Yes, and only a question of time before Hong Kong loses any semblance of democracy and their much vaunted human rights.

Moreover, currently and because of our economic dependence on our economic masters, we are powerless to do anything about it until or unless the world stops trading with China, and boycotts all their exports!

Because war with a nuclear-armed opponent is unthinkable! Whereas, an enduring trade war will hurt China where it counts, even force them to take a very different tack? And necessary before internal dissent erupts and involves the military against their current rulers?

Taiwan needs to look and see her fate in that of Hong Kong, if ever foolish enough to give Beijing A foot in the door! Or believe their cunning lies/empty promises!

That said, we are all in the same lifeboat, planet earth, and all need to cooperate to ensure the survival of the species! Clearly not assisted by China creating dissent in her own ethnic ranks through control freak measures and Stalinist style suppression! Which will count against absolutely essential global cooperation!

Further, nuclear conflict is a scenario where there are no winners! Nudge nudge, time for the teaspoon of honey Beijing. Yes?

Could wind up ruling the entire world well after we have crossed a tipping point that guarantees we become as habitable as near neighbour Venus!

Fools never learn nor guided by the lessons of history, i.e., one catches far more flies, with a teaspoon of honey than a whole jar of vinegar! Too hard, Beijing?
Alan B.

Yes, Alan, it will be a never-ending struggle for the people of Hong Kong to resist the forcible inclusion of Hong Kong into totalitarian china. And this pretext of agreeing to extradite whoever China brings a charge against, those poor buggers never to be seen again, is just one of many dirty deals that the pliant CE will try on.

It certainly could come down to a 'permanent democratic revolution' versus a drearily-common form of fascism, and I wish the people of Hong Kong continuing success, with all my heart.

Joe

Binoy could have written a clearer, more useful, article of half the lenght by leaving out the very old UK ties.

Imperialism, Opium Wars and what Thatcher did or didn't think, etc are totally irrelevant to what's happening to Hong Kong now.

I'm still trying to find the "peace" component demonstrated in these Democracy demonstrations.

Binoy Kampmark just wrote a lying, propaganda hit piece aimed at sneering at Britain and Margaret Thatcher, rather than focusing on the real villain, which is of course National Socialist China, with the emphasis on socialism. Maybe Binoy was raised in an Asian nation that hates Europeans so much that they reflexively like to blame everything that is wrong with the world on Europeans, without bothering to ever think things through? Which is weird when you remember how everybody on Earth wants to live with us.

The Opium war (1840-1860) occurred at a time in British history when Britain was a democracy in name only. The Upper house of aristocrats had the upper hand and it stayed that way until the early 20th century. The House of Commons was politically corrupt where "rotten boroughs" containing only 7 people could elect two representatives. It was, like socialism in all of it's forms today (national socialism and international socialism), a political system made to order to give almost unlimited power to every power hungry sociopath and money grasping psychopath. The problem is with totalitarianism in general, Binoy, not Britain, democracy, or Margaret Thatcher.

It was inevitable that Britain would sooner or later, be forced to return Hong Kong to British sovereignty. You can not blame the brilliant Margaret Thatcher for bowing to reality. If she really told the brilliant Deng that socialist takeover of Hong Kong would lead to the economic collapse of Hong Kong, and display to the world what Chinese Socialism would do to a successful economy, that just shows how smart she really was. And if Deng realized that Margaret was right and instituted a "two systems" approach to Hong Kong, that just show how smart Deng was.

But after Deng died, the natural drift to absolute power in totalitarian societies kicked in. Totalitarians want nothing less than absolute power over everything. Even in China itself, the "President", Xi Jinping, has named himself dictator for life. Socialist totalitarian China will eventually take over Hong Kong completely and bugger the place, and that is not Margaret Thatcher or Britain's fault.

The Chinese Communist Party is just doing what the Chinese Communist Party does: extending totalitarian control over Hong Kong.