The Age
Date: May 26, 2020
By: Peter Hartcher
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It doesn’t seem to make much sense. China’s President Xi Jinping tried to get tough with Hong Kong and Taiwan last year. The people in both places responded emphatically. They stood up to his bullying. They rejected his efforts to push them around.
The only thing Xi achieved was to alienate the smartest and freest Chinese populations within Beijing’s claimed sphere. Many ordinary middle-class people were so incensed that they turned out to vote and to protest for the first time.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ratcheted up the heat on Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ratcheted up the heat on Hong Kong and Taiwan.CREDIT:AP
The only thing Xi achieved was to alienate the smartest and freest Chinese populations within Beijing's claimed sphere. Many ordinary middle-class people were so incensed that they turned out to vote and to protest for the first time.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ratcheted up the heat on Hong Kong and Taiwan.CREDIT:AP
Xi's response? His regime has now made new threats against both Taiwan and Hong Kong. And formalised them in the executive's annual work report to the National People's Congress over the past few days.
"It's sad to hear," says the veteran Hong Kong-based political analyst Willy Lam, "a nation going down the wrong path". It also seems bizarre that Xi should want to persist on such a losing course. [FULL STORY]
