MayorofOysterville
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User ID: 3800
MayorofOysterville
22d ago
The biggest one is Blanc saying it. At one point during one of his monologues he says that Wicks was laid to rest with his father, and A lot of the characters reactions make a lot more sense keeping this in mind.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
I don't know Shenzhen is pretty cool already. I think you're right and no matter what a lot of finance will stay in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's western financial system is a bigger draw then the judges with wigs these days. Otherwise Hong Kong is seen a bit like Japan a bit stuffy and old hat. All the cool young entrepreneurs are in Shenzhen.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
I've been following this initiative and it'll be interesting to see the result. It's worth noting that Hainan as a free trade hub has already failed once. It was the only one of the special economic zones that didn't boom up and become a major center of commerce. But this has definitely made it a unique region instead of one of many identical ones.
I think the law is less of an issue than you might think. Rule of law has increased a lot in China in recent years and even if the People's courts aren't as good as the ones wearing wings they are becoming good enough that a lot of companies are willing to accept them over the guys in wigs for the convenience of doing business directly in Shanghai or Shenzhen. The mainland is also looking a lot more stable these days, the idea of protesters burning down the Shanghai legislative building is unthinkable. Where Hong Kong really shines is finance and I don't expect that to change the Hong Kong financial system is much more western and much more integrated to global financial markets then China proper and I think the Party sees them as a useful buffer this way.
As for human capital they have done some reforms on that front as well. Many countries now have visa free travel specifically for Hainan. As well there are some new residence permits carveouts in a way that is normally not allowed in China and even quasi-immigration for overseas Chinese and talented foreigners. I'm being vague because the proposals are not yet finalized (as far as I know) but basically for many many people Hainan will be the only place in China proper they can live or do business which should drive a fair bit of talent there. China has also built up Shenzhen from a fishing village no one would want to move to, into a very desirable city so there is precedent. I also thing Chinese might just overestimate the desirability of Hainan since Chinese love it. My bosses and colleagues here are always surprised I don't want to go. it has the best beaches in China. yes, but those are still pretty mediocre but for them it's like Hawaii.
China is attempting to engineer a free market organ and transplant it into nominally communist body.
No that's what the SEZ's were this is something new.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
It doesn't matter AI makes me a better painter but I can't really have have said to have painted it. I find it really unfortunate you are so content to mix your thoughts in the AI's.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
I find your posts really interesting (even the personal interest post that people seem to hate) but I'll go on record and say I hate the idea of mixing them with LLM output. I want to read a human's thoughts not a machine's if I want to know what ChatGTP thinks I'll ask it and I have considered ignoring everything you write because of you doin this. (though I respect you for admitting it I suspect a lot of people don't).
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
The official language of Hong Kong is still Cantonese and the language policy of Hong Kong hasn't changed at all since the protests. Surprisingly few things have as Kong Hong was never actually a democracy. In Guangdong everything official, local governments, school and business is all in Mandarin. The only special status Cantonese has is that broadcasts are allowed to be in Cantonese likely this was allowed because of the previous status of Hong Kong as well as the amount of media produced.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
Prentice Wicks would've lived a long time ago given the age of Monsignor Wicks.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
Yeah but then we switch and see her desperation. I agree that Rian Johnson and the audience this is aimed at are totally fine with someone being a "harlot whore" But a big point of the "legend" of the harlot whore is that Grace was never offered Grace. She spent her whole life castigated by the town and controlled by her father (and implied rapist) and never given the chance to repent and change only held up as an object of sin.
MayorofOysterville
25d ago
I agree there's a conflict there but it's heavily implied that Grace was raped by her father and actually stated by Blanc in a roundabout way. I think they thought directly stating it would ruin the tone of the movie. But that's what all the road to Damascus moments and realizations and exclamations about "that poor girl" where about,
MayorofOysterville
28d ago
The equivalent minority for them is the Chinese. Everywhere across Southeast Asia there are Chinese merchant communities that prosper and do much better than the local masses which breeds resentment. There have been historically been anti Chinese pograms in a very similar vein to ant-Jewish pograms. As recently as the 60s Indonesia launched an anti-Chinese/anti-communist pogram that killed a few million people. The Koumintang tried to claim all Chinese he way Israel does Jews and Taiwan will still give out certificates to overseas Chinese. The PRC tried to separate itself from the Chinese diaspora to avoid claims of dual loyalty a frequent (and familiar) charge leveled at the Chinese diaspora. China itself doesn't really have an analogue. You could say Cantonese but they are too geographically concentrated.
MayorofOysterville
28d ago
I as neutrally as I could explained the US relationship to Israel to my Chinese girlfriend and I'm pretty sure I convinced her that America is cucked beyond belief and turned her into a mild anti-semite.
MayorofOysterville
28d ago
Most of those people are just using that as a stick to beat China. They don't actually care about the details.
MayorofOysterville
28d ago
Or just straight up not understanding them. It used to be fairly common for Chinese to say China has no racism because it has no Black people. I think most Chinese who speak English now realize saying this will offend Westerners but I think most still don't really get why it would.
MayorofOysterville
28d ago
I've seen a random Chinese guy in a bar ask a Jewish friend to teach him his secrets. And he said it wasn't the first time it had happened many Chinese in China believe all the Jewish conspiracies but cannot understand how that could possibly be a bad thing.
Similarly after consuming their allies propaganda about the Jews the Japanese government thought these superhumans might prove powerful allies or weapons. If you remove the resentment and racial animosity a lot of the theories about Jews make them seem pretty powerful and interesting which is how a lot of Asians see it.
MayorofOysterville
29d ago
I don't disagree with most of that (unless be deporting people already here you mean stripping people of citizenship). But I wouldn't describe it as declaring war just enforcing immigration law.
MayorofOysterville
29d ago
You could equally say white Anglos love to promote multiculturalism and Communism and if we want to break it down by religion Episcopalians and Unitarians probably do so at higher rates than Jews.
There are a few very old Islamic universities who are a lot closer to what they looked like in the past. but probably not a useful model for western reformers. Although they haven't learned standards because their goal is to turn out learned Islamic scholars rather than provide consumers a degree. So maybe there is a lesson there.
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