ANI
08 Jul 2020, 02:07 GMT+10
Toronto [Canada], July 7 (ANI): A growing number of experts here believe that while China rejects attempts at outside coercion, developments in Hong Kong may reveal a path to domestic transformation.
While Beijing's strong-arm tactics can work on powerless Uighurs, Hong Kong may be a Chinese microcosm of what can happen when an authoritarian government runs out of legitimacy with informed and educated citizens who do not want to be imposed upon.
"People who think of South Korea and Taiwan as healthy pluralistic democracies may not realise that in my lifetime, both were run by nasty militarist -- anti-communist in those cases -- dictatorships," said Don Pittis, Senior Producer at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) business unit.
Even as Hong Kong becomes more like China, the former colony may have inoculated the entire country with a taste for self-government and some ideas on how to get it. "By alienating so many Hong Kongers, China has wasted an opportunity," wrote Pittis in an analysis.
Now, the self-exile of Hong Kong democracy leader Nathan Law harks back to earlier times when Russian anti-government leader Vladimir Lenin retreated to England and Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh hid out in France.
Without even trying, wrote Pittis, places where you are allowed to think and say just about what you like create a refuge for dissent. Canada's suspension of extradition rules is a sign that Hong Kong has strayed too far from that ideal.
Canada need not give up on China as a place where pluralism and democracy will one day help its people rule themselves.
In years gone by, wrote Pittis, North American economic sanctions may have had the clout to pressure even large countries into adjusting their policies.
It is implausible to think that China, with an economy that the International Monetary Fund says is still growing -- while Canada, the United States and Europe will shrink about 8 per cent this year -- will be pressured.
"That will be the job of its own people. Change within China must come from the Chinese people -- and not necessarily as represented by the Chinese Communist Party," wrote Pittis.(ANI)Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationFRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...
SHARJAH, 7th May, 2025 (WAM) -- The Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) recently took part in the 76th World News Media Congress,...
Paris is withdrawing its troops after the African country scrapped a decades-old defense agreement France has handed over a military...
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): On the occasion of the approval of the new 'Khelo Bharat Niti 2025', Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 1 (ANI): The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) opens admissions for its first batch...
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): In a significant step to bolster India's research and innovation ecosystem, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday...
Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions...