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Protesters in Hong Kong may be reckless but it seems that their opponents aren't exactly cool-headed either...

"Simon Cheng, a trade and investment officer at the consulate, was reported missing after he failed to return from a business trip to the neighboring Chinese city of Shenzhen on Aug. 8. His girlfriend told local media that he had messaged her shortly before attempting to pass through a border control point on his way back to Hong Kong, saying “pray for me.”

time.com
Simon Cheng is apparently being held for violations of public security laws.

The Wong Tai Sin resident added: “We elderly people are not simple-minded. We see things clearly. We don’t just listen to one side of the story and throw things at the police.”

He noted that the police have been “just” in handling the protests, and had only retaliated after the protesters threw objects at them.

Another Wong Tai Sin resident, who only wanted to be known as Ms Leung, also opined that the youngsters were in the wrong.

...

“They were born and bred in Hong Kong. By making things bad here, what do they have to gain?”

“Don’t they have food on the table? Don’t they have proper jobs? Of all things to do, why must they become protesters?” asked the 98-year old rhetorically."

[...]

“They (protesters) want freedom for themselves, but they are actually impeding on the freedom of other people."

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channelnewsasia.com
HONG KONG: The older generation in Hong Kong does not identify with the escalating actions of the young protesters and generally back the police’s ...
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Hello Singapore, greetings to all the fans and haters again! If you were hoping I'm going to end in the jaws of a lion then I have some bad news for you. I've been slow with responding to some questions made here, since I was busy chasing animals in Kruger National Park (with my camera) last week (a report from that visit is coming). It should not suggest, however, that I've not been observing what's going on in Singapore - specifically the drama around PM's comments re: Vietnam's de facto invasion of Cambodia. Now, I'm not going to delve deep into historical facts here, as others have done it already. It's easy to sit in your armchair today, free from any threats, and praise Vietnam for removing the Khmer Rouge. But the regional (and global) reality in 1978 was not so simple and such a strong unilateral move from one of the largest countries in the area was seen as a direct threat to others - especially as communism around the world did not appear to falter. So it was in i.a. Singapore's interest not to legitimize forceful military removal of a foreign government. Let's be quite clear: Vietnam's intervention was not motivated by humanitarian reasons. Anyway, all of that is in the history books and it's not what I wanted to write about here. What did bother me, watching this diplomatic row, is the amount of vitriol poured on the Singaporean PM... by Singaporeans themselves. Now, you may like or not like LHL. Heck, you may hate his guts, it's your right and I'm not here to dispute it. But it's one thing to despise a politician and entirely different thing to assault the fundamental interests of your own country. Some people appear to be blinded by hate to a point where they eagerly gang up with foreign countries to attack their very own government, which publicly defends the international principles that protect Singapore's existence (it's doubly ironic considering how many of them like to decry "foreign interference" in local politics). It is profoundly disturbing to anybody who is concerned about its future, as it is an example political recklessness of the highest caliber - with complete disregard for the consequences to the country. Appeasement is a tool of last resort in foreign policy. Any strong, independent state has to promote and defend its best interests. It's not without a reason defense spending has been so high here for decades - so now the small city-state can afford not to be a pushover. From Singapore's perspective General Prem will be remembered for standing up to Vietnam what contributed to security of other ASEAN members. It is as important today as it was then and his passing was a good opportunity to remind everybody about it. So why should Singaporean authorities stay silent? When a friend passes away you praise him for what made him dear. It is quite perplexing that so many people portraying themselves as patriots are so eager to embrace cowardice - or even support it as a means of conducting foreign policy. It is also rather amusing to see so many think that the offending statement was published without consideration for diplomatic repercussions. The cost of words is weighed carefully in foreign relations. And, sometimes, the price for staying silent is, ultimately, much higher than the immediate backlash for defending what's right.
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