Re: A few miles away...
Before the latest round of Cold War moves by the US and its 'allies' Taiwan was doing a lot of business with the mainland, hosting a lot of Chinese tourists & visitors and generally everyone was getting on OK. Its true that official Chinese government rhetoric said that Taiwan was part of China (which, strictly speaking, it is) and the Taiwanese's muted rhetoric was something to the effect of "Over our dead bodies" but this international version of "Don't Ask / Don't Tell" seemed to be working. But then along comes trouble -- got to stir that pot, inflame those tensions and generally try to profit from conflict.
Its the same with Hong Kong. Things were bumping along quite well but then we have to not only encourage but also finance "pro-Democracy" movements. Its not enough that local elections should be held regularly and that that China-skeptic candidates make a significant showing, we have to go full color-revolution on them and threaten Chinese soverignty. (The irony being that given the social cllimate and general employment sitaution in the US at this time you'd have to be mad to want to emigrate here from HK.)
No amount of knocking China is going to make it go away. Its also not going to turn back into the facsimile of a society that it was 100 years ago, prostrate before Imperial powers. We have to learn to live with it. That doesn't mean we agree with everything they do or how the live, that's their business, but we'd be better served looking to our own faults and shortcomings before loudly bellowing about everyone else.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
