10-01-2019, 10:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2019, 07:32 AM by John J. Xenakis.)
*** 2-Oct-19 World View -- Teenage protester shot by policeman in Hong Kong's worst day of violence
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Teenage protester shot by policeman in Hong Kong's worst day of violence
****
![[Image: g191001b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g191001b.jpg)
Riot police fire projectiles against protesters in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Sky News)
A protester in Hong Kong was shot by a policeman at point-blank
range on Tuesday. He's in the hospital in critical condition. The
police say he shot in self-defense.
This was the highlight of the worst day of violence since the
pro-democracy protests began 17 weeks ago.
The violence in Hong Kong was a vivid contrast to Tuesday's activities
in Beijing. Tuesday was the 70th anniversary of the founding
of Communist China, and there were massive military parades and
highly nationalistic speeches the entire day.
****
**** Hong Kong violence may be reaching a boiling point
****
Something that's been coming across for weeks in the TV coverage of
the Hong Kong riots, much more than in the print coverage, is that
they are becoming much more vitriolic and tribal. The police hate the
protesters, and the protesters hate the police, especially after
today's events, and there's no turning back.
I've been following a lot of anti-government protests for many years,
and I've developed a feeling for which ones are more serious than
others.
So, for example, the recent pro- and anti-Brexit protests in London
were all just kids having fun. The same is true of just about any
protest on the mall in Washington DC.
Even violence doesn't necessarily trigger the worst conflicts. I'm
thinking of the various student protests in Iran. The thugs in Iran's
security forces always go out and beat, rape, torture and jail
innocent protesters, but once the period of protest end, there doesn't
seem to be any residual violence.
Even the Hong Kong umbrella protests in 2014 did not seem to be a
major problem. Everyone seemed to follow the unwritten rules of
peaceful protests: The protesters are allowed to chant, block roads,
occupy buildings, and even do a little bit of property damage. The
police are allowed use physical force, water cannons, tear gas, and
even mass arrests. At the end of the day, everybody has had fun, and
can go home and brag about it.
But my view is that the Hong Kong protests are becoming increasingly
vitriolic, on a trend line for a lot more violence. At the social
media level, many mainland postings encourage violence against the
protesters, and Hong Kong postings are contemptuous of mainlanders.
Protesters and police have been describing each other in increasingly
vitriolic and hate-filled terms.
And recall that in mid-July, pro-democracy protesters and ordinary
civilians were violently attacked by unidentified men in white shirts,
later identified as criminal members of "Triad" gangs. The attack was
well-organized, and it is believed that the attacks were organized by
Beijing security forces, who didn't want to be seen getting their own
hands dirty. The Hong Kong police watched the attacks, but made no
attempt to intervene, or to respond to injured civilians begging for
help.
As I've written in the past, Hong Kong is on the fault line between
northern and southern China. ( "22-Jun-19 World View -- Hong Kong protests show historic split between northern and southern China"
)
Southeast China was the starting point of the last two massive Chinese
anti-government rebellions. Mao Zedong's Long March that led to the
Communist revolution civil war (1934-49) started in the south. The
massive Taiping Rebellion (1852-64), which was led by a Christian
convert who believed he was the son of God and the younger brother of
Jesus, began in the south and spread north.
The ethnic fault line between north and south is just as active today
as it ever was, and China is overdue for a new north-south rebellion.
That's why the increasing signs of hatred and vitriol between
protesters and police in Hong Kong are significant.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials have been relatively
restrained so far. They had hoped that the Hong Kong protests would
fizzle before the October 1 anniversary celebration. They were
restrained, with the result that the Hong Kong riots overshadowed the
anniversary celebrations in Beijing to some extent.
What next? The Hong Kong anti-Beijing activists have hardened their
positions, and they claim that they will continue their violent
protests. The CCP officials are also hardening their positions.
Their only hope is that the protests will fizzle in the months to
come. But nobody believes that would end them permanently. The CCP
officials know that at some point in the next few months they're going
to have to send in the army to bash heads.
Sources:
Related articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Hong Kong, umbrella protests,
Mao Zedong, Long March, Taiping Rebellion
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Teenage protester shot by policeman in Hong Kong's worst day of violence
- Hong Kong violence may be reaching a boiling point
****
**** Teenage protester shot by policeman in Hong Kong's worst day of violence
****
Riot police fire projectiles against protesters in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Sky News)
A protester in Hong Kong was shot by a policeman at point-blank
range on Tuesday. He's in the hospital in critical condition. The
police say he shot in self-defense.
