> I had thought the Chinese to be the brightest and most intelligent of all the major polities.
They were certainly engaging in a perceptive and long-term strategy, which combined a totalitarian state with market economics, new wealth without new freedoms.
But there was an a potential weakness with Hong Kong. People who had a long experience of British-style liberalism, warts and all, would not make the transition and integration easy. Especially not after they had a (brief) taste of democratic elections in the 90s.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2019-11-13 05:38 am (UTC)They were certainly engaging in a perceptive and long-term strategy, which combined a totalitarian state with market economics, new wealth without new freedoms.
But there was an a potential weakness with Hong Kong. People who had a long experience of British-style liberalism, warts and all, would not make the transition and integration easy. Especially not after they had a (brief) taste of democratic elections in the 90s.