One topic that I haven't discussed on this board any time lately is the People's Republic of China, with the exception of Trump's dumb policy with regards to tariffs on China. And that's a domestic issue, really, because all of the people paying those tariffs are Americans.
Anyway, the lack of talk about China was intentional on my part. I thought hey, maybe I'd like to take a vacation there some day, and I really wouldn't go there with the intent to do anything but sightseeing -- so why make the government dislike me? What could I possibly accomplish, anyway?
The situation there has changed a little bit recently. China's government recently approved a new national security law, with a lot of implications, that makes me consider wanting to discuss it. However, I do not want to discuss it here without asking people if that is acceptable to them. One of the points of the new law above is that is that a foreign individual who provides assistance to anyone protesting in Hong Kong is committing a crime. It is entirely possible that in this discussion, you can commit a felony in the PRC, regardless of your citizenship or current location. The law has a global scope.
So I ask you to be very careful in what you say. I have to start this discussion as a courtesy to all of you, with a question: Shall we have discussion here about the situation in China, or is the discussion better left to the citizens of that nation?
Anyway, the lack of talk about China was intentional on my part. I thought hey, maybe I'd like to take a vacation there some day, and I really wouldn't go there with the intent to do anything but sightseeing -- so why make the government dislike me? What could I possibly accomplish, anyway?
The situation there has changed a little bit recently. China's government recently approved a new national security law, with a lot of implications, that makes me consider wanting to discuss it. However, I do not want to discuss it here without asking people if that is acceptable to them. One of the points of the new law above is that is that a foreign individual who provides assistance to anyone protesting in Hong Kong is committing a crime. It is entirely possible that in this discussion, you can commit a felony in the PRC, regardless of your citizenship or current location. The law has a global scope.
So I ask you to be very careful in what you say. I have to start this discussion as a courtesy to all of you, with a question: Shall we have discussion here about the situation in China, or is the discussion better left to the citizens of that nation?
"Kitto daijoubu da yo." - Sakura Kinomoto