LA Times (September 6)
Carrie Lam’s tone-deaf withdrawal of the extradition bill may mark “the beginning, rather than the end, of more turbulence in Hong Kong.” It further fueled the groundswell of support. “This movement is the endgame for many in Hong Kong. People would rather sacrifice their own future than submit to authoritarian rule…. Beijing and the government must come to terms with the inconvenient truth that autocracy and repression have radicalized a single-issue movement into a people’s uprising for freedom and democracy.”
Tags: Authoritarian rule, Autocracy, Beijing, Endgame, Extradition bill, Freedom, Government, Hong Kong, Lam, Repression, Sacrifice, Submit, Tone-deaf, Turbulence
The Telegraph (May 22)
Half the world thinks Greece should restructure its debt. The other half doesn’t. Prime Minister George Papandreou has come down firmly against any debt restructuring, but Greek citizens may think otherwise. Continued belt tightening could risk “further civil unrest. A poll published on Sunday showed 80pc of Greeks would refuse to make any further sacrifices to ensure continued EU and IMF support for the bail-out.”
Tags: Civil unrest, Debt, Greece, Restructuring, Sacrifice