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ilamont ◴[] No.21585386[source]
Xi's in a trap. The nationalist fervor that the CCP has whipped up for decades, coupled with the demonization of the HK protestors by Chinese media and Xi's 'no compromise' stance, makes it impossible for him to lighten up -- and the protests to de-escalate -- without him seeming weak. The HK protestors/population at this point are so angry and the radical wing so large, that they won't willingly de-escalate. Even if Lam leaves the demonstrations will continue. This sets up the stage for atrocities and more international condemnation.

Already on the international front, China is in trouble. The pro-China KMT party in Taiwan may suffer greatly in the next election because of what's going on in HK now (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3037040/tai...), making China's aggressive demands for forced unification even more unlikely in the medium term. This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a HK rights bill (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-usa/us-...) that, if it becomes law, will put China through an annual review, which will further erode the Sino-U.S. relationship for years to come. There have been calls for a boycott of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing which seems fringey now, but won't be if China sends in the troops.

There's also the internal question. Ordinary people in China are getting censored news, but some of the raw information about what's going on is getting through via social media. What does this mean for sentiment in Cantonese speaking areas of southern China, or for areas of China where provincial officials are resented for unjust or unfair treatment of citizens?

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spacehunt ◴[] No.21585587[source]
Social media in China is also heavily censored and manipulated. There are quite a few in mainland China who understands what's going on here in Hong Kong, but most buy into the state propaganda and wants us exterminated for being "separatists" and "traitors of the Chinese race."
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baby ◴[] No.21586005[source]
There’s a lot of mainland people in the US who think the western medias are all biased and that they are helping HK to separate from China.
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simlevesque ◴[] No.21586519[source]
> There’s a lot of mainland people in the US who think the western medias are all biased

Isn't it ? I mean, I don't respect China much but this is not a false statement.

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perennate ◴[] No.21587387[source]
Western media is diverse because they are not all controlled by the same government. For example, the China Daily US Edition is based in the NYC and therefore can be considered "Western media", but being owned by the CCP it obviously publishes pro-PRC propaganda.

Obviously if you define "Western media" as newspapers providing a certain viewpoint then by definition your argument would be correct. But that isn't an interesting argument.

Moreover, using the Internet people in the US can read diverse points of view, including e.g. those of pro-China websites. This is not possible in China, except for a small minority who have access to VPN and similar technology.

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fao_ ◴[] No.21589070[source]
> Western media is diverse because they are not all controlled by the same government.

The majority of American News can be traced back to 6 billionaires

http://www.tiragraffi.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/thebig6....

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JumpCrisscross ◴[] No.21590131[source]
> The majority of American News can be traced back to 6 billionaires

6 is more than one. A majority is not a totality. And not all Western media is American.

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jammygit ◴[] No.21597740[source]
In 20 years it will probably be 3
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1. fao_ ◴[] No.21610390[source]
Well, in Britain the majority of newspapers are owned or were bought by Murdoch, total media control seems to be part of his ultimate goal.