Special Status of Hong Kong

[AllWobbly]

Originally Posted by Progress Wanchai

Exactly.

For every BNO that thinks the UK is the answer there’s 10 Chinese willing to move in who aren’t prepared to wait for Shanghai and Beijing to enter the 20th century.
Hong Kong has never been better than Singapore. Never will be. But Singapore will (probably) never be China.

Having a lot of time in both places (my Dad was with SIA) I beg to differ. I’ll take HKG over Singapore any day. Living there is a lot different from visiting.

[cykzstudent]

I get puzzled everytime I hear companies or people are leaving HKG for Singapore due to perceived loss of freedoms. Singapore being seen as a bastion of freedom has to be some kind of joke. Keep in mind they got capital/corporal punishment as well, whereas we don’t.

[Less Hair]

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion...de-alternative

The Prime Minister on immigration of hongkongers.

And Thatchers negotiations back then:
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/18/a...her/index.html

[kittywon]

Originally Posted by Progress Wanchai

Exactly.

For every BNO that thinks the UK is the answer there’s 10 Chinese willing to move in who aren’t prepared to wait for Shanghai and Beijing to enter the 20th century.
Hong Kong has never been better than Singapore. Never will be. But Singapore will (probably) never be China.

If you’re a mercenary then there’s money to be made. However if you’re an expat who wants a western lifestyle then tragically the UK actually does look attractive now.

Ah, but China will (probably) become like Singapore which has:
No freedom of speech
No freedom of assembly
No free press
No independent judiciary
No free and fair elections
A very efficient secret police keeping dissent in check
Banned all weapons. Get caught with a firearm and you will face the hangman's noose. ( hence no gun crime )

A journalist friend of mine wrote a column for the International Herald Tribune (now the NY Times Intl edition) documenting cases where the Singapore courts were in the pockets of the ruling PAP (People's Action Party). He was charged with libel, tried inabsentia ,fined and declared persona non-grata in Singapore. The IHT paid his fine as well as their own. Any foreign publication that puts Singapore in a poor light is simply not distributed.

In 1995, Fortune magazine infamously devoted one issue titled "The Death of Hong Kong" and moved their Asian office from HK to Singapore. Head office obviously didnt listen to the hack on the street regarding press restrictions. Fortune moved back to HK after 2 or 3 years. Suprise suprise. ( none of their many dire HK predictions came true but they did sell alot of that issue)

In the 10 years since the Communist takeover of Hong Kong there were over 3,000 authorised protest marches. In more than 40 years, there has only been one protest in Singapore: a government sponsored protest consisting of 20 pro government people. The PRC has to deal with and shutdown an average of 50,000 protests a year. Since 1997 there have been over 10,000 authorised protest marches in HK and a lot of unauthorised ones.

In the past opposition cadidates in Singapore running for election were branded communists and jailed. That didn't put Singapore in a very good light so now every opposition cadidate's public remarks are now scrutinized with the aim of leveling libel charges. Inevitably found guilty, the penalty is a forfeture of everything including the libelers house and caning. After 3 expertly aimed blows the skin of your buttocks break leaving permanent scars.

As reported in the Far Eastern Economic Review ( before it ceased publication) government vehicles with loudspeakers would cruise districts where it was possible that an oppostion candidate would win , blaring out a message if they voted for the opposition that district would be denied government money.
For decades there were only 2 opposition members in government out of several hundred elected officials of the PAP.
Singapore also had the distinction of holding the world's longest serving political prisoner in living memory.

In the leadup to 1997 the Singaporean government launched a program where is would grant Singaporean citizenship to any HK person that wanted to escape before the communists took over. This program was terminated after 2 years as a total of only 7 HK persons took advantage of the program.
The former strongman of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew ,Prime Minister 1959 to1990 became the "First Minister" when he retired from office. He was then appointed to be an official advisor by the PRC as China envisions to be just like Singapore with it's inherent social controls.
In Singapore, the government is refered to as Big Brother and the New Straits Times is called Pravda.
The PAP rules Singapore with an iron fist but looks after it's citizens from cradle to grave. In return, they demand complete obedience.

Jake Van der Kamp, former coloumnist for the SCMP , makes a convincing argument that Singapore is the closest embodiment of the principles of Karl Marx.

Having said all that... I would have no problem living in Singapore as I am not a social activist or civil rights campaigner, nor am I a member of the NRA.

Progress Wanchai must be a communist Chinese troll to state that Hong Kong has never been better than Singapore and never will be.

[cxorcist]

Originally Posted by michigan j

No. It has to be better than Singapore...

At least somebody gets it!

[cxorcist]

Originally Posted by cykzstudent

I get puzzled everytime I hear companies or people are leaving HKG for Singapore due to perceived loss of freedoms. Singapore being seen as a bastion of freedom has to be some kind of joke. Keep in mind they got capital/corporal punishment as well, whereas we don’t.

It’s not about freedoms. It’s about a commitment to capitalism. If the perception is that capital in HK can be seized by the Mainland, then it is all over. There’s a reason Mainlanders want their money in assets outside China... because they know this devil all too well. The ChiComs are more nefarious than the Soviets ever were.

[hyg]

If anyone is interested, AppleDaily has recently just started their English division... you can download the app and there will be English content when you tap English on the top right corner

[Progress Wanchai]

Originally Posted by cannot

What a joke 28mill , the world is falling apart , people are flocking to leave HK as soon as possible buying property overseas it’s akin to 1997 but I fear that this time it’s not coming back
I am even concerned about keeping my hard earned money in HK

Obviously not everyone agrees with you. The recent inflow of currency into Hong Kong has resulted in the HKMA selling the local currency at a record pace to prevent the dollar becoming overvalued. So move your hard earned money out, you’ll be doing the reserve bank a favor.

[Asturias56]

"Ah, but China will (probably) become like Singapore which has:
No freedom of speech
No freedom of assembly
No free press
No independent judiciary
No free and fair elections
A very efficient secret police keeping dissent in check
Banned all weapons. Get caught with a firearm and you will face the hangman's noose. ( hence no gun crime )"

I can see why "kittyy" started a new ID for that post - they'll be waiting for him/her at Changi (both facilities) when next he/she transits..................

[Sam Ting Wong]

Luckily, Trump voters have a short attention span. They seem to be perfectly happy with a few angry tweets and some theatrical speeches.

My bet is he already moved on, there will be no real actions. Nobody cares about Hong Kong in the US anyway.

Just check the actual progress of his other big projects, e.g. the Mexican Wall or North Korea. All talk.