1. The no.1 reason why HK has stalled its development is because of the corrupted and incompetent leaders handpicked by the CCP, and people don't have the power to bring them down. So you should really question your Party's ability to evaluate talent. 2. Despite the fact that HK has pretty much stalled or even deteriorated after the Brits gone, the GDP per capita of Shanghai and Shenzhen are merely half of HK's. 3. Doing business with China doesn't mean becoming China. HK's competitiveness is predicated on being different than China, i.e. clean and efficient civil service, free economy, independent judiciary etc. If HK becomes China, HK has no value to foreign and mainland businesses. 4. The extradition removes the firewall between HK and China. Merchant chambers of 30+ countries have expressed worry about it. HKers had every reason to protest against it. 5. Democracy will not solve all the economic problems in HK. But it's clearly the aspiration of HKers. And it can allow us to put all the disputes we've had in the past 22 years behind us and focus on building a better Hong Kong for everyone. HKers really need to be united.
My party? Ashleym ... for you, it's either with you or with CCP? Could there be someone objectively observe all of this and have a different opinion from yours? I said in the other thread, a lot of you are in early 20s, energetic and passionate, but not very experienced in life. I assume you are one of them, but I actually don't know. I do not pretend that I know how to solve HK's problems. But this is what I know ... I represent some multinational companies over in China... HK is not part of the set up anymore. There used to be something they need in HK, banking, financing, legal, language. But two things have happened - one is the rise of Mainland's ability to provide all of that, and second is HK's rising cost of everything. Simply put, HK does not provide any advantage over mainland. Yet, it has been your economic model ever since the harbor is opened - being that link between overseas and mainland. All of what you listed above is well and fine on paper - big ideas, but I think they are not going to solve your real problems - the decline of HK's competitiveness. Last for your record, in 2018, Shanghai's GDP -- US$480 billion, per capita = 22K USD Shenzhen's GDP -- $354 billion per capita = 27K USD HK's GDP -- 363 billion per capita = 38K USD So both SH and SZ have surpassed HK GDP total in 2018. Their GDP per capita is not half of HK's as you put it out to be, and more important their GDPs are growing at around 6% yearly v HK's annual growth at around 3% (some of it should actually be attributed to mainland's contribution). They are quickly closing in on HK in a very short amount of time. Time for you come out of it and start looking into this.
Twitter is censored in China. Morey “reTweeted” one Tweet and then took it down right away when he saw the thousands of “bot” replies hit him immediately and realized that it had turned into a big deal that he didn’t expect. So WHY on earth is the CCP making such an absurd, such an outrageous deal about what Morey did when it cannot even be seen legally in China? Why? This is clearly a calculated act by the Chinese Government aimed at the NBA, not Daryl Morey. The CCP has made Morey a target in an attempt to control the NBA (which has become very. very popular in China) in every way, shape, and form where it pertains to China, even if their own people aren’t legally allowed to see the “offense.” It is a brutal, clumsy act by the CCP that likely has more to do with the politics in our own country regarding China, than it does within China where, again, their citizens aren’t allowed to “see” the “offense” due to government censorship. All this “anger” by the Chinese at the NBA is being manufactured and encouraged by their government for their own reasons. I applaud the letter by a bipartisan group in Congress, as I would applaud any effort in that body that unites, rather than divides, the two major parties in a common cause in support of the basic tenets of our constitution, the foundation of our democracy. We see little enough of that these days. Pushing back at the CCP’s heavy handed effort to get the League to censor its own players, management, and officials - in effect, getting the NBA to kowtow to the CCP - is the right thing to do. The American thing to do. The CCP started this, not Daryl Morey. Let the CCP end it by backing off and turning down the fire under their own created “tempest in a teapot.” In my opinion.
This remains entirely a Chinese businessman's point of view. Shanghai has 26M people; Shenzhen 13M depending on how you define it, and you can factor in the other 16+M that live in Guangzhou an hour away too. Hong Kong has been synthetically capped at 7-8M for the entirety of its time under China. I'll tell you how people from the West view Hong Kong. It is the bastion of "developed world" Western culture that has made itself an outpost out in the East. When you are in mainland China and you walk through customs on foot (or take the train) into Hong Kong, you notice the difference immediately. 4G LTE. Access to google, youtube, twitter. Credit cards are accepted everywhere. Restaurants have napkins again. Drinks have ice. Bathrooms have toilet paper, and toilet SEATS. British and European people view Hong Kong as a viable destination to send their children for university. Wealthy Europeans and American expats have made themselves whole neighborhoods (neighbourhoods?!) in various parts of the city. Mainlanders resent all this. They hate how insulated Hongkongers are from the sheer numbers of their multitude. They hate the arrogance Hongkongers have regarding how they consider themselves separate from Mainlanders, a cut above. And to be honest, this is a real thing, where Hongkongers look down on Mainlanders and their mannerisms, and only begrudgingly do they let the wealthy ones gain visas for tourism purposes to help fund their more extravagant costs of living. Many times the Chinese government decides to release an extra salvo of propaganda to dissuade mainlanders from spending any money in Hong Kong, as a form of punishment. So long as the barrier between Hong Kong and the rest of China exists, there will always be this resentment between the two sides, Hong Kong as this city upon a hill, and mainland China shoved up against its barricades like a hoard of zombies who ended up getting tired so they erected a city outside its walls instead. Now Shenzhen has 10+M people, and it's true that business for the sheer purpose of accessing the Chinese market no longer needs Hong Kong as its conduit. But don't mistake for a second that the CCP and government officials in mainland China won't do everything they can to undermine the perception of Hong Kong and the privileged status of its people. Just as with Taiwan, the goal has been to lean on them slowly, but surely, until the point where those two "prodigal sons" ASK to be reincorporated into the whole. Citizens in each place cannot conceive of such a thing right now, but the memory of humankind is frightfully short, and the tables could turn even in our lifetimes. Just compare the leading countries of World War II--Germany, Japan, Russia, England, the USA--and where we stand today, 80 years later.
