate case against the boss of a newspaper outlet. HK is now a place barely recognisable from a decade ago. Btw, shame on you Keir.
@@shutup2483"the guy who's leader of the country who used to rule the territory a long time ago didn't do anything! How dare he? He should've pushed the Keep Democracy button"
majority of Hongkong people still prefer British rule evan after 27 years of handover to China, yhe British colonial officers treated us much better than the CCP
Hong Kong was Chinese land leased to UK under the threat of an invasion, the lease expired in 1997 it was always and will remain Chinese land. By 1997 when the British left Hong Kong was never a democracy with universal suffrage, the British government picked the ruler of Hong Kong as governor, the governor then picked the parliament. The parliament could only make recommendations to the governor who had the ultimate and final decision.
@ yeah. The question was, if given the opportunity to vote, how would the people have chosen? It seems their 20 year attempt at republic was really just the filling of an authoritarian sandwich
@@michaelotieno6524 How about Vladivostok? It was ceded to Russia under unequal treaty in Qing dynasty, but never returned Chinese Communist party claims that they don't recognize all the unequal treaties in Qing dynasty, why doesn't China ask Russia to return Vladivostok?
As a foreign tourist, HK is really not worth it now, considering you can get 6-day visa free access to cities like Shanghai and Beijing for half the price.
Hong Kong began slowly its impending death since 1997 right after it was given back to China.. the culmination was the popular protest in 2019 and after the government imposed the new security law, hundreds of thousand of Hong Kong have migrated. The street now are empty and it is very depressing to look at . Hong Kong is dead .With mainlanders flock to Hongkong to fill in the void left by Hongkongers. China forever turns Hong Kong into her new colony. Farewell and thanks for memory, my Hong Kong 😢
That doesnt work either, china will and has prevented people from leaving the country. So u cant vote in any way shape or form, feet, mouth, hands, none of it.
So many misrepresentations and rinsing of details here. I admire TLDR and have done so for a long time, but there are several issues in this video that were either ignored or whitewashed, revealing a shocking bias: 1. The 2014 Chief Executive election method proposal at the very least would have given Hong Kong permanent residents the right to vote directly for candidates, unlike previous systems where they were (and now still are) elected by an electoral committee. Arguably more democratic, especially when compared to appointed governors sent from the UK in colonial times. 2. The extradition bill would have also allowed for the extradition of a Hong Kong permanent resident from Taiwan for murdering his girlfriend. Also, interregional extradition within the same country isn't anything unusual. Yes, the Chinese mainland's legal system is vastly different from Hong Kong's, but if a crime was committed on the Chinese mainland by a person who subsequently fled to Hong Kong, how will they face justice? 3. Many countries have national security legislation. Shouldn't Hong Kong, as a special adminstrative region of China? Rule of law does not mean lawlessness.
National Security Law is not the same with the article 23. The HK basic law requires HK to legislate art.23 LOCALLY to address national security problems. It had been difficult to pass with the concern of its conflict with freedom of speech and expression, back when there was a true opposition. After 2019 protest the CCP imposed the National Security Law directly into HK basic law's appendix WITHOUT local legislation, which is much, much harsher than the original art.23. Trials under the national security law employs chosen judges and without jury panels. Cases are not appealable, and in many case the suspects cannot be bailed out before the trials. "Innocent until proven guilty" does not apply, the judges will use the broadest interpretation of any actions or speech as "proof" against the political prisoners. Since the whole opposition of HK has been arrested, they made changes in the Legco (equivalent to a parliament but HK is not a country) to ensure no politicians with a true opposition view will be elected in. They then of course "completed" the legislation of Art.23 with the Rubber stamp.
hong konger here. i think the ultimate question is: when will the US and chinese government have a mutual agreement on having some degree of cooperation, and is that degree enough to use hong kong as a neutral middle ground again. if the economic force is strong enough, i think it is just a deal to both countries. Afterall, human rights or stuff are worthless when compared to national economic factors. I think it won't happen in the foreseeable future and yes, we are struggling to find a new global identity.
You got several facts wrong. First, the National Security Law enacted by the NPCSC and imposed on HK via Basic Law Annex 3 is NOT an Article 23 legislation; the NSL is nominally a national law applicable to Hong Kong. Second, the "further law" i.e. the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance enacted this year is truly the Article 23 legislation.
I know that I was bad at math in school, but I can still count to fifty. It's a sad irony that the country that complained about the unfair treaties that britain imposed on it in the XIXth century broke the treaty that it signed with said country instead of doing what it claimes that Britain should have done. Nimbism is common in international relations it seems.
I mean, the treaty was going to end in 2047 anyways, and unless someone expected China to become a multi-party democracy this take over of Hong Kong institutions will happen anyways, just that the CCP is doing that early.
British Hong Kong and Communist China represented two vastly different economic and social systems, shaped by contrasting ideologies and governance models. Under British rule, Hong Kong was a prime example of laissez-faire capitalism, where the government maintained a minimal role in regulating the economy. This approach allowed markets to function freely, enabling businesses and individuals to operate with significant autonomy. Economic freedoms flourished, supported by a low-tax system and strong legal protections for property rights and contracts. Hong Kong's status as a free port fostered international trade and competition, transforming it into a global financial hub. The emphasis on individual entrepreneurship and open markets created opportunities for social mobility and innovation, contributing to a vibrant, cosmopolitan society with access to diverse goods and services. In contrast, Communist China operated under a centrally planned economy, characterized by strict state control over production, pricing, and distribution. Private ownership was severely restricted, and economic activities were tightly regulated by government policies. Employment, resource allocation, and industrial output were dictated by centralized plans, leaving little room for individual or market-driven initiatives. The collectivization of agriculture and industry often led to inefficiencies, resource shortages, and stagnation, as seen during campaigns like the Great Leap Forward. Economic choices for individuals were limited, and innovation was stifled under the weight of rigid state control. The quality of life in these two systems also differed significantly. In Hong Kong, economic freedoms allowed for the growth of a middle class and access to international markets and cultural exchanges. People had opportunities to pursue personal success and enjoy a higher standard of living. Meanwhile, in Communist China, the average citizen faced periods of scarcity, political upheaval, and restricted access to consumer goods. Social and economic mobility was constrained by the collectivist structure and government oversight. Ultimately, the differences between British Hong Kong and Communist China underscored the broader ideological divide between capitalism and communism. While Hong Kong thrived on market-driven principles, Communist China struggled with the limitations of centralized economic control until later reforms introduced some elements of market liberalization.
Hong Kong’s economic success is tied with the fact that they had a monopoly of a link between a closed Chinese market and the west. This advantage was never going to last, nor was Hong Kong in any position to keep it
even though lots of people think that HK was better under UK rule I don't think there's that many people who actively want to return to UK rule. plus there's many people who are pro-beijing
Those chained by the absence of freedom yearn to break their bonds. Those who walk free beneath open skies crave the even ground of equality. Humanity’s grasp is ever outstretched, insatiable and unchanging, like a flame that consumes without end.
As an overseas Hongkonger, this is spot on! Thank you for putting the spotlight on HK once again! Altho I am not sure about the figures about HKers are leaving 3:1 to China... All in all, awesome work, as usual!
I can see it. Not everyone Hong Kong is against the CCP, and many just want to live life quietly, so rather than staying they go next door. The current trend afaik is because of the high cost of living even compared to Shenzhen.
Hongkonger living in the UK for almost 3 years now. The 2019 protests happened when I was in fifth grade of primary school. At the time, I didn’t know what this fight meant for Hong Kong, but as it went on and Chinese repression got more extreme, I fully understood the importance of this protest - it was life or death for the city I’ve known as my home since my childhood. The passing of the NSL was when I realised the fight was unfortunately lost, yet I still held on to some naive hope that we’ll keep going and win, but I knew deep down that wasn’t happening. After leaving Hong Kong in 2022, Article 23 and the Hong Kong 47 trials made me realise the Hong Kong I once knew was long dead. Everything that made the city unique was replaced by the same bullshit Chinese characteristics, and freedom was long gone. The fact that I have to witness the gradual decay and death of my home when I was only 13 really hit me hard.
You missed the 8+ months of violent rioting, an actual insurrection on the seat of government, deadly assaults on law enforcement officers and unauthorised diplomatic representation to ask foreign governments to inflict harm upon Hong Kong. But that's okay, you read the news selectively. The rest of us had to actually clean up after the mess of 2019. We're glad to have our freedoms back in HK. I don't want to see the mob rule of 2019 ever again. "Democracy" is just a word used to cover this disgusting movement. We had our biggest chance at democratic reform in 2014, and those "yellow" legislators voted it down. They don't want it. They wanted power.
Hong Kong has never been a democracy. The governor of HK pre-handover was never selected by the people democratically, but appointed by London, so it is laughable to have the slogan of "returning to democracy", as the first LegCo election was in 1985, after the signing of the Joint Declaration. People don't actually want democracy, they just don't want CCP rule.
The working class want change and mistakenly pin their woes on mainland China. I would argue it is the Pan Democrats who deliberately make lives miserable with Legco vetoes, so that more HK people would be discontent. Their funding comes from Jimmy Lai with strong US ties.
@@nnokki Not making this up, search "The Legacy of the British Administration of Hong Kong: A View from Hong Kong" published by Cambridge University Press.
Lame comment. I bet you have never been to China. Nor do you speak up for Gaza which is a real genocide. If you hate China, don't pretend to be righteous.
