tonbridgebrit

The Vietnamese, they're born survivors. These people know and understand sufferring and hardship. Loads of them drowned when leaving Vietnam for Hong Kong, yes, the boat people.

Well, yes, progress can be made in the trade talks between America and China. What we need is the rioters in Hong Kong to stop their nonsense, and then, America and China can sign a massive trade deal.

Yes, a massive trade deal. And if a massive trade deal is not signed, then, it will cause the world's economy to crash. We're looking at a crash that will be just as bad as the "credit crunch" of 2008. The rioters in Hong Kong, they're holding planet earth to ransom. Washington cannot sign a massive trade deal with China, if the rioters in Hong Kong continue with their riots. Throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at police stations and government buildings in Hong Kong.

Let's hope the rioters in Hong Kong will stop their riots.

 

What we're trying to say, is this. Basically, Boeing (the Americans) are not as good as Airbus (the Europeans) .

Boeing is an aeroplane company that Americans themselves don't believe in. Why on earth should Europeans trust Boeing when Americans themselves don't feel good and safe about Boeing ?


And indeed, Thailand, India, Australia, Japan, etc, they should all buy Airbus and not Boeing.

Born in the USA.
"Send me off to a foreign land, to go and kill the yellow man".

People don't realise it, Bruce hasn't actually got anything against yellow people.

On 10/7/2019 at 1:21 AM, Cryingdick said:

 

Them Chinese in Hong Kong, protesters, with them American flags. They should be careful when looking for support from America. The latest news regarding how the media are saying, that Washington has left the Kurds alone.

Stuff that is backed and supported by whatever American groups, it doesn't always work. Is it the case that stuff that is backed by certain American groups mainly have bad luck ? The Kiss of Death ?

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-protests-leader-carrie-144221930.html

And here is the latest crazy news from Hong Kong.
Ted Cruz, has decided to turn up in Hong Kong for a visit. If you are not from America, well, you will probably not know who Ted Cruz is. And if you are from America, it probably turns out that you've forgotten who this man is. Cruz was fighting against Trump to be leader of the Republicans prior to that 2016 general election in the USA. Cruz, off-course, lost. So, Trump became leader of the Republicans, and as we all know, Trump won the election back in 2016.
So basically, Cruz is a 'jumped up nobody', he's still a politician though. Yes, Trump being President, it's partly due to Cruz failing to beat Trump for the Republican leadership.


Okay, back to the main point. Cruz is in Hong Kong. From the article "Against a backdrop of further violent protests, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has scrapped talks with US senator Ted Cruz after her office requested the meeting be kept completely confidential, the American politician has said. "

And also  "Mr Cruz, the highest profile US politician to visit the city since anti-government protests broke out more than four months ago, said Ms Lam’s representatives had also requested that Mr Cruz refrain from speaking to the media about it, he told journalists on Saturday. "


Basically, Cruz has turned up in Hong Kong, and the meeting with Carrie Lam was scrapped. Cruz is simply a self-serving and useless politician. He's in Hong Kong to boost his public profile, a real loser as a politician. People like Cruz should simply stay away from Hong Kong, they make themselves look absurd and ridiculous.

And below is a photo of Ted Cruz in Hong Kong.



 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/weather-hits-hong-kong-protests-085234797.html


And this is the latest news, from Hong Kong on Saturday, October 12.
Basically, some demonstrations took place, a small amount of damage by petrol bombs happened, and some vandalism in the subway.


From the article "Many thousands of marchers joined the rally in Kowloon, classified by police as an illegal gathering.  "

However, also from the article "Overall, however, the protests were lower-key and appeared to lack the numbers of some much larger demonstrations seen during the more than four months of unrest that have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese territory."
And " As recently as last Sunday, tens of thousands of masked protesters had hit Hong Kong’s rain-drenched streets.  "


So, many thousands turned up for Saturday's demonstrations. But tens of thousands of masked protesters turned up last Sunday. Are the demonstrations running out of steam ?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/no-one-showed-hong-kongs-070141030.html

Okay, what's the latest news from Hong Kong ? From this report from Associated Press, the protests might be grinding to a halt, due to a lack of interest.

From the artice, "Ronald sacrificed his lunchtime to join the protest in a Hong Kong park. He quivered at the prospect of communing with hundreds of like-minded office workers stirred by the organizers' rallying cry".