I have mixed feelings about this. I agree with everything in that statement. I love seeing Republicans and Democrats working together side by side on ANYTHING. But I'm not sure they should be telling the NBA how to conduct their business.
1. Any reasonable person would oppose to a regime that violate human rights and treat its citizens like pig, period. 2. All you need to know is how NOT to solve Hong Kong's problems, and that is encroach on human rights and turn us into China. 3. Hong Kong's economic prominence is declining, no doubt. But it is still a major financial centre in terms of stock market value. It accounts for 70% of all foreign investments on the mainland according to Li Keqiang. Don't act like Hong Kong is a nobody. 4. Hong Kong desperately needs to diversify its economy, which is impossible under the administration of the idiots handpicked by Beijing. I mean, our current leader doesn't even know where to buy toilet papers. 5. I wonder where you got that GDP data. Maybe Baidu? Because according to World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nation, Hong Kong's GDP per capita is around US$48,000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita 6. You don't compare total GDP between 2 economies with different number of people. Shanghai has more than 3 times the population of Hong Kong and Shenzhen is 1.5 times that of Hong Kong. China's total GDP is also higher than that of the US. So what? Your country's GDP per capita is still lower than Malaysia's. 7. Hong Kong is a developed economy so it's very natural to have a relative slower growth rate than a developing country like China. That's the same story all over the globe. 2% to 3% is very normal for developed economy. And your country's GDP growth is declining as well. And everyone knows China is very good at manipulating economic data.... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-...c-census-undercovers-more-fake-data-officials
as compared to China's demands? and the letter is merely a request. the nba is free to follow thru or not.
I wonder if Yao Ming will go ballistic after hearing about this. He was heated by Silver comments. Now he will blow a fuse about good ol USA congress.
Deck I respect your opinion, but I don’t share your view on this. The principle and value advocated in that letter is concerning to me because they single out NBA from other businesses that are doing business in China as we speak. Should McDonalds be demanded to check every customer’s background in China to make sure they are “clean” before they sell their products to them. Should McDonalds be giving up their rights to handle an employee for his/her behavior cost their business? Again, where is the congress on so many other issues involving American businesses not involving China. For me, this letter is making it worse and worse towards point of no return.
And why is it just the NBA that’s somehow obligated to follow these orders? The NBA is being used as a pawn here, by both sides.
Drinks have ice. Lol. Drinks don’t have ice in Japan and Korea too. I will also add desserts finally have right amount of sugar too. Room temperature stuff is annoying but you learn to respect that while you out there. That little thing can trigger a huge deal. If not handled correctly. There is difference we need to learn to respect when dealing with them. I said HK is my one of my favorite cities to visit when I am out there for many of the reasons you listed above. I am against the extreme youth movement there , but not HK in general. I share a lot of concerns they have including issues with Mainland.
Ashleym google HK GDP per capita 2018 the first link says right there 38K USD. Yours is nominal GDP, which is adjusted. If we’re to compare those numbers, SH and SZ’s will be adjusted too. No I did not get those numbers from Baidu. I predicted that the data manipulation. Also, HKs GDP is tricky because lots of are contribution from mainland. Stuff leaving the port is actually also counted towards HKs GDP. Are there multiple people behind your account? I feel there are, the posting pattern vary significantly from posts to posts. But anyways if you insist there is still that superiority with HK compared to China when comes to competitiveness, you should go to China see more, which I do. I often spend 5 days in multiple cites in China and then 1 or 2 day in HK en route back to the US. There is a real comparison in my mind. Yes, when I am out there in Zhonghuan, seeing people working for chase and Morgan walking in flocks out of their buildings for breaks. You don’t see that in China. But that’s because China is still closed on banking and finance sector to US businesses. In fact this is the very issue Trump is working on to push China be more open in the service sectors. That could really happen and put HK on a less advantage. I guarantee you with 100% confidence while you still can point to me the GDP differences right now, at the current rate, in 7-8 years time period this will not even be in the conversation. Shenzhen was half of HKs GDP total just 10 years ago and look where they are now. You cannot just brush this off by pointing to possible data manipulation.
Sorry, I can't take any letter seriously when it comes from politicians with a primary agenda of puffery. They're all jumping on this particular issue because it seems like a no-brainer to look like ultimate patriots in a situation where there can't possible be any fallout from siding with democracy against communism in a freedom-of-speech issue. I think less of everyone who signed onto this idiotic letter (and in the case of some of them, I never thought that would be possible).
