Cadence of Conflict: Asia, July 6, 2020

It’s official. China has broken the treaty that allows Hong Kong to be Chinese. The last time Britain accused China of breaking treaty, the Royal Navy opened fire on the Taiwan city of Tainan in 1858. The time before that was just a few decades earlier, when Britain obtained Hong Kong Island in a surrender from the Chinese after the Opium Wars.

Those wars began because China believed it was fair for silver to flow out of Britain, but only tea leaves to flow out of China. China would not accept British inventions and technology in trade, only silver for leaves. Opium was another leaf, one some in China were willing to return silver to Britain in exchange for.

For China, friendship has always been a one-way street. The Opium Wars did not begin with British military intervention. They started with an unbalanced sense of justice from China and subversion in response from Britain. While the British military did not start the wars, it ended them.

Now, China has passed a law in Beijing that affects the streets of Hong Kong. That violates the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the basis for Hong Kong’s return to China. It seems 150 years have not changed anyone’s disposition. China wants laws written in one city, then obeyed in another. China wants to make promises, then ignore them. Britain will not respond with military, but with subversion. In the end, America’s military may play a role, but Hong Kong will likely return to the British for one, single reason. History repeats for those who refuse to learn from it.

China

‘Our pastures have been taken’: Indians rue China’s Himalayan land grab // Guardian

“…no evidence China has ambitions to match or replace its global military machinery…” Is the wrier a Chinese opp?
The true cost of a new confrontation with China (opinion) // CNN

Taiwan

67%
Record number identify as ‘Taiwanese,’ poll finds // Taipei Times

Taiwan stages drill simulating response to an invasion by China // Focus Taiwan

Hong Kong

As China tightens its grip on Hong Kong, people are leaving for Taiwan // NBC News

It’s official!
China is breaking Hong Kong treaty with UK, says Boris Johnson // Guardian

Donnie Yen celebrates Hong Kong’s ‘return’ to the motherland – ‘I am fighting for the Chinese people’ // SCMP

Hong Kong Files First Charges Under New Law, Bans Rallying Cry // Bloomberg

Busted for helping, kind of
US has been exposed for funding last year’s Hong Kong protests // SCMP

Broken promises!
Hong Kong makes first arrests under China’s new national security law // CNBC

Military Faceoff

US sends carriers to S China Sea // Taipei Times