Hongkonger here. I’ve been avoiding videos about hk for a while, because it sort of.. hurts. HK is definitely different from the pre-COVID era, and while i won’t say it’s a dystopia, i don’t think we have as much of our old charm as before. Hearing more mandarin is sort of jarring, considering i grew up speaking it almost exclusively in school, but I’m not against mainlanders emigrating here either. They’re mostly people searching for better prospects and better education for their children(from what i’ve heard and seen, at least), and I can’t blame them for bringing their culture as well. I just hope there’s a way to bridge the gap between our cultures, and not lose one or the other in the transition. (I see that macau’s hotels are starting to be built with simplified chinese signs, etc. The majority used to be in traditional chinese.) I also see more and more simp chinese signs, and whenever i go out on errands, i also hear mandarin more often than not. Genuinely. I hope we stay Hong Kong to some degree, at least. I miss our vibes. (Also, funny thing. The CCP’s Presence is definitely another Thing that i’m iffy about. I grew up in the 2000’s to 2010’s, and I didn’t even know the mainland was a thing until I was like 13 or something. Now, it’s something you can’t really Not Know, considering the propaganda-ish stuff they teach you in school.)(It’s not Fake, per se, but I do hope people look deeper into the facts and take the school data files with a grain of salt, and laugh about it like my class used to.)
Many Hong Kong businesses removed laissez-faire capitalism out of Hong Kong; they remove private factories out of Hong Kong and unable to train Chinese talent or communist talents. China Business continues to face stagnation....
Taiwan has a moat. Ukraine doesn't. Forget the West. Japan has said they'll fight if China attacks Taiwan. Japan is the 5th biggest military in the world.
Imagine getting kicked out of a British colony and then crying about how much you wish you could own it again. Britain needs to worry about its own problems not chinas
Thank you for making a video about this. Seems quite difficult to find videos mentioning these issues in recent years - everyone thinks China is a wonderful, super advanced and developed country. While I'm not here to discuss too much about politics or the truth (for obvious reasons), I think it's evident that... there's a lot that needs improvement. I'm not sure whether it's even appropriate to use the term "improvement" anymore - more like, "compensation" or making up for everything that happened. Regardless, great video. Thank you sincerely!
Sadly, Everything you need to know about British society is embodied, typified and virtually personified, in the filthy behaviour of ALL societal groups in relation to the “Post Office Scandal” - a systemic and intentional Stalinesque injustice continuously weeping for over 20 years. 1 Parliamentarians: Criminal disinterest in the whole affair. 2 Corporations/Post Office: Criminal violence against innocent people to protect their own “names” and fortunes. 3 Judiciary: Criminal negligence of duty to ensure that JUSTICE is actually done. 4 The Legal “Profession”: Greed and Graft without a smidgen of honour. 5 Police: Totally failed to uphold the law. Abject failure to research or uncover criminal behaviour. 6 Fujitsu: Criminal failure to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about its Horizon software failures. 7 Finally, The Timid and Weak People: Millions upon millions of people who merely watched on - much like the Nazis did when the gas ovens spewed smoke…. DID NOTHING.
@@only_fair23 Economy always needs improvement, but in the case of China, lifting millions out of poverty, I am certain that the current case of HK is just temporary transition period between British rule and getting back to China. Within 10 years, Hong Kong will become a teeming city again, but things have to get worse first so they can get better later.
Was going to.elaborate on the difference between the national security law and article 23 legislation but some one in the comment section already did that Hong kong basically built a e business model based on managing the captial flow in and out of.china to and from.the west and take a cut from it in the past 20 yrs The most notable example is that if you look at.the last 20 yrs the bggiest.chinese companies like Tencents Alibaba all came to list in Hong Kong under an English law system Investors from Wall Street and the west were able to join in on the growth of China by susbcribing When relationship turns sour no surprise things got a little tight
Very biased and misleading video. It falsely implies that Hong Kong was previously democratic and able to vote in the top leader, when in reality, it was under British colonial rule before the handover (with a white governor appointed from London). It was China that coined the term "HKers ruling HK" and initiated plans for universal suffrage in the territory, but those plans were derailed by the opposition in 2014, who agitated against the nomination vetting because they wanted to put separatists in power. As for the National Security Law (Article 23), it had been written into the Basic Law since the start of the handover, but its implementation was obstructed by separatist legislators, who incited mass protests against it in 2003. Unlike Macau, China's other Special Administrative Region, which implemented the same legislation smoothly, Hong Kong's failure to act earlier allowed for dangerous foreign interference, particularly from the US and UK, culminating in the violent unrest of 2019. Lastly, the shrinking presence of US companies in Hong Kong stems not from the National Security Law, but from American sanctions and political pressure, as the US targets Hong Kong in its proxy rivalry against mainland China.
The request by the "opposition" in 2014 was ridiculous. You cannot introduce election mechanisms contrary to what is stated in your Constitution, the Basic Law.
There is no reason to be optimistic about Hong Kong now. Freedom, democracy and autonomy are gone while pro-Beijing loyalists are in power. But it is impossible to say what will happen or how things will be like in the future.
This video is a gross exaggeration. People link the erosion of political freedom in Hong Kong with the city's economic struggles, yet the two have no correlation. Hong Kong did not have much freedom or democracy under British Rule, and was only changed when the British realised that they could not keep Hong Kong. In fact, the British had also used fairly aggressive and violent means to subdue political protest. Hong Kong's Economic struggle is because of China, not due to it creeping into Hong Kong but rather of it opening up. When China was closed to the world, Hong Kong was seen as the only way for Western and Asian companies. Business thrived, and companies from across the world flocked to Hong Kong to tap into this Billion-person market. China has simply opened up, there is no reason for a company to do business in Hong Kong if it is targeting China, it can simply open up in China. Hong Kong is referred to as a miracle because its existence came through China being closed. Furthermore, people love to come at Hong Kong for its erosion of freedom, not realising Singapore is the same. The truth is China created Hong Kong by being closed and killed Hong Kong by opening up.
I wish more people realised this, in addition to all of this, most companies in HK were owned by British investors, while majority of HK living close to poverty line. The only reason HK people are leaving now is not because things suddenly got so bad, but because they are allowed to leave, where as in the past they did not have much choice but to live in overcrowded city.
Not exactly. China has been opening up for a while now, and Hong Kong was still in the game until a few years ago, coinciding with the Government clamping down on basic freedoms. Before, you could speak freely in Hong Kong, more so than China. Now, you just don't know what you can say without inviting trouble. Would anybody like working in such an environment if they had the choice? No. At least in Singapore, as harsh as they are, you know what is and isn't allowed. In Hong Kong, it's now more nebulous and intangible.
Thanks for covering. On the ground, one noticeable difference is the huge influx of mandarin speaking mainlanders (whether students, working age people or middle age) as part of CCP encouraged migration schemes. No doubt in upcoming years they will represent themselves as true "Hong Kongers" to the outside world to tell a good China story. Had already witnessed this in Xinjiang and Tibet, sad to see my home finally succumb to the same fate...
You mean western agents who wanted a 100% cut on spending to schools hospitals and basic infrastructure to completely starve the basic function of society to stir up people against mainland?
Maybe you should stay on the facts what they are charged of? Conspire vetos to Goverment's financial plan to force the executive down, isn't it? How innocent.....
@@srappytrex3946 When it comes to law in China, accusations are basically "trust me bro". The Chinese justice system have *ZERO* credibility internationally. That's just a fact.
There was an incident at a football match where some HKer did not stand up for national anthem, and they got arrested and prosecuted. This news shocked many people in other parts of China, claiming HK's national security law is way too much. People have also constantly pointed out since "White Paper Movement" that it is now much easier to organize a protest in a city like Shanghai compared to HK.
Well done, TLDR Team. It's quite a complex chain of events leading to the situation in Hong Kong today. Here, I would hope to mention a few events / facts that you probably had come across during research but skipped for the sake of better flow of the video. 1. Basic Law Article 23 was first put to legislation in 2003. It triggered possibly the first ever massive street walk of estimated 500k participants in the modern era of HK. The legislation was then shelved. 2. Disqualification of Legislative Council Members in 2016. 6 pan-democratic side members elected were disqualified by blunt executive acts as their oaths were considered not compliant. 3. HK used to be the trading window for China. Acting as a spring-board, that's why international corporations had their major APAC offices planted in HK for the easiness and proximity to do business. Over time, HK also became the proxy agent which channelled wealthy Chinese to reach to the exciting world outside. CCP later put much tighter control to plug the bleeding of escaping wealth, thus weakening the economic share of HK. 4. One country-two systems held an ideology to give time for China to grow & catch-up the standard of HK. Reform & liberation were proposed by Chinese leadership back at the end of 70’s, in order to develop the country and learn from the western, particularly in terms of economy. That was also the time where negotiation with the UK happened in parallel. The visionary idea by the top CCP leader Deng Xiaoping was to leave a room of 50 years, so China could develop and improve quality of nation and living standard, where reaching the same level in HK. The principle was never the other way round of pulling HK’s back foot. We all see what has been happening over several generations of CCP leadership and the rest is history.
@@Numb_ I live in HK. The protestors were violent against other citizens who opposed them. What was the government to do. Let them run amok? And you say HK is worse. I say it is a miracle the police did not cause one death in that year of protests. Anyways, you are free to live with your bias. Nothing will change your mind short of a visit to China. But most Americans don't even have a passport.
@@antihypocrisy8978You mean *some* protestors. Many police officers did the same and inflicted undue bodily harm on innocent people. Do you think they should be punished at least at the same level as the “violent” protestors? Or is the bar for them merely “didn’t cause one death” and so they should not be held accountable? Show us that your username isn’t just a lame joke.
Yeah, so the Welsh speak Cymru but not English, Bavarians speak their local language but can’t speak Hochdeutsch (their national language), your point? So you can’t accept HKers speak Mandarin as a second language (also the national language), but you’re speaking English? Double standard aren’t you.
