China media says Hong Kong protesters are ‘asking for self-destruction’ as military assembles nearby

Apology totally accepted!

As for myself, the reason I am dire, is that I've been in the process of reading the "Gulag Archipelago" which isn't a great book to read if you want to have faith in a governments ability to be moral.

Here's my sense of the situation. 1. China is very pro-China. The citizens seem to like Xi Jinping. The extent, or truth of this is up for debate as China also sends Journalists to prison for revealing "state secrets"...which is just typical communism right there. The point being that of course a nation that censors the media it shows the world will come off as liking the guy in power. 2. For unknown reasons (to me) China wants Hong Kong. Either because it's the center (or close to it) of trade in the world (it is at least in fact the richest city in the world as of September 2018). Or I've heard mention that it gives them control over some sort of ocean-trade (I don't know enough to evaluate this sentiment)? 3. China says that the Hong Kong revolts are a result of Western influences...which to a degree is true, as the idea of individualism and personal freedom is a western concept. 4. China sees what they're doing in Hong Kong as "restoring the peace/status quo". The Hong-Kongers see this as an invasion. 5. The main fear from what I can determine is that of violent reprisal on the part of China in the same vein as Tiananmen Square. -Will China do that? Yea I could see it happening

What muddies the water for me is: 1. A lack of understanding of the Chinese side of this, I cannot read or speak Cantonese. 2. Some confusion surrounding the 1997 'One Country, Two Systems' and the role that plays in a countries' "right" to ownership of a place.

/r/worldnews Thread Parent Link - cnbc.com