People protest because they have good reason. Hawaiians and their supporters essentially are saying about construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), enough is enough, and no more, beginning right now. Polls show that the people of Hawaii want that observatory built, and more Hawaiians are in agreement, than not.
If a group is in the majority, they work their will. If you are in the gross minority and have no political clout, you play a different game. Protesting has worked in the past on some issues.
Hong Kong is similar to TMT, another David versus Goliath fight. And, as you know, underdog David won that encounter.
I've been to Hong Kong probably 25 times. There is an inherent superiority complex here not seen in greater China. Some history:
- Became a colony of the British Empire at the end of the First Opium War in 1842.
- Was attacked by the Japanese on 8December1941 (same day as December 7 in Hawaii), and occupied for four years.
- In 1984 the U.K. and China signed an agreement where Hong Kong would be transferred in 1997, but that China would guarantee fifty years of continued political and economic freedom.
That matter of what exactly is guaranteed is the source of the problem today. The flies in this ointment from China's perspective are the USA and UK, who informally make it difficult for Xi Jinping to take harsh action. The latest anti-extradition bill matter of course is hardly the first protest:
- December 2005 protest for democracy in Hong Kong
- 2010 Marches for Universal Suffrage
- Occupy Central (2011–12)
- Anti-parallel trading protests, 2012 till now
- 2012 Kong Qingdong incident
- 2013 Hong Kong dock strike
- 2014 Hong Kong protests
- 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest
- 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
Governor David Ige probably committed a strategic error by not forcefully moving forward in the early days of the encounter. Although I still predict a compromise will be reached where the TMT is eventually built, it would not be surprising if the telescope actually moves to the Canary Islands. If that occurs, you worry about the future course of Hawaii.
China has now vowed to clamp down with an iron fist. Will that happen?
Here is a list of major world protests, some worked, and some didn't:
- What is known as the Salt March in 1930, a non-violent protest march led by Mohandas Gandhi, resulted in the Indian Independence Act of 1947.
- In May of 1968 what started as a token rebellion by university students became a 11 million-people strike that changed France, ending the Fourth Republic and forcing the resignation of President Charles de Gaulle.
- In 1989 Chinese university students protested with a million others in Tiananmen Square:
- death toll range from several hundred to thousands
- 10,000 were arrested
- several dozens were executed
- Tiananmen means Gate of Heavenly Peace
- Hong Kong?
- Starting in Tunisia in December of 2010, the Arab Spring brought some kind of democracy to maybe 18 countries in the Middle East and Africa. Today, Egypt is under military dictatorship and Libya, Yemen and Syria have collapsed into civil wars. Iraq is a mess, and so is Afghanistan. Qatar is isolated. Is this success?
Typhoon Krosa at 90 MPH is now beginning to impact northern Kyushu, Shikoku and Kansai:
This is already Thursday, August 15 in Japan, the 74th anniversary of its surrender in World War II. Memorial services in large parts of the region have been cancelled, and so too have flights and the Shinkansen.
This is already Thursday, August 15 in Japan, the 74th anniversary of its surrender in World War II. Memorial services in large parts of the region have been cancelled, and so too have flights and the Shinkansen.
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