@rollingdownfalling Bro thinks Hong Kong is comparable to Wales or Bavaria 🤣. My friend, welsh speak primarily english, bavarians speak primarily german, people from Hong Kong speak primarily cantonese, not mandarin, so no, not double standards.
Hi Hongkonger currently living in the UK and follower of TLDR since 6 years ago here.
Thank you for covering HK. However I’d like to point out some errors here. Apart from the difference between the NSL and the Article 23 others have mentioned, the max punishment for some offences in both the NSL and A23 is life imprisonment, 10 years imprisonment is the MINIMUM sentence for serious offenders for some offences under the NSL.
Also, Hong Kong has never had universal suffrage apart from the district council election (but the DC election is no longer a free and fair election after Beijing imposed a change to elections in HK in 2021).
The 31 August Decision in 2014 decided that Beijing have the power to decide who can be candidates for the Chief Executive, then HKers choose one of the to be the CE. The Decision triggered a mass protest (The Umbrella Movement or Umbrella Revolution if you’re a supporter of localist or HK independence) in 2014.
At last, the pro-democracy camp, which held more than 1/3 of the seats, vetoed this fake universal suffrage proposal in the HK legislature (the proposal required two thirds of the votes in the Legislative Council).
I’d be interested in what kept HK’ers from mass emigration before and after the CCP takeover.
Wise decision to get out. Did the same thing, except I was from the other side. Now looking back, how naive was I as a teenager thinking I may be to help change China into something free and democratic one day. Nope, not only is it going the other way, doubling down, it's also ruining HK, becoming an increasing threat to Taiwan, and also might see the old nemesis USA become a fellow authoritarian regime. Wild times.
@@nunyabidness3075 There was a wide range of reasons I would say. One of them was economic. Mass emigration did happen after the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989 which hugely damaged the confidence of HKers. The Joint Declaraion was signed in 1984, so the Handover in 1997 was a fait accompli, many professionals and wealthy people (those who had the necessary economic conditions) left HK for UK, Canada, Australia, etc. Those Hkers who didn't have money had no choice but to stay. Also, some HKers have already got used to the low tax and high wage environment in HK, they can't really adapt to the life in Western society.
Second, part of the population in HK have dual nationalities, esp after those who left HK in the 1980s-1990s got foreign citizenship and returned after 1997. The reasons they returned also vary. One of them may be HKers found out Beijing largely kept their promise to let HK had its autonomy (until Beijing started tightening its grip after 2003, HKers organised a mass protest in 2003 to oppose the first Article 23 Bill and ask for universal suffrage promised by Beijiing in the Basic Law of HK. What happened in 2003's the cause of what's happening now I would say) and the life as an immigrant was not that good back then. Also, after the Tiananmen Massacre the UK launched the British Nationality Selection Scheme and gave many HK civil servants, professionals and entrepreneurs British citizenship. So those who have dual nationalities always have a door to escape if things happen, they can just stay in HK till the last minute (Many of my friends got their foreign citizenship through their parents).
Third, many people have their parents (or even grandparents) who are already old and can't leave HK with their children (otherwise, they will lose their friends and supporting network). So many people decided to stay and take care of their parents. They probably have a plan to emigrate but they won't go until their parents pass away.
@@chris_hyk Thanks for the info. I hope people get serious about leaving sooner rather than later. Anyone not ethnically Chinese might be able to escape, but I especially worry about the whole idea the Party seems to have that they own all the Han.
@@nunyabidness3075A lot of youth with opportunities left already.
I am a HKer who moved under the BNO visa scheme to the UK 2 years ago. Thank you for covering HK's recent news. I couldn't help but to shed tears after learning the hearing results.
Yawn. You left so no need to cry about HK unless you really miss it.
@@robocop581 wumao
@@olitesla5891 hes right tho, you must be sad
@@robocop581 There's no contradiction here. Most people have emotional attachment to where they grew up even if they left. Think of the Chinese overseas in America etc who funded China's defence against Japan in WWII. They left and some had no intention of returning but still cared.
white man's pet want to move to UK to be closer to therir master
And then act surprised when Taiwan immediately get nervous amd re arm.
Stay strong Taiwan 🇹🇼
@@evankurniawan1311 Google Taiwan and HK protestors. You may learn something.
except ... did they ?😅
Taiwan is the real China, not those mainland pretenders.
@@MisterS. Taiwan is china
As a Hongkonger, I am biding my time here, saving money and working up on a plan for emigrating elsewhere.
I just graduated though so the plan is very far fetched. But I am giving myself 5-7 years of time to grind and save money here.
Life is relatively normal ngl but you can feel the influence of politics and invisible pressure people have on their faces.
Students are now required to take NSL courses and secondary schools have NSL ideals intergrated in their subjects.
But life is still relatively normal and I hope things will stay the same for 5 to 7 years.
i respect ur hustle
LoL
Oh you'll see the west..
Consider marrying a Malaysian Chinese girl.
Just be careful that chances of immigration overseas might reduce overtime. Canada is reviewing the number of permanent residency to be allowed in. In UK over half the people thinks immigration number should be reduced. So you need to factor in the risk of saving money but ending up having fewer immigration possibilities in the long run.
Lets accept reality the Hongkong we knew is DEAD. Hongkong is now just a chinese city.
Hong Kong always was a Chinese city
@@foxyboiiyt3332nope
@@foxyboiiyt3332Was nothing like it, it was a super international one
@@foxyboiiyt3332but it wasn't JUST a chinese city.
Yes it has, just not a communist one @1queijocas
it's heartbreaking to see my granddad escape china in 1948, come to hong kong, despite being an orphan with no formal education eventually became a district official, played a huge part in improving the lives of the local community, and now china has come to him. he is 90, has early dementia, and his childhood fears have come back, he feared chinese human trafficking more than the japanese occupation, whenever he's confused he thinks the traffickers are coming to get him
he was 14, when he heard the communists were about to take over he wanted out, he was a southern hakka. my maternal grandparents were from shandong in the north, same story, fled when the communists were about to take over. normal people not swept up by the red craze feared the communists more than anything else, so much that literally millions uprooted and fled, those that could, those that would. many died on the way
people fears were different and many, but all were things either actively executed or passively tolerated by the ccp
My grandma did the same thing! Her family were doctors back in Guangzhou, moved to HK, she met my English grandad, they got married, moved to the UK and had my family. I love going back to HK because it’s the only place in the world I feel at home, and it’s so sad to see it being snatched away. Luckily I’ll probably be a very old man in 2047 when HK is gone forever.
I think his stupidity was passed on to you. The triads were trafficking humans far before any mention of the CCP😂
@@Squared_Tablethe Triads doing that were on ccp payroll not HK. HK has relatively less cases than China where it's a norm. don't push your sins on HK.
Hong Kong is not Hong Kong anymore. I visited the city frequently since 1980s, the city has always been wild, prosperous, and intensely confident. My recent trip to HK few months back felt distinct, the exuberance is gone, the city seems subdued, wasting away.
I wonder if this is part of China's plan to "subjugate" them under Chinese authority. Maybe if the EU would seek to do more cooperation with China. We could invest heavily into Hong Kong. I know President Stubb recently visited China.
I see my comment was deleted. Free speech my ass
At least the CCP are upfront about it
Nostalgia but yes city is in a bad state
@@hitlist2105 That will change soon I hope. I think I can bring investments into Hong Kong. I need to speak with Elina about it once I get some stuff sorted out first.
k larper @@Swedishpolymath
Guess "one country - two systems" was a lie all along 😅
Who would have thought? 🤦🏻♀️
It wasn't until the West interfered clandestinely.
illegally conquering a part of china and ruling over it for 99 years isn‘t the best foreign policy. just bc the people did better doesn‘t mean it was the right thing to do. hong kong was like a kid kidnapped by rich people and after getting rich itself, instead of wanting to go back to his actual family, looked down on his poorer siblings. and now that he isn‘t much richer than his siblings anymore he‘s crying 😂
@@realize4368Hong Kong was better under white peoples
@realize4368 reach much? Maybe people dont like others trampling on their democratic and economic rights from hundreds of miles away. Hong kong was freer under british rule than under chinese one.
@@realize4368 Keep crying on nonsense, the point is clear, the CCP, or the Chinese government is far more idiotic than what was left behind by others. If you don't wanna see it that's okey, but you are are full of ideology at this point, and that's why you keep failing at important things.
I feel terrible for Hong Kongers, they really developed the place into a special place in Asia. I hope you feel to migrate to the UK and please understand we are going through a bit of upheavable culturally but I hope you feel welcome here too.
Probably wont, cuz many Brits dislikes immigrants regardless of where they're from.
This is what the people of Hong Kong voted for when they chose to leave the UK for China.
This is their bed, and they can lie in it. There’s no need for Britain to bail them out of their own bad decisions.
Nah, most especially the young don't care about German, dutch, swedish, polish and Italians. It's just the Curry smelling and Muslims.
Hong kongers are smart, educated, civilized and take baths.
@@8qk67acq5
@@randommess-d5t 40% is like freaking a lot. Imagine 2 out of 5 (maybe even more) of the people you meet on the streets hate you.
Hong Kong was a model of success for us Southeast Asian countries. We studied and aspired how to be like them. I visited Hong Kong a couple of times and I was amazed how advanced they are. Even though I'm not a Hong Konger I'm really sad about their decline.
Ultimately, Hong Kong’s loss has been Singapore’s gain
Just keep a close eye on Singapore's pro-CCP factions there, i.e., you'd be surprised by how many Han supremacist, CCP shills are out there--EVEN as Han demographics are plummeting towards near extinction levels...
Lee Hsien Loong, the Senior Minister is not getting enough sleep, so people have joked. Why? Because he's waking up in the middle of night laughing.
Thanks for all the money. We are now at least thrice or four times as rich as Japan, and undoubtedly the richest and most prosperous nation in all of Asia. Singaporean elites are laughing to the bank and going on lavish Christmas holidays.
Singapore stock Exchange still sucks
@@kageyamareijikun Problem is, what % of Singapore's Han Chinese are pro-CCP,, Uyghur genocide apologists, this side of Holocaust denialism?
After all, we all know that Hong Kong's NEVER the end--as opposed to the means of not only subjugating Taiwan--or even all of Far East Asia (especially with Singapore in mind), but even the entire world.
There's understandable reasons why Albert Einstein said what he said about how miserably dreary the world will be if the Chinese supplanted all other races, ethnicities on this planet--which coincidentally also explains Han Chinese anti-Semitism (even pre-Oct. 7th).
Thanks!
I've had family and friends in Hong Kong and have visited the city many times over the years. It's shocking just how the city has changed, especially post pandemic. The city just feels lifeless and everywhere shuts down very early. The city used to feel very energetic and uniquely "hong kong" but now all that is gone.
Now all my family has moved to the UK and the mass exodus is continuing, especially with the young once they start thinking about starting families or don't have any commitments that make them remain. Meanwhile, more mainland chinese are taking up the spaces and HK is just fast becoming another Chinese city.
Nice Saber
这是一个好消息，大陆人更懂得治理，香港将更加稳定和安全，再也不会有黑暴分子了
@@kingwing3203 Mainlanders have no manners
4:07 I’m a Hongkonger myself. It’s not just the destruction of democracy and freedom that has been eating away HK, but also the persecution of Hongkongers, Cantonese language and culture (importing masses of Mainland Chinese to live in HK, increasing the influence of Mandarin in schools, work etc) through Mandarinization has been eroding every fabric of HK even more. It’s exactly the Asian equivalent of Russification and cultural genocide of Ukrainian identity esp in Mariupol and every occupied city and territories of Ukraine by Russia.
Both Mainland China and Taiwan only use Mandarin. Even in Singapore and Malaysia, Mandarin is far more popular than Cantonese. I don't know why you have such a prejudice that Cantonese has a sense of superiority
@@stunstar4553 No one is erasing Cantonese language, teaching you second language is not erasure of culture. Plenty of Canton speaking people in the south of China. But, Mandarin is much easier to learn than Canton, while most of Cantonese people can speak Mandarin the inverse is not true.
I'd say its less trying to remove Cantonese language and culture, more just wanting a universal language.
Its not just a thing that "barbaric northerners" did, Sun Yat Sen who was a Cantonese also supported this. Mainly cuz Mandarin is a Chinese language and also much simpler. Would teaching English be considered persecution and Englishification?
@@samuelboczek1834Go and visit Guangzhou. Cantonese is disappearing. Fewer and fewer children know it. Hong Kong is next.
@@stunstar4553Taiwan have their version of Mandarin as well as a collection of their local dialects.
Hong Kong is lost. It's just a city in China now.
nothing wrong being a city in China
@burburchacha There is something wrong when a city state gets forced into annexation, When it was doing just perfectly before it.
Always was in China. Until Britain stole it when it was the opium drug dealer……. Unlike Hawaii which was stolen by the yanks.
@@awestruckcardboard3431 i think you're exaggerating it
@@burburchachanope we are not wumao
Thank you TLDR for covering my dear lost home. I am an engineer who just got established in my career but was forced to leave because of the oppression. Despite of the multiple glaring error in governance no one dare to talk back to the Government because everyone was feared of getting prosecuted. And seeing my dear home sinking lower everyday because of the incompetence is extremely depressing - the officials now act like "saints" and every word they speak is "truth" and is unchallenged.
Many of my friends and families have already fled our home. The Hong Kong everyone knew will never come back and will only lives in our memories.
The Hong Kongers who left want to return because life is worse in the West. In the West, HKgers face discrimination and racism in employment, education, housing and everyday life.
For Westerners, they don't care if your are from HK, Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan or Vietnam, they will judge you by your skin color.
It will. 😢
i lived in HK for 41 years. Many of my friends and colleagues has emigrated. Many immgrants are from China. Democracy is there, at some places. But when things are done, it is almost always top-down. Putonghua is gradually becoming common. Cantonese is also spoken but a little less now. All english based materials on various notice boards are slowly reducing. Multi national companies are moving to SG. All of that is true. But tourists are coming back. We have seen growth after a lot of stimulus packages introduced by the gov. There is a north-border-development-zone that is going to happen. There is a whole island to be developed. Let us see what more stimulus packages the Gov brings and how this impacts HK. I have right to work in UK, HK and AU. for now, I am staying put; because salaries are higher and tax is low.
That's basically why people come and stay in Hong Kong over the past century.
Regardless of the politics, it's an overcrowded, over-competitive place. Expats are attracted because of the career opportunities and the bilingual environment, otherwise there are much more forgiving places to live.
Its entire advantage was its western connections. Being a british colony is what it a city, rather than an uninhabited island.
Now its just another chinese city and increasingly will be treated as such. Once that happens, itll keep declining and may even become largely abandoned.
Yes of course.Hong Kong has become less important to the Chinese government, and its decline is normal because of China's rising power
Meanwhile Britain is turning into a third world dump....
i was born and raised here, we love the place and call it home, unfortunately i realised in 2013 (age 18) this was a misunderstanding, aside from the native villagers, the vast majority escaped china and fled to hong kong, they thought this was home and felt safe, forgetting they were still under the shadow of the ccp. this safety and freedom was only temporary, and now the time is up
Safety and freedom from what? I'm in Hong Kong all the time and I don't see what is so horrible. Can I not find a job, make a living, go party, drink my bollocks off, start a family, relax at a park, run a marathon, or eat bad@$$ food?
Or is your standard for "freedom" for us Hong Kongers, to obey foreign whims to overthrow the government? Because that's not a good or productive life in my book, provided that the government and the society have not failed to let us do the above things in life. Yes, you can argue that Hong Kong's social mobility is not what it once was, but that's true in many other countries today.
I didn't find a good career in Hong Kong so I unfortunately can't be based there in the short term. But I would LOVE to be able to live there again someday.
We will never forget Hong Kong 🇭🇰❤️
3:32 The National Security Law is not Article 23 of Basic Law, but instead a special legislation imposed by the NPC.
It is stricter than the Article 23, which also render Article 23 meaningless now.
Singapore should be happy about it 🤷🏻♀️
Actually, no.... all their rich gangsters decided to come to Singapore shortly after the 1997. We manage to keep most of them at bay. And Singapore wasn't really trying to challenge HK, it was the media that made it seems so. Anyway, after HK went down, there is still Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc. So it wasn't really a gain.
Singapore is winning too much
@@CanadianJames Not really. Hong Kong just took back that "financial centre of Asia" title.
Not necessarily. Remember that Singapore has a nickname “fine city”? Also, the brother of former Prime Minister Lee had freed to the UK to seek asylum.
@@antonyho87228 Our fine are for people who don't have a moral/ethical consciousness. They are there to protect the public.
Lee Hsieh Yang is seriously overdoing this. When he was young he was never interested in politics, but became one after his father's death.
That said, I am not a PAP fanboi.
No Democracy,
No Freedom;
No Freedom,
No life.
After the extreme measures, I'm surprised only 13% of companies moved their regional headquarters.
Because they aren't extreme, it's literally just passing a law, happens in every country all the time
@@peachyjam9440Not extreme? The democracy campaigners were imprisoned, and for what? Running a primary election, and strategising on how to score political wins in the Legislative Council, all within bounds of the law. The new laws they were tried under were presided over by judges vetted and appointed by the Chief Executive, and foregoes a jury. 45 of the 47 have been sentenced, and the Department of Justice is appealing over the last two who were released.
Not extreme? I will thank you to read up on the topic before you speak on it in the future.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 Oh wow 45 people were arrested? Everyone better leave the city immediately!
This is less than a single day in an average American city
@@peachyjam9440 Jailed for up to 10 years, and for what? Doing nothing outside of the law. Do you even know what excuse was used to charge them?
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 American police kills 4 people a day and imprisons thousands based on nothing, an innocent man was just executed by the state several weeks ago, the "democratic" supposedly better and progressive presidential candidate kept people convicted of victimless crimes in prison beyond their terms because they bring the state money, as the country with the biggest prison population in the world, bigger than China's which has 4 times the amount of people, allows slave labour within prisons. Yet America is the hub of global finance and I haven't even mentioned all the wars they do
Chinese Tourists visiting HK before it was part of China made sense, it was unique and felt different. Now, it's the same thing as mainland China and amount of tourists going will probably never each the same level as before
It was always part of China, although it was on a 99 years lease to the UK
@@joceyim The populated parts were not part of the lease, only the New Territories, which were and still are less developed. In theory the UK could have kept HK Island and Kowloon after the lease, When 1997 happened HK was almost certainly fated to become just another Chinese city, maybe with a few cultural differences. It was only a matter of time.
I don't have a way to compare HK in the 80s to now, because I just only recently visited for the first time. But it still doesn't feel like any other Chinese city. It's still a different place...but hopefully it doesn't get all its soul taken from it
@@joceyimThe lease didn't cover Hong Kong Island, which IIRC was perpetual. It and the rest was returned to China early because it was the right thing to do. If it was just the letter of the law, The UK could have technically kept the richest parts of Hong Kong forever.