So, the man turned up, but nobody was there, he was the only person who turned up.


And also, from the article "Confused, shocked and more than a little sad as he gazed unbelieving around the empty park with a grand total of exactly one protester — him — the office intern drew this conclusion: Hong Kong's establishment-shaking protest movement, which has plunged the international business hub into crisis and seemed to have boundless reserves of determination, energy, creativity and popular support, might finally be losing a little steam as it enters its fifth month."

And one more sentance from the article [ "No one showed up! Only me! Wearing a mask to show off! This is quite disappointing," said the 20-year-old. ]


It might be the case, that after four months of aggro, finally, the people of Hong Kong are seeing sense. Disrupting traffic in Hong Kong, vandalizing Hong Kong's underground stations, throwing Molotov Cocktails and bricks at buildings in Hong Kong, this not going to make Beijing give the demonstraters in Hong Kong what they want.

Today is Saturday, 12th October. Let's look at today's news. Let's see how many people turn up for the protests. Let's see how many rioters turn up. Are there going to be crowds of hundreds of thousands ? Or tens of thousands instead. Please bear in mind that Hong Kong is a city-state where roughly 7.4 million people live.

25 minutes ago, Boit said:

 

• Bring in the China Red Army and in a couple of weeks everything will be calm and pacific, no more well trained guerrilla style "protesters" and HK economic hub will be back on track. 

 

  How brain dead can a person be to reply like this?  As soon as Beijing enters HK for this reason, they will enter again only to find some/any reason then they take over, which is "killing the goose that laid the golden egg", the very thing that they originally promised not to do.  

"Killing the goose that laid the golden egg". Yes, Beijing originally said that they would not do this. I really don't think Beijing will send in soldiers. But if they did, will they actually be killing the goose that lays the golden egg ?

The situation is not the same as in previous decades. Back then, cheap goods were produced in China's factories, and dealers in Hong Kong would buy the stuff from China and the stuff was transported into Hong Kong. And stored in warehouses in Hong Kong. The dealers or traders would then re-route or re-export the cheap Chinese goods to Europe and America.
Also, dealers in Hong Kong would import goods from America and Europe, store the goods in Hong Kong, and then re-route or re-export the goods to main-land China.

Basically, Hong Kong acted as trading post for China. Back in the 1970s, the vast bulk of China's trade (exports and imports) with Europe and America (and the rest of the world) was done via Hong Kong.


But what about today ? The last couple of decades ? The goods made in China are packed onto ships in Shanghai and other Chinese harbours, and the ships sail directly to America and Europe. Ships also sail directly from America and Europe (with goods from these places) to China. Hence, China is conducting lots of trade directly with America and Europe, no need to export/import via Hong Kong.
Beijing no longer regards Hong Kong as a goose that lays the golden egg.

The above picture is from the demonstraters in Hong Kong. Now, notice the silly sticker that is on this woman's forehead.

It says "If we burn, you burn with us".  How ridiculous can a person be to have such a message.


From the OP  "Scores of shops remain boarded up after being trashed or torched, anti-government graffiti is scrawled over bus stops and buildings, and some streets are still strewn with broken glass and twisted metal debris."  This was the damage that had been done during last weekend. The rioters are also vandalizing the MTR, that's Hong Kong's underground.

So, some people in Hong Kong are burning down Hong Kong, and their message to China or Beijing is "you will burn with us, if we burn".  It's more accurate if they say "we will burn ourselves because you are refusing to do certain stuff for us".

And this is good news. What was happening ? This was an App that " helped Hong Kong protesters track police movements ".

How outrageous is this ? The rioters are setting fire to certain buildings, and throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at riot police. And they was using this app to help them see where the police were ?? If this was Britain, then, no way would an app be allowed that allows rioters to see where the riot police are.

If you're going to use an app to help you have sex with whatever woman, fair enough. But an app that helps people locate riot police, so they can set fire to certain buildings without getting caught, that's mad.


And who is stupid enough to boycott Apple, because Apple has done this ?

20 hours ago, Mavideol said:

maybe so but we can have a different opinion of it, free speech, free opinion, free ideologies or do we have to ask China's permission to do or say anything.... they really are control freak obsessed

"Do we have to ask China's permission to do or say anything...... they really are control freak obsessed".

