⚡Levitation
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Hong Kong Bars Joshua Wong From Election
A continuation of our coverage on democracy.
Joshua Wong, a leader of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, was planning to run for a district council position, while there was widespread public anger with the government. But, HK barred him from running.
Umbrella Movement? It was a political movement during the HK democracy protests in 2014. They used umbrellas as a tool for passive resistance to HK’s use of pepper spray.
What they wanted. During a 79-day occupation, they demanded more transparent elections (you know, the stuff of all good democracies).
From the Guardian
Why was Wong barred? The government pointed to statements that were made by his political organization that the future of HK should be determined by its people and that independence is a possible option. Basically, they said these statements were not inline with their constitution, which states that the city is part of China.
What’s the value of the district council positions? Whichever party wins the most seats will control 117 votes in the 1,200-member election committee that chooses the next chief executive, HK’s top government role.
Mr. Wong’s response.
“My position is that any decision on Hong Kong’s future should be carried out within the constitutional framework of ‘one country, two systems…’ [when Mr. Xi (China’s leader)] threatened in strong terms that ‘anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,’ I believe that in reality Hong Kong independence cannot become an acceptable option.”
HK enters recession. After five months of anti-government protests, the city’s Financial Secretary says they’re unlikely to achieve any growth this year. Tourism has dropped over 40% and protestors set fire to shops and hurled petrol bombs at policy on Sunday. They’re rallying cry was to fight against police brutality and defend Muslims and journalists.
There’s a lot of distractions in the news and it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with HK, but if Beijing does not offer better concessions, the conflict in HK will last a long time. The idea that HK will become another Northern Ireland sounded pretty ridiculous when this round of protests began a few months ago. But after this weekend, the end doesn’t seem near, and the cycle of violence seems like it will only continue. As HK tightens it’s grip around the protestors by making previously legal acts (e.g., taking photos of policemen) now unlawful, the protestors’ aggression seem to be rising. Any attempts at protestor intimidation is further radicalizing the movement. The HK government has formally withdrawal the extradition law that ignited the original crisis, but the protestors want more.
Local News, You’re Our Only Hope
It should not be a surprise to anybody here that Americans have lost their faith in the media. In the era of Fake News and increasing polarization, people don’t know where to turn these days to receive unbiased information about the world.
Local news, however, is “a sort of last bastion.” In a study published by theKnight Foundation, titled State of Public Trust in Local News, 79 percent of people think that local news is better than national news channels in delivering honest updates about society and 66 percent believe that they are less likely to be biased.
Look across the aisle. There is a stark contrast between the left and right. 75 percent of Democrats believe that local news agencies are doing a “good” or “excellent” job in delivering honest updates about society, but that number drops to 54 percent among Republicans.
Declining trust. Yes, people may trust local news more than national news — but they still don’t really trust the local news. Sam Gill, a VP at the Knight Foundation, finds this troubling:
“Those of us who care about news, who believe that it’s critical for a democracy to have a set of common facts on which interpretation and debate are built, should take really seriously the warning signs, the cracks, and the fissures around trust in local news,”
Why this is happening. Declining moderation in coverage. People generally are happy with coverage on topics like weather, sports, and crime. However, approval ratings go down on stories that concern polarizing topics like the environment, abortion, and gun rights for two reasons: (1) these stories often receive insufficient coverage and (2) they often do not resonate with the viewers.
Most Americans get their news from local media outlets, and it is important that they continue to trust what they see. However, we wonder if the preference for local media outlets is simply due to the higher probability that local media is in line with our views of the world. Is it another form of media that continues our echo chambers?
Short Takes
The United Auto Workers union ended their strike at General Motors after 40 days of picketing, the longest private-sector walkout in years.
Beyond Meat posted its first quarterly profit, but shares still tanked 15 percent as expenses more than doubled.
China has created a magnetic levitation train that is faster than going on the plane.
Trump prepares to formally withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords — the year long process will begin on November 4 and will be done one day after the next election.
900 children in a Pakistani city test positive for HIV after a local doctor reused syringes with infected blood.
Tomorrow Today
Community Event
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