The reality was what was negotiated and planned by Deng Xiaoping and the CCP made a lot of sense and was win-win-win. The CCP has since become an authoritarian under one man and thus China is now an authoritarian state. As such, they accelerated a timeline that is both bad for China and Hong Kong. I don't think it affects the rest of the world since the added drag of moving regional business to a place like Singapore is a rounding error for these large multinationals.
For the political world as opposed to economics and business (e.g. foreign countries like mine, the US), Hong Kong was always seen as being part of China, hence an integration that would have occurred in 15 years anyways, which on the scale of Chinese history is less than a rounding error. Unfortunately for Hong Kong and a China, that amount of time is much of much for a dictator's life. At the minimum, he wouldn't want to known as just executing on a plan laid out by his predecessors and wants to make his mark.
But more maximally (and realistically), this form of ethno-nationalism and sabre rattling helps distract from long running problems. My country did the same for at least 4 decades preceding its bloodiest period (the American Civil War), so it's hard to put the blame solely on him. He is, after all, just a product of the conditions that created him and those conditions were not set by him alone.
@@FreshTunahey can I hear how different they feel? Haven’t gotten explored much around China and I feel like travellers always have a good eye on how’s a city’s vibe like.
HK is an incredible city in terms of health and safety and infrastructure, but once you take away the political advantages it once had, its economic fundamentals just aren't there anymore. That said, a slow/negative growth HK will still be ahead of other Chinese cities for years to come in terms of quality of life, because most of the infrastructure is mature. Like a Boomer living in a paid off suburban mansion while working a part time food service job, HK will be able to experience a comfortable sundown while other developing cities struggle with growing pains.
This is sadly true, and Singapore has worked out how the replicate Hong Kong's former political advantages with a much more sustainable arrangement. Add to that the fact that Singapore simply makes much more sense geographically as the Asian and Oceania headquarters of multinationals, it is unsurprising that Singapore is growing at the expense of Hong Kong.
I will, however, always regard Hong Kong as the best city in the world for food until I have the chance to explore Bangkok and Saigon properly as food destinations.
Visited HK in 2008 for the first time. Fell in love with that beautiful vibrant city. Came back in 2016, 17, 18, 19 and 23 for new year's eves. Through those years I saw the slow decline in every aspect. My last visit was heartbreaking. I doubt I will ever come back there and it kills me as I loved this city maddly. I felt strangely at home there. I used to even joke that I had to live there in my previous incarnation.
Your last visit was bad because Hong Kong badly botched their Covid strategy, killing off a lot of small businesses with excessively long lockdowns. It's not related to the political crises of 2019.
Yeah I visited in 2023 too and just feels so much more off putting than 2022
@@roomofmirrorsbest Hong Kong was still a ghost town in 2022, with weeks-long quarantine requirements.
Sad but true, I was there from 1997 to 2018, the SAR in Hong Kong and Macau were said at the time to be Deng Xiao Ping's plan to make China more like Hong Kong and allow the economic growth pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and for Mainland China to be a global influencer in Trade. Unfortunately the current Chairman of Everything didn't get the memo, and he appears to want to drag Hong Kong into his vision of Mainland China, but the important international finance business links and the legal system have been changed forever and only brave investors will put investments directly into the Mainland because of its opaque legal system. I suppose all good things must come to an end.
@martinketteridge2710 before everything else, the English influence
China did to Hong Kong what also done before to Tibet , xinjiang , manchuria , etc .
NEVER FORGET
I agree with Tibet and Xinjiang, but Manchuria? This indicates that you don't have a basic knowledge of China.
They’re true
Except Manchuria
United States did genocide on a whole continent, Puerto Rico, Hawaii etc. China lifted 800 million people out of poverty in the biggest poverty alleviation campaign in human history
I hope you are listening, Taiwan.
@@ziyu8061 if the username is anything to go by they are Japanese. Japanese people are still thinking what they did when they setup a puppet government in Manchuria during world war 2 was to free the Manchu people. 😂😂😂😂 instead the Manchu people got Unit 731….
I am not a native Hong Konger but I live here..It is insane that I have to take an NSL course to be able to graduate lol...Things have changed a bit and It no longer feels like the one I arrived to in late 2010's In terms of City Life, Careers and socialization.Most newer expats are from Mainland China and very few Europeans/North Americans with TTPS scheme are able to get jobs within the 2-year time scale...My expat and tertiary friends have left, so are some of my local Native friends to UK / Australia and Canada. Its becoming harder to find "English" Jobs in Banking and the only compromise is lower salary with Tech startups.......May also move out soon but lets see how it goes
Yeah but these companies are leaving because they are British. They are a remnant of the British colonial rule. If they don't leave, there is no hope for HK to ever be free. It must get worse before it can get better. Unfortunately for HK people, not many are seeing this as an opportunity to start their own, native business and instead are leaving HK so they can continue licking British boots and feel superior about it.
Thank you for this piece of valuable sharing. This makes the fall-of-HK factual description more objective and all-rounded.
It's insane that you have to take a course telling you not to overthrow the government.
It's even more insane that it took a year of violent riots, sedition and insurrection, to get us to this point.
So, we'll deal with these short-term pains, and when the insane obsession with "overthrowing the Communists" (whoever they are) fades into obscurity, we can ease up on the education.
Thanks for covering this. Most of what you said is true. But I have to point out that 47 people were put into jail not because they raised an un-official election , but because they intended to vote a no to all budget plans of the government, and finally achieve a re-election of the government.
Thank you for following and covering Hong Kong!
Thank you for covering the Hong Kong Topic.
I’m from Canada and moved to HK decades ago. It’s a great city and still with lots of potential. Will stay here hopefully for another few decades.
Hong Kong is already 80-90% back. The salty unrest movement and its supporters just don't want to acknowledge it.
Shout out to the guy scratching his ass in the stock footage at 4:46
🤣🤣🤣
Now the CCP won't allow you to scratch your ass in public!
CCP Pikachu face when investors and companies leave Hong Kong.
It'll make it easier for the CCP to absorb HK. At least with economic strength, HK has leverage. If HK became impoverished, they have no leverage, more and more HK'ers will look at the wealthier, more prosperous Shenzen next door and will agree to a CCP takeover.
@@natep6729 yeah.
I mean sure, if they could keep the economy they would but making sure its fully integrated is most important for CCP
@@natep6729That is until they see the building and roads collapse due to corruption and shoddy construction practices
Back when Hong Kong was handed over fresh, it accounted for 25% of GDP. Before the pandemic it was 2%. It's easier to sacrifice 2% for easier control.
Singapore is surpassing HK as we speak
Xi really isn't good for anyone is he..
He's great for him and his, which is indeed a small group.
Sadly, Everything you need to know about British society is embodied, typified and virtually personified, in the filthy behaviour of ALL societal groups in relation to the “Post Office Scandal” - a systemic and intentional Stalinesque injustice continuously weeping for over 20 years. 1 Parliamentarians: Criminal disinterest in the whole affair. 2 Corporations/Post Office: Criminal violence against innocent people to protect their own “names” and fortunes. 3 Judiciary: Criminal negligence of duty to ensure that JUSTICE is actually done. 4 The Legal “Profession”: Greed and Graft without a smidgen of honour. 5 Police: Totally failed to uphold the law. Abject failure to research or uncover criminal behaviour. 6 Fujitsu: Criminal failure to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about its Horizon software failures. 7 Finally, The Timid and Weak People: Millions upon millions of people who merely watched on - much like the Nazis did when the gas ovens spewed smoke…. DID NOTHING.
we've heard the phrase, I love China but not the CCP
soon we'll get "I love the CCP, but not Xi"
It's just normal communism. Power comes first.
@@gvibration1 what, you mean like the GOP or the Dems ? No difference between them. BOTH are anti-democratic.
Hong Kong is now just another Chinese city. Nothing more. One country, one system.
Ignorant comment. HK income tax and Healthcare system and roads (British side) are still the same. Nice try
@ A paid Chinese propaganda agent. Ironic that TH-cam is banned in China.
Calling a city as chinese city used to be a criticism but now it has become high compliment.
Really, why is the border still there? Last checked I had to go through TWO immigration checkpoints to get from Hong Kong to mainland China.
Too much rioter hype.
No, differences are still striking. This is simply WRONG.
Import note, Hong Kong has never enjoyed Universal Suffrage. Elections are only held for local district councils, which does not include picking the Chief Executive position
3:04
So why did china promise universal suffrage ?
A lot of countries have their parliaments elect their chief executives.
@@jeffkardosjr.3825our parliament/legislative council is not universally elected. And now they could disqualify candidates to get elected for the legislative council with no reasons.
Hongkong people you are welcome in the philippines!!!!
Why HKers want to go to a land of garbage?
Except for the fact that they don't want to
As a HKer, Filipions are some of the friendliest and nicest people Ive had the pleasure of knowing, I'd been partially raised by a Fillipino, who I consider a 2nd mother
I absolutely must visit the Philippines one day, love u guys!
@@themelon_1785 thanks for the compliment, buddy !
@@Hashtag233 you're literally a hater... 🙄
Article 23 is separate from the so-called national security law.
Also, it wasn't the HK people clashed with the cops, it was the cops who clashed with the people. We weren't the active party but passive.
No, we HKers did this to ourselves.
The million + peaceful protests went well, and the government conceded with the Extradition Bill. But the rioters wanted more attention, so they started to create a bigger and bigger mess, until they crossed the line by making it about sovereignty and overthrowing the Government.
We HKers should have stopped the rioters, that would have prevented the NSL from being created. But we sat and coddled them, until they went too far and wrote a cheque that they could not cash. And now we got Beijing involved. We allowed the rioters to go wild, that is us Hong Kongers' fault.