No, people do not need China's permission to do or say anything. But, if you say stuff that offends or antagonises them, it's their right to not buy your stuff. It's their right to boycott you and your stuff. This is being seen clearly in the latest basketball NBA nonsense.

Look, let's get real here.

If you are trying to sell your product to whatever people, yes, you have got the right to insult them, to offend them. But if you do that, well, you accept that they have got the right to not buy your stuff. Yes, it's their right to boycott you.

So, Houston Rockets, it's your freedom of choice to antagonise China and to not sell your stuff to China.

What's not going to happen is, is antagonising the Chinese and they're still going to buy your stuff.


I personally think that China is one of the biggest markets in the world, it's best not to bite the hand that feeds you. But it is your choice to bite that hand. It's your choice to say "sod you China, we don't want your money". Is it sensible to say that ?

6 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

She has only herself to blame for trying to introduce the controversial Deportation Bill in the first place!! Good riddance Carrie.

And if Carrie Lam does go, what difference will it make ? Carrie Lam herself will probably not be too upset if they give her early retirement and a 'golden' pension. She might even turn up in Britain and see out her retirement here.

The extradition bill has already been shelved or whatever. The demonstrations have changed, they are about Hong Kong becoming democratic and/or independent. There's no way that Beijing will grant this. Is it sensible for people in Hong Kong to continue burning buildings in Hong Kong because Beijing won't grant democracy and/or freedom ? Surely, it's not sensible ?

4 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Help from the mainland would mean one hell of a lot of dead bodies in the streets of HK. 

 

7 hours ago, keith101 said:

If she asks Beijing for help the most likely result would be hundreds if not thousands of deaths and injuries to the people of Hong Kong and doubtful she would survive it herself .

And indeed, nobody wants to see dead bodies on the streets of Hong Kong. Beijing has not sent soldiers to remove the rioters, let's hope Beijing will continue to NOT send soldiers. Yes, it will be disastrous if Beijing sends in soldiers, disastrous for Hong Kong and China. Beijing has not taken the bait, let's hope Beijing will continue to not take the bait.

So what does this mean ? How long will the rioters continue to set fire to buildings ? How long will the disturbances continue ? Remember, from the Reuters article I myself put up, and from the Reuters article from the OP, Hong Kong's economy is being damaged by these disturbances. The drop in the number of foreign tourists and visitors entering Hong Kong in August 2019 (the numbers compared to August 2018) was considerable. It's very likely that the numbers for September 2019 will be just as bad.

How long is Hong Kong going to suffer this economic downturn ? The continuation of the riots will prolong this economic slowdown/disaster. If peaceful demonstrations continue, if the demonstrations do not block traffic, if the demonstrations don't have any negative impact on the economy, then fine, Hong Kong's economy has recover and prosper.

Let's hope that the bulk of Hong Kong's people see sense, let's hope that the bulk of Hong Kong's people will condemn the rioters, condemn the burning of buildings. Let's hope that the riots will end. And hope that the riots end without Beijing sending soldiers. Hong Kong people burning Hong Kong and destroying Hong Kong's economy is not a sensible thing to do.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-luxury-brands-count-costs-145358834.html

Okay, from the above article Reuters. By the way, the article from the OP is also from Reuters.
"Global luxury brands from Prada to Cartier are counting the cost to their businesses of four months of unrest in Hong Kong that has kept tourists away and forced shops to shut, with upcoming results set to reveal the damage."

And "data on Wednesday showed retail sales had fallen 23% in August from a year earlier - the biggest decline on record - while the value of sales of jewellery, watches and other valuable items decreased by 47.4% "


And also "Visitor arrivals dropped 39%, with the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong falling 42.3%. "


So, bascally, Hong Kong's economy is being hurt. Note that retail sales have fallen 23% in August from a year earlier. So, August 2019 saw a 23% drop from August 2018. And all this is happening because the riots/demonstrations are hurting the economy. Yes, visitor arrivals have dropped considerably. Mainland tourists have dropped even more so. Are the riots going to continue ? As long as the present disturbances continue, yes, Hong Kong's economy will continue to be hit.
When are the riots going to stop ?

13 hours ago, NokNokJoke said:

China doesn't need to do anything. The peaceful protestors are trying to invite violent responses to curry aid and sympathy from the west.

