<story><title>Chaos in Hong Kong as hundreds of masked men assault protesters, journalists</title><url>https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/22/just-chaos-bloodshed-hong-kong-district-hundreds-masked-men-assault-protesters-journalists-residents/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>riffraff</author><text>I am very curious, but worried, of the situation in HK.&lt;p&gt;Concretely, it seems HKers can protest as much as they want, but when push comes to shove, the PRC will just end up crushing them and the parts of democracy they still have.&lt;p&gt;I can&amp;#x27;t imagine how they may get any other outcome. 
Even if I wish they could just gain independence, it seems unlikely, and it&amp;#x27;s not like any foreign power would go to war to protect HK.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sho</author><text>Your analysis is 100% correct.&lt;p&gt;The handover was more than 20 years ago. The horizon for total integration was 50 years. We&amp;#x27;re more than 40% through. Pre-handover was &amp;quot;britain in asia&amp;quot;. The endgame is &amp;quot;full integration&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;HK is nowhere near 40% full integration. Progress has fallen behind, and now they are catching up. The wishful thinking of HK residents doesn&amp;#x27;t change anything. The writing has been on the wall for decades. There&amp;#x27;s only one way this ends.&lt;p&gt;Personally I hate all of this. I loved HK being its own little out-of-place enclave in the orient. But that all changed in 1997; the script has been written, and events will grind forward to the inevitable conclusion. Most people I know in HK are thinking about their &amp;quot;Plan B&amp;quot;. They would be advised to hurry it up.</text></comment>
<story><title>Chaos in Hong Kong as hundreds of masked men assault protesters, journalists</title><url>https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/22/just-chaos-bloodshed-hong-kong-district-hundreds-masked-men-assault-protesters-journalists-residents/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>riffraff</author><text>I am very curious, but worried, of the situation in HK.&lt;p&gt;Concretely, it seems HKers can protest as much as they want, but when push comes to shove, the PRC will just end up crushing them and the parts of democracy they still have.&lt;p&gt;I can&amp;#x27;t imagine how they may get any other outcome. 
Even if I wish they could just gain independence, it seems unlikely, and it&amp;#x27;s not like any foreign power would go to war to protect HK.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>graeme</author><text>&amp;gt;I can&amp;#x27;t imagine how they may get any other outcome.&lt;p&gt;The only way would be is if the chinese government changed. Not all that likely, but on the other hand the Berlin wall was only up 30 years.&lt;p&gt;Tomorrow is always a better day to die.</text></comment>