Lot of the HK people who moved to the UK, Australia and Canada are complaining about lower salaries and higher taxes.
That is a reality. Still, many still stay. Often the reason I hear is for their children. Some have been a bit disillusioned and had some culture shock.
But at least they have freedom and human rights.
@@bristoled93 And a beloved prime minister today in Montreal. It is more freedom than what is compared to Canada. th-cam.com/video/3umoVm8zOWQ/w-d-xo.html
@@theuglykwan The did have more freedom than in Hong Kong.
@@lominiski It depends on the freedom. There is alot of regulation whereas outside of politics etc, Hong Kong is very efficient for business. Many other things are not regulated to the nth degree. They still cannot vote for the head of state and head of government directly in most of those anglo countries.
As a Hongkoner, majority of us are ethnically Chinese but psychologically we didn’t think like majority of people who live in Mainland China, we embraced western culture and values, we believe freedom and democracy, so that mind enough be against CCP ideology, and that’s why people who have that thinking would leave HK, that kind of thinking are dangerous in HK.
Really? Which governor was elected before Hong Kong was returned to China?
@@Aleph-alpha Seems you think that the right not granted from the past means it should not available in the future. The fact is no democracy would be allowed under CCP ruling. Hong Kong people not ruling HK instead ruled by another colonial government but a more authoritarian government .
Seriously, stop with the whole democracy charade, the British appointed your governor and the governor picked your parliament. Hong kong was never a democracy, i really don't know what you were embracing.
@@michaelotieno6524 what you means is telling 30 years without democracy and then after 30 years it have no democracy and freedom of speech. 30 years ago no TH-cam, so why you are here?
@@michaelotieno6524 He probably doesn’t know what the British government did just one week before returning Hong Kong: they removed the treason and separatism sections from the national security law. It’s a setup for the Chinese government.
Very comprehensive video on Hong Kong’s situation. One point to add: The 2020 National Security Law is not exactly Article 23 of Basic Law. It was directly imposed by Beijing, overriding all Hong Kong’s own legislation process by a “backdoor” (annex) in Basic Law. Beijing simply bent every rule for ultimate control over Hong Kong.
I met so many highly talented young professionals form HK. They left that dystopian communist hell hole and started successful business. HK without its people its just an island.
Ignorant comment. There's still hundreds of thousands of Expats working in HK. But you're too stupid to know that
3:33 As a HK politics follower,the national security law completely DIFFERENT from the basic law article 23, the later one is harsher and fully breakdown of speech.
Yup, The so called "national security law" was enacted by the CCP's National People's Congress in 2020, bypassing the HK legislative council.
HOWEVER, article 23 did undergone some kind of legislative process in 2024, and its writing style is more towards the common law system.
There would be no need for national security law if foreign forces did not engineer this revolution for decades.
Sad as it is at the loss of hing kongs democracy and free speech
Culturally it is still distinct and surviving in a way that’s different to mainland China. Having been recently it still has its own atmosphere and culture, is very international and economically and culturally still very different to China
Thank you for covering. I've been quite emo in the past few days watching the news -- the courts in HK have delivered a heavy-handed sentence to the opposition wishing to win a parliamentary election, and it's likely to be the same for a separate case against the boss of a newspaper outlet. HK is now a place barely recognisable from a decade ago.
Btw, shame on you Keir.
Ah yes, this all is the fault of Keir Starmer. That makes absolute sense.
@@nielskorpel8860 He's doing nothing about it, or at least is folding to the Chinese.
@@shutup2483"the guy who's leader of the country who used to rule the territory a long time ago didn't do anything! How dare he? He should've pushed the Keep Democracy button"
@@86upthehill HK is unrecognizable now because the protestors 玩大左. I'm happy they are jailed
@@shutup2483What happened when one thinks the real world operates like Civilization/ Paradox games:
Thank you for not forgetting Hong Kong people !
I wonder if an election was held in 1999 in Hong Kong, if they would have picked to stay with the UK or move to China
majority of Hongkong people still prefer British rule evan after 27 years of handover to China, yhe British colonial officers treated us much better than the CCP
It would have had to have been way before 1997. If I remember my recent history, the citizens of Hong Kong were not consulted.
Hong Kong was Chinese land leased to UK under the threat of an invasion, the lease expired in 1997 it was always and will remain Chinese land.
By 1997 when the British left Hong Kong was never a democracy with universal suffrage, the British government picked the ruler of Hong Kong as governor, the governor then picked the parliament. The parliament could only make recommendations to the governor who had the ultimate and final decision.
@ yeah. The question was, if given the opportunity to vote, how would the people have chosen? It seems their 20 year attempt at republic was really just the filling of an authoritarian sandwich
@@michaelotieno6524 How about Vladivostok? It was ceded to Russia under unequal treaty in Qing dynasty, but never returned
Chinese Communist party claims that they don't recognize all the unequal treaties in Qing dynasty, why doesn't China ask Russia to return Vladivostok?
Not sure why this is an issue, it's no longer British territory and is part of China.
As a foreign tourist, HK is really not worth it now, considering you can get 6-day visa free access to cities like Shanghai and Beijing for half the price.
Hong Kong began slowly its impending death since 1997 right after it was given back to China.. the culmination was the popular protest in 2019 and after the government imposed the new security law, hundreds of thousand of Hong Kong have migrated. The street now are empty and it is very depressing to look at .
Hong Kong is dead .With mainlanders flock to Hongkong to fill in the void left by Hongkongers. China forever turns Hong Kong into her new colony.
Farewell and thanks for memory, my Hong Kong 😢
If you don't let people vote in the ballot box, they'll vote in the streets
If you don't let parole vote in the streets, they'll vote with their feet
That doesnt work either, china will and has prevented people from leaving the country. So u cant vote in any way shape or form, feet, mouth, hands, none of it.
There was never democracy in HK, I have no clue what these people are on about but they are not fighting for anything that was ever implemented in HK.
@@samuelboczek1834 Yes, they were. You wouldn't fight to get something if you already have it.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 democracy wasn't there during british colonial days
@@the80386 Aren't you the master of the obvious? I meant that they would not be fighting to have democracy if we already had it.
So many misrepresentations and rinsing of details here. I admire TLDR and have done so for a long time, but there are several issues in this video that were either ignored or whitewashed, revealing a shocking bias:
1. The 2014 Chief Executive election method proposal at the very least would have given Hong Kong permanent residents the right to vote directly for candidates, unlike previous systems where they were (and now still are) elected by an electoral committee. Arguably more democratic, especially when compared to appointed governors sent from the UK in colonial times.
2. The extradition bill would have also allowed for the extradition of a Hong Kong permanent resident from Taiwan for murdering his girlfriend. Also, interregional extradition within the same country isn't anything unusual. Yes, the Chinese mainland's legal system is vastly different from Hong Kong's, but if a crime was committed on the Chinese mainland by a person who subsequently fled to Hong Kong, how will they face justice?
3. Many countries have national security legislation. Shouldn't Hong Kong, as a special adminstrative region of China? Rule of law does not mean lawlessness.
+100 as a Hong Konger.
National Security Law is not the same with the article 23. The HK basic law requires HK to legislate art.23 LOCALLY to address national security problems. It had been difficult to pass with the concern of its conflict with freedom of speech and expression, back when there was a true opposition. After 2019 protest the CCP imposed the National Security Law directly into HK basic law's appendix WITHOUT local legislation, which is much, much harsher than the original art.23. Trials under the national security law employs chosen judges and without jury panels. Cases are not appealable, and in many case the suspects cannot be bailed out before the trials. "Innocent until proven guilty" does not apply, the judges will use the broadest interpretation of any actions or speech as "proof" against the political prisoners. Since the whole opposition of HK has been arrested, they made changes in the Legco (equivalent to a parliament but HK is not a country) to ensure no politicians with a true opposition view will be elected in. They then of course "completed" the legislation of Art.23 with the Rubber stamp.
The UK never should have given away their pearl and now that China has broken the agreement the UK has a moral responsibility to retake Hong Kong
yeah but guess who will win?
@lsxu149 the British could win. The issue is they lack the political will and don't give a shit about Hong Kong.
There's no labour shortage.
Only a wage shortage and a housing crisis
hong konger here. i think the ultimate question is: when will the US and chinese government have a mutual agreement on having some degree of cooperation, and is that degree enough to use hong kong as a neutral middle ground again. if the economic force is strong enough, i think it is just a deal to both countries. Afterall, human rights or stuff are worthless when compared to national economic factors. I think it won't happen in the foreseeable future and yes, we are struggling to find a new global identity.
Because CCP
Xi more like.
You got several facts wrong. First, the National Security Law enacted by the NPCSC and imposed on HK via Basic Law Annex 3 is NOT an Article 23 legislation; the NSL is nominally a national law applicable to Hong Kong. Second, the "further law" i.e. the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance enacted this year is truly the Article 23 legislation.
I know that I was bad at math in school, but I can still count to fifty. It's a sad irony that the country that complained about the unfair treaties that britain imposed on it in the XIXth century broke the treaty that it signed with said country instead of doing what it claimes that Britain should have done. Nimbism is common in international relations it seems.
I mean, the treaty was going to end in 2047 anyways, and unless someone expected China to become a multi-party democracy this take over of Hong Kong institutions will happen anyways, just that the CCP is doing that early.
thank you for your presentation
Used to live in Hong Kong , it’s sad how down the crapper it’s has become
What, Like the UK you mean ?
