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 Economist (March 3)
“Last weekend China stepped from autocracy into dictatorship. That was when Xi Jinping, already the world’s most powerful man, let it be known that he will change China’s constitution so that he can rule as president for as long as he chooses—and conceivably for life.”0
Tags: Autocracy, China, Constitution, Dictatorship, President, Xi
Washington Post (November 28, 2013)
The government in Egypt is “steering toward autocracy rather than democracy…. The Obama administration has been eager to show support for Egypt’s leadership, but it is long past time to be honest about its behavior.”
Washington Post (June 26)
Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani oversaw Qatar’s rapid economic growth. He came to power 18 years ago after staging a coup against his very own father. “Now the 61-year-old emir has completed another surprising initiative by handing power to his 33-year-old son.” This change “opens the way for adjustments in Qatar’s foreign policies and in the rigid autocracy that still reigns over the skyscrapers and luxury hotels of Doha.” Only time will tell if reform ensues.
Tags: Autocracy, Coup, Doha, Economic growth, Foreign policy, Luxury hotels, Qatar, Reform, Skyscrapers