This was the highlight of the worst day of violence since the
pro-democracy protests began 17 weeks ago.
The violence in Hong Kong was a vivid contrast to Tuesday's activities
in Beijing. Tuesday was the 70th anniversary of the founding
of Communist China, and there were massive military parades and
highly nationalistic speeches the entire day.
****
**** Hong Kong violence may be reaching a boiling point
****
Something that's been coming across for weeks in the TV coverage of
the Hong Kong riots, much more than in the print coverage, is that
they are becoming much more vitriolic and tribal. The police hate the
protesters, and the protesters hate the police, especially after
today's events, and there's no turning back.
I've been following a lot of anti-government protests for many years,
and I've developed a feeling for which ones are more serious than
others.
So, for example, the recent pro- and anti-Brexit protests in London
were all just kids having fun. The same is true of just about any
protest on the mall in Washington DC.
Even violence doesn't necessarily trigger the worst conflicts. I'm
thinking of the various student protests in Iran. The thugs in Iran's
security forces always go out and beat, rape, torture and jail
innocent protesters, but once the period of protest end, there doesn't
seem to be any residual violence.
Even the Hong Kong umbrella protests in 2014 did not seem to be a
major problem. Everyone seemed to follow the unwritten rules of
peaceful protests: The protesters are allowed to chant, block roads,
occupy buildings, and even do a little bit of property damage. The
police are allowed use physical force, water cannons, tear gas, and
even mass arrests. At the end of the day, everybody has had fun, and
can go home and brag about it.
But my view is that the Hong Kong protests are becoming increasingly
vitriolic, on a trend line for a lot more violence. At the social
media level, many mainland postings encourage violence against the
protesters, and Hong Kong postings are contemptuous of mainlanders.
Protesters and police have been describing each other in increasingly
vitriolic and hate-filled terms.
And recall that in mid-July, pro-democracy protesters and ordinary
civilians were violently attacked by unidentified men in white shirts,
later identified as criminal members of "Triad" gangs. The attack was
well-organized, and it is believed that the attacks were organized by
Beijing security forces, who didn't want to be seen getting their own
hands dirty. The Hong Kong police watched the attacks, but made no
attempt to intervene, or to respond to injured civilians begging for
help.
As I've written in the past, Hong Kong is on the fault line between
northern and southern China. ( "22-Jun-19 World View -- Hong Kong protests show historic split between northern and southern China"
)
Southeast China was the starting point of the last two massive Chinese
anti-government rebellions. Mao Zedong's Long March that led to the
Communist revolution civil war (1934-49) started in the south. The
massive Taiping Rebellion (1852-64), which was led by a Christian
convert who believed he was the son of God and the younger brother of
Jesus, began in the south and spread north.
The ethnic fault line between north and south is just as active today
as it ever was, and China is overdue for a new north-south rebellion.
That's why the increasing signs of hatred and vitriol between
protesters and police in Hong Kong are significant.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials have been relatively
restrained so far. They had hoped that the Hong Kong protests would
fizzle before the October 1 anniversary celebration. They were
restrained, with the result that the Hong Kong riots overshadowed the
anniversary celebrations in Beijing to some extent.
What next? The Hong Kong anti-Beijing activists have hardened their
positions, and they claim that they will continue their violent
protests. The CCP officials are also hardening their positions.
Their only hope is that the protests will fizzle in the months to
come. But nobody believes that would end them permanently. The CCP
officials know that at some point in the next few months they're going
to have to send in the army to bash heads.
Sources:
- Hong Kong protester shot as China marks its 70th anniversary (AP, 1-Oct-2019)
- Hong Kong police shoot protester as violent clashes escalate (Al Jazeera, 1-Oct-2019)
- Hong Kong protests: Riot police fire live rounds at anti-China rallies as Communist Party celebrates 70th anniversary (Sky News, 1-Oct-2019)
Related articles:
- UK-China war of words escalates sharply over Hong Kong riots (04-Jul-2019)
- Hong Kong protests show historic split between northern and southern China (22-Jun-2019)
- MIT criticizes 'toxic atmosphere' targeting Chinese students (30-Jun-2019)
- Book Announcement: World View: War between China and Japan - by John J. Xenakis (28-Jun-2019)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Hong Kong, umbrella protests,
Mao Zedong, Long March, Taiping Rebellion
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