@@MicheleLLOYD-bk2mt 🤣
@@MicheleLLOYD-bk2mtmore like china, coincidently when it left the british enpire and joined china
@@aaroncousins4750 Have you even been to CHina?
@@fizzyfish-k4q no, they dont have very good human rights, id much sooner avoid it
It’s almost like there’s worse things than being a colony on Britain
Yeah being British.
Actually what you're describing started in 2014 or 2003 .. yes people were scared the whole time
British Hong Kong and Communist China represented two vastly different economic and social systems, shaped by contrasting ideologies and governance models.
Under British rule, Hong Kong was a prime example of laissez-faire capitalism, where the government maintained a minimal role in regulating the economy. This approach allowed markets to function freely, enabling businesses and individuals to operate with significant autonomy. Economic freedoms flourished, supported by a low-tax system and strong legal protections for property rights and contracts. Hong Kong's status as a free port fostered international trade and competition, transforming it into a global financial hub. The emphasis on individual entrepreneurship and open markets created opportunities for social mobility and innovation, contributing to a vibrant, cosmopolitan society with access to diverse goods and services.
In contrast, Communist China operated under a centrally planned economy, characterized by strict state control over production, pricing, and distribution. Private ownership was severely restricted, and economic activities were tightly regulated by government policies. Employment, resource allocation, and industrial output were dictated by centralized plans, leaving little room for individual or market-driven initiatives. The collectivization of agriculture and industry often led to inefficiencies, resource shortages, and stagnation, as seen during campaigns like the Great Leap Forward. Economic choices for individuals were limited, and innovation was stifled under the weight of rigid state control.
The quality of life in these two systems also differed significantly. In Hong Kong, economic freedoms allowed for the growth of a middle class and access to international markets and cultural exchanges. People had opportunities to pursue personal success and enjoy a higher standard of living. Meanwhile, in Communist China, the average citizen faced periods of scarcity, political upheaval, and restricted access to consumer goods. Social and economic mobility was constrained by the collectivist structure and government oversight.
Ultimately, the differences between British Hong Kong and Communist China underscored the broader ideological divide between capitalism and communism. While Hong Kong thrived on market-driven principles, Communist China struggled with the limitations of centralized economic control until later reforms introduced some elements of market liberalization.
Don't let bro read anything about Hong Kong history under colonial rule
Hong Kong’s economic success is tied with the fact that they had a monopoly of a link between a closed Chinese market and the west. This advantage was never going to last, nor was Hong Kong in any position to keep it
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Hong Kong the only former colony that wants to go back to European control?
Depends on if you have a source or not?
Basically. The psy ops by the west has brainwashed those hong kongers. But I am not surprised.
who said so? LOL
Malta?
even though lots of people think that HK was better under UK rule I don't think there's that many people who actively want to return to UK rule. plus there's many people who are pro-beijing
Those chained by the absence of freedom yearn to break their bonds. Those who walk free beneath open skies crave the even ground of equality. Humanity’s grasp is ever outstretched, insatiable and unchanging, like a flame that consumes without end.
As an overseas Hongkonger, this is spot on! Thank you for putting the spotlight on HK once again! Altho I am not sure about the figures about HKers are leaving 3:1 to China... All in all, awesome work, as usual!
I can see it. Not everyone Hong Kong is against the CCP, and many just want to live life quietly, so rather than staying they go next door. The current trend afaik is because of the high cost of living even compared to Shenzhen.
Hongkonger living in the UK for almost 3 years now.
The 2019 protests happened when I was in fifth grade of primary school. At the time, I didn’t know what this fight meant for Hong Kong, but as it went on and Chinese repression got more extreme, I fully understood the importance of this protest - it was life or death for the city I’ve known as my home since my childhood. The passing of the NSL was when I realised the fight was unfortunately lost, yet I still held on to some naive hope that we’ll keep going and win, but I knew deep down that wasn’t happening.
After leaving Hong Kong in 2022, Article 23 and the Hong Kong 47 trials made me realise the Hong Kong I once knew was long dead. Everything that made the city unique was replaced by the same bullshit Chinese characteristics, and freedom was long gone. The fact that I have to witness the gradual decay and death of my home when I was only 13 really hit me hard.
You missed the 8+ months of violent rioting, an actual insurrection on the seat of government, deadly assaults on law enforcement officers and unauthorised diplomatic representation to ask foreign governments to inflict harm upon Hong Kong. But that's okay, you read the news selectively. The rest of us had to actually clean up after the mess of 2019.
We're glad to have our freedoms back in HK. I don't want to see the mob rule of 2019 ever again.
"Democracy" is just a word used to cover this disgusting movement. We had our biggest chance at democratic reform in 2014, and those "yellow" legislators voted it down. They don't want it. They wanted power.
let's not let the same thing happen to taiwan
This story showcases that democracy may not bring you wealth, but it can avoid disaster of this kind 😑
Hong Kong has never been a democracy. The governor of HK pre-handover was never selected by the people democratically, but appointed by London, so it is laughable to have the slogan of "returning to democracy", as the first LegCo election was in 1985, after the signing of the Joint Declaration. People don't actually want democracy, they just don't want CCP rule.
The working class want change and mistakenly pin their woes on mainland China. I would argue it is the Pan Democrats who deliberately make lives miserable with Legco vetoes, so that more HK people would be discontent. Their funding comes from Jimmy Lai with strong US ties.
Wow you are so wise and you are making up things hahaahaha
@@nnokki Not making this up, search "The Legacy of the British Administration of Hong Kong: A View from Hong Kong" published by Cambridge University Press.
It's so rare this days for someone on the internet to actually have knowledge about something. Thanks you sir
Thank you for pointing this. This video is ridiculous so are many people who HK was better off during the British ruling (I'm from HK).
Why is this not on Nebula?
Free Xinjiang
Nah it's mine
Free Hawaii Guam Okinawa etc ad nauseam
@@MicheleLLOYD-bk2mtThey're a fraction of the size geographically
Lame comment. I bet you have never been to China. Nor do you speak up for Gaza which is a real genocide. If you hate China, don't pretend to be righteous.
Free Palestine
Hongkonger here. I’ve been avoiding videos about hk for a while, because it sort of.. hurts. HK is definitely different from the pre-COVID era, and while i won’t say it’s a dystopia, i don’t think we have as much of our old charm as before. Hearing more mandarin is sort of jarring, considering i grew up speaking it almost exclusively in school, but I’m not against mainlanders emigrating here either. They’re mostly people searching for better prospects and better education for their children(from what i’ve heard and seen, at least), and I can’t blame them for bringing their culture as well. I just hope there’s a way to bridge the gap between our cultures, and not lose one or the other in the transition. (I see that macau’s hotels are starting to be built with simplified chinese signs, etc. The majority used to be in traditional chinese.) I also see more and more simp chinese signs, and whenever i go out on errands, i also hear mandarin more often than not. Genuinely. I hope we stay Hong Kong to some degree, at least. I miss our vibes.
(Also, funny thing. The CCP’s Presence is definitely another Thing that i’m iffy about. I grew up in the 2000’s to 2010’s, and I didn’t even know the mainland was a thing until I was like 13 or something. Now, it’s something you can’t really Not Know, considering the propaganda-ish stuff they teach you in school.)(It’s not Fake, per se, but I do hope people look deeper into the facts and take the school data files with a grain of salt, and laugh about it like my class used to.)
SAVE HONG KONG
Too late.
Still have 2025 legco election, sweep out all the 20 constituencies and majority of functional seats will work for 46 majority win (?)
Save Hong Kong from US and British interference
@@davidstrelec2000You're supposed to be more subtle as a bot
@@iamjesuisfatigue2036lol, lmao even
the old people won't budge and the place is RUN by old people
we're fucked, basically
Many Hong Kong businesses removed laissez-faire capitalism out of Hong Kong; they remove private factories out of Hong Kong and unable to train Chinese talent or communist talents.
China Business continues to face stagnation....
With the lacklustre support for Ukraine by the west, I see taiwans fate much the same as Hong Kong, only much more violent
Taiwan has a moat. Ukraine doesn't.
Forget the West. Japan has said they'll fight if China attacks Taiwan.
Japan is the 5th biggest military in the world.
Imagine getting kicked out of a British colony and then crying about how much you wish you could own it again.
Britain needs to worry about its own problems not chinas
Thank you for making a video about this.
Seems quite difficult to find videos mentioning these issues in recent years - everyone thinks China is a wonderful, super advanced and developed country. While I'm not here to discuss too much about politics or the truth (for obvious reasons), I think it's evident that... there's a lot that needs improvement.
I'm not sure whether it's even appropriate to use the term "improvement" anymore - more like, "compensation" or making up for everything that happened.
Regardless, great video. Thank you sincerely!
Sadly, Everything you need to know about British society is embodied, typified and virtually personified, in the filthy behaviour of ALL societal groups in relation to the “Post Office Scandal” - a systemic and intentional Stalinesque injustice continuously weeping for over 20 years. 1 Parliamentarians: Criminal disinterest in the whole affair. 2 Corporations/Post Office: Criminal violence against innocent people to protect their own “names” and fortunes. 3 Judiciary: Criminal negligence of duty to ensure that JUSTICE is actually done. 4 The Legal “Profession”: Greed and Graft without a smidgen of honour. 5 Police: Totally failed to uphold the law. Abject failure to research or uncover criminal behaviour. 6 Fujitsu: Criminal failure to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about its Horizon software failures. 7 Finally, The Timid and Weak People: Millions upon millions of people who merely watched on - much like the Nazis did when the gas ovens spewed smoke…. DID NOTHING.
I thought TH-cam is filled with videos bashing china.