Want to cripple china? Ignore the protestors. Let china deal with them heavy handedly. Clean the gene pool up a bit in HK to boot.

 

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

The rioters are trying to invite a violent response from China.

If China does send in soldiers to remove the rioters, then yes, this will be disastrous for China. Beijing knows this, and Beijing won't take the bait. They will simply sit back, wait, and watch the rioters burn Hong Kong. Hopefully, the vast bulk of the people in Hong Kong can see that burning down Hong Kong is not going to do Hong Kong any good.

Burning down Hong Kong because Beijing won't let Hong Kong become independent, it's not a sensible thing to do.

19 hours ago, yellowboat said:

How?  What proof is there ?

16 hours ago, whimsicalmike said:

The Chinese have never really needed proof, just accuse everybody

Are foreign groups involved in the demonstrations/riots in Hong Kong ? Are groups in the USA secretly financing and supporting the riots ? Well, let's put it this way. The Chinese in Hong Kong who are carrying out the riots, they're probably hoping that America is NOT involved in any of this. Why ?

Because, let's look at history. It seems to be that, whenever there is major change or upheaval in whatever country, if America IS involved and backing it, well, it usually ends badly. The US government sometimes has an attitude of "we will back you when it suits us, when you're no longer useful to us, when or if the stuff is not working, we will leave/abandon you".

An example will be the Hmong people in Laos. There are many other examples. Another one is the latest situation in Syria, with the Kurds. It's as if Washington's involvement is the "Kiss of Death" for a lot of people.

The rioters in Hong Kong should know this. If groups in America are giving you aid and support, and if you're going to do your stuff because of this support, this means you're taking a big risk. It will not be good for you if or when it fails to work. Better to not start in the first place.

And the above Youtube video is of the demonstraters/rioters vandalizing the MTR and other places. This is from VOA.
VOA is Voice of America, VOA is hardly likely to be trying to paint a picture that is biased against the demonstraters/rioters.

Surely, the rioters, the ones doing this damage, they are not helping Hong Kong ? They should be arrested and punished ? How on earth can trashing buildings and the MTR, be regarded as fighting for democracy ?

So, Hong Kong opens for business after a long weekend. And Hong Kong is looking at more protests ?

From the article "ATMs, Chinese banks and scores of shops were vandalised during violent protests over the long weekend, some of which drew tens of thousands of people. Many restaurants and malls closed early over what is typically a very busy holiday period. "

The rioters/demonstraters also vandalized and set fire outside some of the MTR stations. MTR is Hong Kong's underground transport system.

So, the rioters do their damage. Repairmen then get paid to turn up and repair the damage. And then what ? Rioters damage the stuff again. Why have this ? How about, watch the rioters destroy the place, and then, do not bother to repair it ? I mean, why repair it, when it is going to be damaged again, this weekend ?

On 10/7/2019 at 3:51 AM, sungod said:

Oh gone on then, I'll say it. The lady in the photo getting cuffed is rather pretty ????

On 10/7/2019 at 4:19 AM, ylmiri said:

"I get tired of people slagging off the USA....." blah , blah, what you need is a young Chinese lady with smooth silky soft skin that you see among those tourists in Thailand. What you doing in Thailand? you should be in China.

You want another photo of that Chinese bird ? Here it is. Notice that the other Chinese woman in the denim shorts is not good-looking.
Do people realise that some of the women you see in Hong Kong are women who were born and raised in mainland China ??

I've noticed the videos above, and these videos show the rioters carrying out extreme violence.

Everybody, before you watch the above videos, do realise you are about to watch stuff that is not good. Yes, people are animals, watching such stuff harms the mind. Such stuff should be censored.

18 hours ago, Chazar said:

I get tired of  people slagging off the USA  but  given the choice Id  rather  have the USA  any day over  China. ps Im English.

Britain is doing a Brexit. Whatever happens, I don't want my nation drifting towards America, I don't want my nation being in a free trade zone with the USA. Given the choice, I'd much rather be in a free trade zone and customs union with Europe rather than America.
Them Americans, they're mainly a bunch of British who are in the USA, but that don't mean to say that I want to be in the same country or aligned with them.

And yes, I'm from Tonbridge, I'm a Kent man, the Garden of England, I'm proud of that. Nobody can take that away from me.