Ah, The Travails of My Beloved Hong Kong...

[Sierra Mike]

A little more evidence of the PRC plundering--or just mismanaging--Hong Kong for the benefit of the ascendant Shanghai, whore of the East...

Whether democracy, monarchy or dictatorship of the people, a government can only be effective so long as its citizens believe in it. The Hong Kong government's greatest failing may be its complete inability to inspire trust. The economy is reeling, anxiety is mounting about potentially harsh anti-subversion laws, and a fresh health crisis is brewing. Yet all those problems—serious though they are—are mere symptoms of the underlying ailment. Even in the colonial era, Hong Kong's citizenry put its faith in its leaders to do their best by the people. But now the growing sentiment is that the government is out of touch with the popular mood, or worse, simply doesn't care.Read all about it at Betraying Hong Kong's Trust (http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501021230-402039,00.html)

SM

[Swamp Fox]

Well, the PRC's are just cutting off their nose to spite their faces. Imagine the US government trying to favor NY over Chicago - think of the implications that would have for the national economy, as the commodity traders in the MidWest lose confidence in their right to make money.

[Sierra Mike]

True enough. But the US doesn't have the enormous face issues the PRC does. Hong Kong was pretty much built by the British, without a lot of input from the Chinese themselves. Shanghai is a complete PRC show, and it's no problem for the mainlanders to relegate HK to also-ran status, since they don't really consider it part of China. It's ridiculous, because basically, China got a shiny pearl from the Brits in 1997. One would assume they would nourish it wisely, but instead, with typical mainlander avarice and envy, they merely want to transplant it further up the coastline.

I don't think the Taiwanese are too far afield when they point to what's happening with Hong Kong as a reason against reunification.

SM