We interrupt the mocking of Chris Cuomo and theorizing about who did in Jeffrey Epstein to discuss something that actually matters, but is in no way funny. Chinese authoritarians are moving to squash, if not completely overthrow, the relatively free people of Hong Kong. This power grab has been going on for a few months, but the intensity has risen to a spice level of 5 in the last few days.

Here's what you need to know about Hong Kong: the poor little island has been passed around like a hot tween girl on Jeffrey Epstein's Pedophile Island. In its history, Hong Kong has been ruled by the Chinese, the British, the Japanese, the British, and the Chinese again. If we know anything about the Chinese, it's their thirst for power over its people. We're talking about the very same government which forced women to abort their second children, especially girls.

What led to the recent protests in the Hong Kong airport? A Chinese law that would force Hong Kong residents be extradited to China for interrogation. Which would be like the Red Coats frogmarching you from your Virginian home, locking you in a boat which takes you across the Atlantic to be interrogated in the Tower of London. Pass. Hard pass. So the people of Hong Kong are pitching fits. Justifiably so.

From The Washington Post:

Protests kicked off in June over concerns that Hong Kong was set to pass a bill that would allow individuals to be extradited to China. Since the British handover in 1997, Hong Kong and China have been party to a “one country, two systems” agreement that offers residents of Hong Kong a greater degree of independence than they would have in China.

As I understand it, ever since China reclaimed power, they've been slowly exerting more and more control over Hong Kong. If there's one thing history has taught us, it's that once a country of people are free, or even semi-free, they're wont to cede it. This excludes the SJW twits who think Bernie Sanders is BAE. But we need to focus on Hong Kong.

The movement now has five key demands for Hong Kong’s government: to withdraw the extradition bill; to officially retract descriptions of the protests as a “riot;” to drop charges against protesters; to launch an investigation into police force during the protests; and “universal suffrage,” which would allow Hong Kong voters to directly pick their leaders rather than the current process that includes Beijing’s involvement.

The more I read about this story, the more I understand it as Chinese authoritarians vs. people who want a free democracy.

A key problem for Hong Kong is China controls the Chinese internet. So China can sway the general mood of the Chinese people quite easily. If the Chinese government says Hong Kong's people are ungrateful toe warts, there's nothing Hong Kong can do to shift the narrative.

I know this is from Mother Jones, but it's a decent write up:

In fact, the protests have been mostly peaceful—there have been exceptions—and the protesters are not calling for Hong Kong’s independence. Just for starters, they know this would be a true red line for Beijing that would produce a no-holds-barred response. But it’s what the Chinese authorities would like the population of China to think so that they continue to approve of whatever China does end up doing.

Protesters are NOT calling for a free Hong Kong, but that is what China is telling the Chinese to get their support. This is the problem with a government-controlled media and a government-controlled internet.

Because this is a big bad government versus a tiny island of people, the protesters are getting squashed by the Chinese.

Police blinding protesters hardly seems peaceful. But wait, because the Chinese are reportedly loading up on the border to quell what's happening in Hong Kong in no uncertain terms:

Seems like a bit of an over-reaction to a "protest" and more like the Empire seeking out the Rebel Alliance.

This looks like the precipice of a revolution. The small but freedom-craving people of Hong Kong versus the large, powerful, corrupt Chinese government. It's too early to know how this situation will shake out, but one thing is clear: what's happening in Hong Kong is far more important than Chris Cuomo being accurately compared to a fictional weeny. As hilarious as it still is.

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