The once crown jewel of the British empire Asian-Pacific quadrant, the Hong Kong special economic zone remains an effulgence of hybrid capitalism in a resounding glow illuminating the entire Pearl River delta. After nearly a year of internecine sparked by the blatant and direct actions of the Chinese government in transposing common law from the mainland and instilling strict sanctions upon residents and businesses in a militant policy offensive, the already deteriorating environment of democracy and basic rights has reached the gateway to volatile and violent turbulence. As the windfall from the election, and the ingrained narrative of the Covid-19 pandemic is embedded in the mainstream press right beside anti-Trump zingers, the civil unrest in Hong Kong continues to adversely affect residents hoping to shed the shackles of a totalitarian and ominous government. With tensions gradually building, and law-abiding citizens literally demonstrating in the streets to preserve individual freedoms, under the dark shadow of a police state, something has to give.
Last week, Beijing may have sparked the beginning of a firestorm, as mainland puppet politicians laid down the gauntlet by unceremoniously forcing out four pro-Democracy members that represents the political minority supporting Capitalism, and the last bastions of a territory that once overwhelmingly supported Western values. The elected officials from Hong’s Kong’s Legislative Council were terminated from office, after China’s central government deemed them a “threat” to national security, for their views and opinions on policy. The governing body of what is referred to in official terminology as the “Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region” consists of 70 members, with the majority of delegates Pro-China plants. The numbers make a complete mockery of the accountable and rigorous election processes instituted by officials during the time before China was not a noticeable deterrent to a unified campaign for the pursuit of justice.
In response to the immutable decision to purge local legislative chambers from dissenting opinions that represents the antithesis of yin and yang balance to the human rights offenses and thermodynamic light rail wreck of Communism, 19 active members have decided to resign in protesting China’s stranglehold on all facets of life and economics driving Hong Kong towards a permanent recession.
Residents made headlines earlier this year by utilizing a smartphone app to track police presence and effectively organize protests. News of the app, HKmap.live went viral, as well as Apple’s despicable decision to remove the software from the App store, which encapsulates the uneven stance by the tech world in establishing consistent guidelines towards freedom of speech, especially when weighing the future of an amicable business relationship with China. Ironically, the Amazon of China, Alibaba, made a notable splash in 2019 by listing in Hong Kong’s stock exchange.
Google eventually did the right thing in the wake of Apple’s failure, and approved the software program, which is still up on the site. With hundreds of billions of dollars on the line, individual rights are apparently irrelevant, as corporate priorities outweigh the existence of a significant customer base. The plot twist with a huge lime to Apple’s smugness, is that Ted Cruz and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fought on the same side for once, in a bizarre recalibration of the universe manifested by a shared letter examining the roles that large digital corporations play in foreign diplomacy.
As 23 positions crucial for debate within the legislative chambers are now vacant, the slum alley street fight now begins in filling the seats, and the anticipated reaction from central Party officials administering a stern and expansive punishment in a gratuitous public show of ruthless vindictiveness, a collective personality disorder that is responsible for the current unsettled environment spanning societal building blocks. Between the aforementioned British, and a persistent arrogance and series of blunders which left millions of dual citizens deserted and vulnerable to the will of Deng’s metered ferocity, and the stubborn platitudes of the Chinese in accepting nothing less than a flawed “one nation, two systems” philosophical nightmare, implied liberties and freedoms have been slowly and painfully dissolved in the last 33 years. Already facing severe restrictions on freedom of speech and self-defense, Beijing’s directive to make territory common law obsolete and put individuals at the mercy of the government
And yet those in the minority still care, or at least have the patience and the fortitude to endure the cycle of never ending governmental turmoil, as openly opposing the pernicious trio of the Party, the central government, and the PLA is merely a token, yet risky venture, that at least earns accolades of bravery.
In 2047, Beijing officially takes complete unopposed control of the legendary transcendent colony founded on the reverse osmosis supply chain reinforcing the queen’s coffers with gold bullion through the public exchange in swapping opium for tea. The precarious, yet lucrative marketplace kept solvent by the exploits of pirates, smugglers and warlords, and now a modern class of business people embracing the scandalous qualities of multi-national pioneering ancestors remains the ultimate prize. And the race is on for the future of the territory. It is no secret that the fortunes of Hong Kong are conducive to the pilfering existence of a floundering government and military that are effectively broke.
While the technologically infused optics have altered the protagonists, the underlying motives have remained unaltered as the last bastions of the Victorian sympathizers maintain an impetuous stranglehold resisting the onslaught of the information age. With dreams and reboant logic loops revering the throne of the emperor, the Chinese are anxious to gain ideological traction in anticipation of the global computer networks and servers responding to the magic number possible mass extinction event of 2048, the Communist sludge of bureaucracy has affixed a scramjet pack to the wizened turtle in a surprising display of adaptability and latitude. The surprising evidence of innovation has forced the hand of local elected officials in testing their resolve and loyalty, and the political reshuffling and posturing has begun under the stern watch of hundreds of thousands of HD facial recognition cameras dispersed by Communist party contractors within government chambers and throughout the Hong Kong and Kowloon sides of the harbor.
The world can watch the carnage on a myriad of platforms, but has little authority to change to outcome of a political slaughter set into motion by the heedlessness and short-sightedness of those directly responsible for the infamous 99-year-lease on the colony, yet who could not have in a thousand years predicted the epic trajectory of China’s economic growth and transformation into tyrannical monsters during the latter half of the 20th century.
As the dominos begin to fall with leaders concerned with the sovereignty of Hong Kong making the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good, the next few months are crucial in determining what pathways will be taken in the mad dash for a feasible resolution by 2047. For millions of residents who embrace basic freedoms, universal suffrage, and support the independence of the territory, the future is now.
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