thericechronicles: Give Peace a Chance

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Give Peace a Chance

My Dear Great Ones,
First off let me make it clear that in regards to the Hong Kong protests I do NOT agree with the violence. I am with Ghandi and King and Lennon. Peaceful protests in the end wins. In Prague there is a "Lennon Wall." Here is Wikipedia: The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall is a wall in Prague, Czech Republic. Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti, pieces of lyrics from Beatles' songs, and other designs relating to local and global causes.^[1]
Located in a small and secluded square across from the French Embassy, the wall received its first decoration following the 1980 assassination of John Lennon when an unknown artist painted a single image of the singer-songwriter and some lyrics.^[2]

In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime of Gustáv Husák. Following a short-lived era of democratization and political liberalization known as the Prague Spring, the newly installed communist government dismantled the reforms, inspiring anger and resistance to the loss of freedoms. Young Czechs wrote grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The liberalization movement these students followed was described as "Lennonism" (not to be confused with "Leninism") and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western free market capitalism.

The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, by the next day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of global ideals such as love and peace.

During the Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution of 2014 there was a Lennon Wall near the Legislature of Hong Kong. It had literally thousands of sticky notes, pictures, and messages encouraging peace and democracy. These days there are Lennon Walls all over Hong Kong. They are located mainly near bus stops and MTR stations. While much of the material encourages peace, democracy, and love there is much that is just plain mean. Sadly I believe unless there is a major revolution in China the reality is that the government on the mainland will continue to be a communist, Godless, dictatorship. And they will continue to try and impose their will on Hong Kong until they get complete control in 2047. They also "control," 1.4 billion people. Hong Kong's 7.3 million are, compared to that, a tiny fraction of that. However:

At the time of the handover in 1997, Hong Kong’s GDP was equivalent to 20% of China’s GDP.

Over the last 20 years, however, China has experienced enormous economic growth as cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai developed rapidly. The Chinese government also launched a number of new policies and initiatives to further stimulate economic expansion, such as the establishment of free trade zones.

Today, Hong Kong’s economy is only equivalent to 2.9% of China’s GDP. However, the territory still plays a crucial role in China’s economy. It’s the largest source of foreign direct investment into China (Economic and Trade Information on China). Hong Kong is a global financial centre; the HK stock exchange (Asia’s third largest by market capitalization) offers a platform for foreign investors to invest in Chinese companies (and for Chinese companies to raise capital). The territory is China’s second largest trading partner after the US.

For a city of 7.3 million people, Hong Kong still has a significant impact on China’s economy.

So the situation in Hong Kong is complicated. The "democratic," rights that Hong Kong enjoys over Mainland China, fosters a prosperous economic system that benefits China. However, democratic rights fosters thoughts and freedoms that are unacceptable for the Chinese government. So what is the answer? As John Lennon sang, "give peace a chance."