The world is watching on agog as China removes Hong Kong’s special status bit by bit, quashing any dissent as it does so. China is a superpower. It is one of the world’s foremost economic and military powers. It is also an expansionist power, with its influence being felt ever more keenly the world over. But how did Hong Kong get here? Why is Beijing behaving as it is? What, if anything, can the world do to help Hong Kong? The answers to these questions lie, not in Hong Kong, but in Beijing.
Tag: free speech
Cancel Culture in Economics?
In the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests all over the globe, a great number of statues have been torn down or destroyed. From Edward Colston over Christopher Columbus to Winston Churchill, a wide range of historical figures have…
Does Political Correctness Foster Tolerance?
Before I go on, I need to make something clear: I firmly believe that the biggest threat to liberal democracy, freedom of speech and tolerance of different ways of life, today, comes from nationalistic and alt-right reactionary movements. The fault…
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Singapore Democrats Must Persist
I recently attended the Youth Political Academy in Hong Kong organised by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) during which Mr Sin Chung-Kai, former vice-chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, shared his thoughts on the Umbrella…
Speaking up in the streets of Istanbul – Alvise Pérez
With Dutch journalist Ebru Umar, who was released from arrest by the Turkish authorities yesterday, still being denied her right to leave the country, we decided to subtitle this video by Alvise Pérez. Alvise was attending IFLRY’s General Assembly Istanbul,…
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