Aidan O'Brien gives a good summary of British rule in Hong Kong. However he idealises China today.
He talks about "fair trade". China's trade with Latin America and Africa is mainly motivated by a desire for raw materials for China's industry. Still, this can be useful if it gives poor countries an alternative market to the US and its allies. China's role in world politics can sometimes be positive - e.g. support for Cuba and Venezuela against US attempts to crush them. However, China sometimes supports repressive regimes against movements for democracy or national self-determination - e.g. repression of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. O'Brien talks of China's "successful developmental model". He ignores the ruthless exploitation of Chinese workers, the repression of ethnic minorities such as the Uighurs, and political repression generally. See my pamphlet: http://links.org.au/capitalism-workers-struggle-china He talks of democracy as a "drug" pushed by the United States. Undoubtedly the US has been using events in Hong Kong for anti-China propaganda in the context of growing US/China rivalry. This explains National Endowment for Democracy funding of some groups in Hong Kong. But the Hong Kong movement reflects a legitimate distrust of the Chinese government, and a desire for democratic elections and civil liberties. The movement is not unambiguously progressive. Many of the protestors have some backward ideas - idealisation of the West, hostility to people from mainland China, etc. We should support their demand for democracy while recognising such problems. Perhaps the Black Lives Matter movement may help some of them understand the limitations of democracy in the US. But in my view a movement confined to Hong Kong has little prospect of success. The struggle for democracy in Hong Kong can only succeed in the context of change within China as a whole. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Louis Proyect <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, 30 July 2020 9:55 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [marxmail] MR Online | Has anything changed since 1840? Trade, imperialism, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta megacity https://mronline.org/2020/07/29/has-anything-changed-since-1840/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#107): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/107 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/75884625/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES<br />#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.<br />#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.<br />#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