@@exploshaunPrimarily is, but every so often you get Chinese propaganda as well
The only thing that needs improvement is the economy and even that has kept a generally steady pace of growth
@@only_fair23 Economy always needs improvement, but in the case of China, lifting millions out of poverty, I am certain that the current case of HK is just temporary transition period between British rule and getting back to China. Within 10 years, Hong Kong will become a teeming city again, but things have to get worse first so they can get better later.
Meanwhile Staremers rejected to critisise China on sentencing 47 activists.
He has no spine. I say this as both a permanent resident of Hong Kong, and a British citizen.
Was going to.elaborate on the difference between the national security law and article 23 legislation but some one in the comment section already did that
Hong kong basically built a e business model based on managing the captial flow in and out of.china to and from.the west and take a cut from it in the past 20 yrs
The most notable example is that if you look at.the last 20 yrs the bggiest.chinese companies like Tencents Alibaba all came to list in Hong Kong under an English law system
Investors from Wall Street and the west were able to join in on the growth of China by susbcribing
When relationship turns sour no surprise things got a little tight
Very biased and misleading video. It falsely implies that Hong Kong was previously democratic and able to vote in the top leader, when in reality, it was under British colonial rule before the handover (with a white governor appointed from London). It was China that coined the term "HKers ruling HK" and initiated plans for universal suffrage in the territory, but those plans were derailed by the opposition in 2014, who agitated against the nomination vetting because they wanted to put separatists in power. As for the National Security Law (Article 23), it had been written into the Basic Law since the start of the handover, but its implementation was obstructed by separatist legislators, who incited mass protests against it in 2003. Unlike Macau, China's other Special Administrative Region, which implemented the same legislation smoothly, Hong Kong's failure to act earlier allowed for dangerous foreign interference, particularly from the US and UK, culminating in the violent unrest of 2019. Lastly, the shrinking presence of US companies in Hong Kong stems not from the National Security Law, but from American sanctions and political pressure, as the US targets Hong Kong in its proxy rivalry against mainland China.
The request by the "opposition" in 2014 was ridiculous. You cannot introduce election mechanisms contrary to what is stated in your Constitution, the Basic Law.
This video wasn't on nebula?
There is no reason to be optimistic about Hong Kong now. Freedom, democracy and autonomy are gone while pro-Beijing loyalists are in power. But it is impossible to say what will happen or how things will be like in the future.
The real question is how did this come to pass?
@@nielskorpel8860 It did not come to pass because these things were never part of HK 😆
@@samuelboczek1834The promise of these were, however. As China opened up gradually, there was room for hope. Then, it was all cruelly snatched away.
@2:10 interesting stock footage showing HK's flag upside down - not necessarily TLDR's mistake!
This video is a gross exaggeration. People link the erosion of political freedom in Hong Kong with the city's economic struggles, yet the two have no correlation. Hong Kong did not have much freedom or democracy under British Rule, and was only changed when the British realised that they could not keep Hong Kong. In fact, the British had also used fairly aggressive and violent means to subdue political protest.
Hong Kong's Economic struggle is because of China, not due to it creeping into Hong Kong but rather of it opening up. When China was closed to the world, Hong Kong was seen as the only way for Western and Asian companies. Business thrived, and companies from across the world flocked to Hong Kong to tap into this Billion-person market. China has simply opened up, there is no reason for a company to do business in Hong Kong if it is targeting China, it can simply open up in China. Hong Kong is referred to as a miracle because its existence came through China being closed.
Furthermore, people love to come at Hong Kong for its erosion of freedom, not realising Singapore is the same. The truth is China created Hong Kong by being closed and killed Hong Kong by opening up.
bros have been on pills. HK prosperity has nothing to do with China, its completely the way around
Comments like these are such huge value add, thanks!
I wish more people realised this, in addition to all of this, most companies in HK were owned by British investors, while majority of HK living close to poverty line. The only reason HK people are leaving now is not because things suddenly got so bad, but because they are allowed to leave, where as in the past they did not have much choice but to live in overcrowded city.
Not exactly. China has been opening up for a while now, and Hong Kong was still in the game until a few years ago, coinciding with the Government clamping down on basic freedoms. Before, you could speak freely in Hong Kong, more so than China. Now, you just don't know what you can say without inviting trouble. Would anybody like working in such an environment if they had the choice? No. At least in Singapore, as harsh as they are, you know what is and isn't allowed. In Hong Kong, it's now more nebulous and intangible.
Thank you for describing the harsh reality. (enough with the bullshit from both sides)
Thanks for covering. On the ground, one noticeable difference is the huge influx of mandarin speaking mainlanders (whether students, working age people or middle age) as part of CCP encouraged migration schemes. No doubt in upcoming years they will represent themselves as true "Hong Kongers" to the outside world to tell a good China story. Had already witnessed this in Xinjiang and Tibet, sad to see my home finally succumb to the same fate...
Poor Hong Kong!! 😢😢
4:45 you had to use the footage of a guy scratching his rimmer, didn´t you?🤣
Hi I come from HK, the government just sentenced 47 Political prisoners to prison
You mean western agents who wanted a 100% cut on spending to schools hospitals and basic infrastructure to completely starve the basic function of society to stir up people against mainland?
Last I checked, the US also jailed Jan 6 participants. Sedition and collusing with foreign forces are also crimes in democracies.
Maybe you should stay on the facts what they are charged of? Conspire vetos to Goverment's financial plan to force the executive down, isn't it? How innocent.....
@@srappytrex3946+579 social credit
@@srappytrex3946 When it comes to law in China, accusations are basically "trust me bro".
The Chinese justice system have *ZERO* credibility internationally. That's just a fact.
Why isn't this on Nebula? I almost missed it 😞
6:38 leaving HK for other parts of China? So HKer thinks other parts of China is better than HK? That's not bad!
It's laughable
that's because other parts of china are indeed better (less crowded, way lower cost of life, cleaner cities, etc.)
Even in Mainland China, there aren't national security legislation quite as over the top as in Hong Kong currently.
There was an incident at a football match where some HKer did not stand up for national anthem, and they got arrested and prosecuted. This news shocked many people in other parts of China, claiming HK's national security law is way too much. People have also constantly pointed out since "White Paper Movement" that it is now much easier to organize a protest in a city like Shanghai compared to HK.
Well done, TLDR Team. It's quite a complex chain of events leading to the situation in Hong Kong today. Here, I would hope to mention a few events / facts that you probably had come across during research but skipped for the sake of better flow of the video.
1. Basic Law Article 23 was first put to legislation in 2003. It triggered possibly the first ever massive street walk of estimated 500k participants in the modern era of HK. The legislation was then shelved.
2. Disqualification of Legislative Council Members in 2016. 6 pan-democratic side members elected were disqualified by blunt executive acts as their oaths were considered not compliant.
3. HK used to be the trading window for China. Acting as a spring-board, that's why international corporations had their major APAC offices planted in HK for the easiness and proximity to do business. Over time, HK also became the proxy agent which channelled wealthy Chinese to reach to the exciting world outside. CCP later put much tighter control to plug the bleeding of escaping wealth, thus weakening the economic share of HK.
4. One country-two systems held an ideology to give time for China to grow & catch-up the standard of HK. Reform & liberation were proposed by Chinese leadership back at the end of 70’s, in order to develop the country and learn from the western, particularly in terms of economy. That was also the time where negotiation with the UK happened in parallel. The visionary idea by the top CCP leader Deng Xiaoping was to leave a room of 50 years, so China could develop and improve quality of nation and living standard, where reaching the same level in HK. The principle was never the other way round of pulling HK’s back foot.
We all see what has been happening over several generations of CCP leadership and the rest is history.
Thanks for the coverage. I’m a Hongkonger living in Hong Kong and now doing my degree and I hope I can leave here after graduation!
Look at Canada and Europe upheavals
Very informative, thank you for the video. Breaks my heart what they're doing to Hong Kong, but I'm glad to have a settled life in the UK.
As if the UK doesn't jail people for protests. Perhaps one day you will realize the truth.
@@antihypocrisy8978ccp bot. The both sides are bad when one side is so clearly so much worse
@@Numb_ I live in HK. The protestors were violent against other citizens who opposed them. What was the government to do. Let them run amok? And you say HK is worse. I say it is a miracle the police did not cause one death in that year of protests. Anyways, you are free to live with your bias. Nothing will change your mind short of a visit to China. But most Americans don't even have a passport.
@@antihypocrisy8978another CCP shill it seems. Fortunately your lies are being exposed and people are waking up to the evils of your government.
@@antihypocrisy8978You mean *some* protestors.
Many police officers did the same and inflicted undue bodily harm on innocent people. Do you think they should be punished at least at the same level as the “violent” protestors? Or is the bar for them merely “didn’t cause one death” and so they should not be held accountable?
Show us that your username isn’t just a lame joke.
Macao is seeing something similar, on a smaller scale.
Hong Kong speaks cantonese not mandarin...
For now, at least. I'm not optimistic about how long this will last.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 Stop lying, no one is forcing you to use Mandarin instead of Cantonese, on streets, in schools, or anywhere
@@hwg5039 I didn't say now. I am alluding to the possible future, as depicted in the movie Ten Years! I doubt you've even heard of it.
Yeah, so the Welsh speak Cymru but not English, Bavarians speak their local language but can’t speak Hochdeutsch (their national language), your point?
So you can’t accept HKers speak Mandarin as a second language (also the national language), but you’re speaking English? Double standard aren’t you.
@rollingdownfalling Bro thinks Hong Kong is comparable to Wales or Bavaria 🤣. My friend, welsh speak primarily english, bavarians speak primarily german, people from Hong Kong speak primarily cantonese, not mandarin, so no, not double standards.