<story><title>Hong Kong pro-democracy Stand News shuts down after police raid, arrests</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/hong-kong-police-arrest-6-current-or-former-staff-online-media-outlet-2021-12-28/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baybal2</author><text>UK has all means to successfully use force, and secure its gains - that&amp;#x27;s the military reality on the ground.&lt;p&gt;It has an amphibious force to land a division, more with requisitioned civilian vessels, and it has thermonuclear weapons to threaten chokepoints — more than enough to get the peninsula.&lt;p&gt;UK is not a small military. With mobilised territorials, and first line conscripts, it will be as much as 10-12 divisions ready on short order.</text></item><item><author>throwawayHK</author><text>The big loophole is the provision for China&amp;#x27;s intervention in matters of &amp;quot;National Security&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;This is exactly what has been used to craft very vague language that basically allows authorities to treat anything that goes counter to China&amp;#x27;s official line as a &amp;quot;threat to National Security&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s so vague that self-censorship is now omnipresent in what was, just a few years ago, a bastion of freedom of speech in Asia. Newspaper and political figures are afraid of being targetted for their perceived dissent, and there is no real recourse, with pressure on judges to fall in line.&lt;p&gt;It is a farce of course, but there will be no international action. The British have no recourse to enforce the treaty. China will invade HK with tanks before they release their tightening grip on it, and the world will watch and do nothing of course.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s not just democracy that is under threat in HK. There never was any to start with. It&amp;#x27;s plain freedom of speech that is under threat.</text></item><item><author>octopoc</author><text>This is yet another violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the treaty between China and the U.K. defining how Hong Kong will be handed over to China[1]:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt;  Hong Kong would maintain its existing governing and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of &amp;quot;one country, two systems&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;The West needs to realize: China does not uphold its own treaties.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sino-British_Joint_Declaration&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sino-British_Joint_Declaration&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jacquesm</author><text>During the Yugoslavian war there was a stand-off between the Russians and some American troops around the Pristina airfield.&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;The following morning, Sunday 13 June, Clark arrived at Jackson&amp;#x27;s HQ in Skopje. It was pointed out to Clark that the Russians were isolated and could not be reinforced by air and that Russian support had been a vital part of getting a peace agreement; antagonising them would only be counterproductive. Clark refused to accept this and continued to order that the runway be blocked, claiming to be supported by the NATO Secretary-General.[2] Jackson refused to enforce Clark&amp;#x27;s orders, reportedly telling him &amp;quot;I&amp;#x27;m not going to start the Third World War for you.&amp;quot;[5] When again directly ordered to block the runway, Jackson suggested that British tanks and armoured cars would be more suitable, in the knowledge that this would almost certainly be vetoed by the British government. Clark agreed.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;What you are suggesting here is that the British would start World War III of their own accord and that Nato would follow them if they did so.&lt;p&gt;Not a chance.</text></comment>
<story><title>Hong Kong pro-democracy Stand News shuts down after police raid, arrests</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/hong-kong-police-arrest-6-current-or-former-staff-online-media-outlet-2021-12-28/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baybal2</author><text>UK has all means to successfully use force, and secure its gains - that&amp;#x27;s the military reality on the ground.&lt;p&gt;It has an amphibious force to land a division, more with requisitioned civilian vessels, and it has thermonuclear weapons to threaten chokepoints — more than enough to get the peninsula.&lt;p&gt;UK is not a small military. With mobilised territorials, and first line conscripts, it will be as much as 10-12 divisions ready on short order.</text></item><item><author>throwawayHK</author><text>The big loophole is the provision for China&amp;#x27;s intervention in matters of &amp;quot;National Security&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;This is exactly what has been used to craft very vague language that basically allows authorities to treat anything that goes counter to China&amp;#x27;s official line as a &amp;quot;threat to National Security&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s so vague that self-censorship is now omnipresent in what was, just a few years ago, a bastion of freedom of speech in Asia. Newspaper and political figures are afraid of being targetted for their perceived dissent, and there is no real recourse, with pressure on judges to fall in line.&lt;p&gt;It is a farce of course, but there will be no international action. The British have no recourse to enforce the treaty. China will invade HK with tanks before they release their tightening grip on it, and the world will watch and do nothing of course.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s not just democracy that is under threat in HK. There never was any to start with. It&amp;#x27;s plain freedom of speech that is under threat.</text></item><item><author>octopoc</author><text>This is yet another violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the treaty between China and the U.K. defining how Hong Kong will be handed over to China[1]:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt;  Hong Kong would maintain its existing governing and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of &amp;quot;one country, two systems&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;The West needs to realize: China does not uphold its own treaties.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sino-British_Joint_Declaration&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sino-British_Joint_Declaration&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mrpopo</author><text>This would be the worst course of action. The Chinese population is propagandized enough and won&amp;#x27;t hesitate to go to war head-on against the West.</text></comment>