The End of HK as we know it
 

Well, a cursory look at the airport at the moment tells me that we have now passed the point of no return. The protest movement will not abate, and it will lead to the overwhelmingly crushing force of the mainland security forces at some point. CX is probably permanently out of favour with the mainland Govt (until the inevitable "announcement" of a mutually agreed sale :/ ). Regardless of the ebb and flow of current events, it does not take much of a fortune teller to surmise that HK, it's way of life and the fate of its citizens is now on a path to irrevocable change. I cannot see a forecast that would now include CX as a "career" airline. A broken company, crippled politically, financially and operationally is not a place to store up hopes and dreams. It is over.

Oh, you mean the Government then?

Wait a minute buddy. The Nazis passed antisemitic laws. Just how does disrespecting these laws makes me a "supporter of anarchy and all that it brings with it"?

I uphold basic and universal human rights and despise any law with little regard for this. And I think that everyone should too.

The American war of Independence and the French Revolution, not to mention the overthrow of the USSR, would not have been possible without disrespecting the rule of law.

A grey area, if there ever was one, and one which I hope my kids will never have to experience.

There's a reason this guy is a "small cog". Small cog in an oppressive machine, that only survives without critical thinking, something this "useful idiot" provides the tyranny that has brought HK to this point.

Sadly for the people of HK they live on Communist real estate. If they don't like that or don't want to work with it its time to leave (for the ones that can). Judging by the protests at the British High Com I would think a few have arrived at the same conclusion.

I just called in sick for 10 days. Bugger this lark, I'm off to protest, all be it via my keyboard.

p.s. reports just coming in of Lufthansa crew being harassed at the airport. , They have been surrounded by angry militants for the last hour.
If they are injured, then this is the start of the end game.

How do you leave if the protesters boycott and close the Airport?

Not to mention the Eureka Stockade on the Victorian Goldfields... a failed battle but an enormous political impact felt to this day... it was the diggers who could not be convicted by any Jury, who caught the attention of the people and who, later in the Parliament of Victoria, passed some of the most progressive laws in the Empire at that time. Not only the franchise for all men but the removal of income and/or property qualifications and other social progress. That small skirmish had an enormous effect and influence even on the formation of the Federation, even arguably to the insistence on the name "Commonwealth" of Australia against vehement objections of both the British Royal Family and the British Government.

Disrespecting the law when it is wrong usually ceases to be disrespecting the law when that law is changed.

As for HK, it is sad, but anyone who thinks China will get away with this scot free is not thinking it through... they are killing the goose that laid the golden egg and shooting themselves in the foot. Everything changes, there is a good chance at this point that Trump will be gone at 1 minute past noon on 20th January, 2021 and a harder but more sane line will be taken against China. China should think long and hard before it brings out the big stick. History is replete with dictators and bullies who took one step too far and tipped the scales... e.g. the girls kissing the Soviet soldiers standing on their tanks in the streets of Moscow... the moment the tanks went back to the barracks was the end of the USSR and Communism in Russia.

Ultimately, the same will happen in China. If the USSR showed us anything it's that you simply cannot educate people to the point that they can build nuclear weapons and smart bombs, stealth aircraft and radar, etc. and not inevitably have them start asking "Hold on, why are we being run by these gangsters..." It WILL happen in China. The country, even as separate provinces has a rich and long cultural history of which the last 70 years under communism is the proverbial pimple on an elephants bum... 70 years versus 1000s...

I'm glad we all agree. Violating their own bloody contractual agreement enshrined in the binding Mutual Agreement to recognize the principle of One Country, Two Systems has unleashed a hell of anarchy marked by government forces intimidating, threatening, assaulting, raping, imprisoning, persecuting bullying citizens, employees, corporations, and free people of this once great city. It's nice to have consensus on these self-evident truths.

I've a friend managing one of the big luxury retail brands. Sales are down 70% on last year. This is just the start of it. Small retailers will start walking away from commercial leases in the months ahead and Hong Kong is facing a depression like retail slowdown. Job losses to follow.

For young Hong Kong people, the stark reality is their grandparents worked in sweatshops for a hope of a better life for their children, yet their grandchildren may face dreary economic prospects. This may cause further significant social upheaval and hardline intervention.

Beijing will never let HK off the leash again. They will put permanent pressure on companies like CX. HK economically is heading for a sever recession, even a depression. CX will be lucky to survive without a major shake-up and I think any idea of a career here is now effectively over. Never mind the reality of what HK is now going to be like going forward: civil unrest, disaffected youth, economic stagnation and the slow death of the city in nearly all areas of commerce and social structure. The year 2047 is actually 2019. Surprised it's taken this long to be quite honest.

Maybe Mrs Lam will be sent to a re-education camp"?