Why does this keep winding up relevant?
Xinhua News, the state-run Chinese news agency, has apparently taken out ads on Facebook and Twitter to slam the Hong Kong protesters. Which does make sense; they’re not happy about the fact that Hong Kong residents are pissed that the government is trying to interfere in Hong Kong’s now traditionally semi-autonomous governance.
They currently have 5 ads related to the protests, and all of them started running on Sunday, August 18th. One post is directed at Nancy Pelosi specifically; she has been critical of their suppression of political demonstrators, specifically in regards to the recent protest. The ad invites her to “fly to Hong Kong to see what the true facts are.”
The video in question, however features a chunky self-centered Australian businessman named Paul Hudson going on for several minutes about how the protestors inconvenienced him by causing flights at Hong Kong International Airport to be delayed. Early in the video, he notably tells one of these protestors to “get a job”. Apparently, he also told them to “know their place”. Which, you know, is pretty rich coming from the mouth of someone from an ostensibly Western nation. Boy oh boy, nothing potentially wrong with that one, no sir.
There are other ads, like the one stating that Hong Kong is suffering financially from the protests and that the public wants someone to “restore order”. That one implies that the protestors are the ones inciting violence. The reality, of course is that the police are firing off “nonlethal” rounds… at point blank range at the protestors. One woman actually lost an eye after being shot by the police, prompting other protestors to wear a bandage over one eye in solidarity.
Xinhua has also been working this game on Twitter (this one was not run as an ad, according to Twitter, however):
Coincidentally, another Chinese news agency, CGTN, posted an anti-democracy rap, the end of which features a voice clip everyone’s favorite President of the United States at the end.
Judging from this, Chinese mainland rappers suck ass at the whole rap thing. I dunno, maybe it’s less shitty in their native language? Also, it’s kinda funny that they’re so indoctrinated to authority that they think I’d give a flying fuckin’ shit what any given president has to say on an issue, sight unseen.
This is all really funny, though, because Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are all banned in China (as well as this fine site you’re reading, #humblebrag).
Hong Kong protestors, however, have taken out ads in international papers in a plea for aid from these countries ahead of the G20 conferences.
It reads, in part:
Amid tear gas and rubber bullets, this once vibrant and safe metropolis is at a crossroads. Since the protests against the controversial extradition bill started in June, Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedom have been eroded beyond recognition. This is the ugly truth that the Hong Kong government does not want you to know: Hong Kong is becoming a police state.
Instead of implementing political reform as promised, the Hong Kong government has turned into an apparatus of repression. Police brutality, endorsed by both the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, has now become part of our daily lives.
In the name of public order, the police dehumanize protesters as ‘cockroaches’ and deploy certain anti-riot measures prohibited by international standards. The police also batter passers-by, journalists and medical personnel. Police stations are shut whenever alleged thugs-for-hire indiscriminately attack protesters and ordinary citizens.
Arbitrary arrests and political prosecutions are becoming increasingly common. These are all tactics of the Hong Kong government to intimidate its own people into silence.
Another:
Source: Gizmodo
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