The gloves are off - Hong Kong government's murderous intent now crystal clear

On an oppressively hot and humid Tuesday evening in Hong Kong, violent and dislocating convulsions shook the city to it's foundations once again. As police savagely beat protesters and utilised firearms on numerous occasions, it marked yet another grim milestone on the path to God-only-knows where. Much of the city remains locked down and at a standstill with public transport suspended and visible road blocks in many districts. It feels very much like martial law in all but name.

As police violence towards demonstrators reached a sickening nadir with the shooting of a high school student this afternoon, it is clear the government wants to send a message to the public. 'Resist and die' or something to that effect. The use of force on display today from 'Asia's most respected police force' came as no surprise to anyone, but was shocking in it's brutality nonetheless. Whilst public attitudes to the Police surely crystallised some time ago,  outrage sparked by police violence reached a crescendo in recent days with widespread reports of torture and sexual abuse suffered by detainees held on the border with China and now today's unprecedented scenes of violence captured on video and quickly shared on social media.

To the people of  Hong Kong the truth has now become abundantly clear. The rule of law is smashed, broken and bloody on the floor along with  the bodies and dreams of the city's brave youth. Any remnants of faith in the city's most vital institutions is gone forever, along with any sympathy for the territory's corrupt and incompetent leaders. This leads people to the inevitable conclusion that the government and their instruments are now the enemy of the people. Leaving millions of residents with an impossible conundrum, a question that many had avoided under the assumption things would never come to this, what if I don't want to live under 'actual' Chinese rule?

Many Hongkongers are existentially split on this point, they have always felt a kinship with the Chinese people, a pride at being counted amongst them - 'I'm Chinese and I'm a Hong Konger'; was the prevailing sentiment. But this was a pride and sense of identity that explicitly depended on being allowed to remain different and diverse. Now that China, (like Israel) has successfully made it's regime synonymous with the country itself,  many Hong Kong citizens are grappling for the first time with more fundamental questions of identity. Perhaps for the first time, it seems possible that this fragile society could collapse under the weight of it's own contradictions.

Today feels different not only because it marked a new low in terms of police violence, but because it likely signified the beginning of a new phase in hostilities, as Beijing visibly ramps up efforts to crush the pro-Democracy movement once and for all.  

On Monday, suspected pro government supporters put up posters throughout the city advertising for applicants for a 'Anti-Police Death Squad', a pathetically transparent attempt to provide justification for a later use of extreme force again demonstrators. As escalation seems to be the only government 'strategy' at this point, many feared Tuesday's demonstrations might be where we see the first deaths at the hands of security forces. Sure enough, there were at least five live rounds discharged by police throughout the day including one into the chest of a teenage demonstrator.


Meanwhile Carrie Lam smiled and laughed it up with Chinese elites in celebration of their Dear Leader, Xi, in Beijing. Whilst the government is not without supporters amongst certain limited sections of HK society, popular support is now vanishingly thin. It seems clear that on orders from Beijing, the HK government will make no more concessions. And has been tasked with actively crushing dissent.

The status-quo-ante is no longer an available option, what this means going forward is far from clear. What we do know is that today marked a violent shift in direction. The gloves are well and truly off now, and in a hugely asymmetrical struggle such as this, with little meaningful international support, the people of Hong Kong have every reason to be worried about their future as 'part of China but not under it'.

Corbyn castigated for NOT having a losing strategy.

A round of applause is overdue for the only principled party leader left in British politics. I really have to tip my hat to this man who despite the naysayers, propagandists and fanatics of both the Remain and Leave persuasion, has managed to walk the incredibly treacherous line between respecting the original referendum and seeking to present an informed and credible choice back to the people.

I don't want to leave the EU, I think it will be disastrous for the U.K. But for some strange reason my feed is awash with fellow middle-class liberal Remainer types who suddenly seem hell bent on getting the most right-wing government in British history re-elected with a bolstered majority and a mandate to dismantle our country. Let's get one thing absolutely straight.

The Labour party CANNOT become the party of Remain and win an election, period. Why? Because almost all of the key marginal seats they need to win that election (and all of which were  promised new hospitals this week by the Tories) heavily voted to Leave. Say it with me.

Reading the Guardian constantly criticizing Corbyn for trying to find a genuine compromise, save some last vestiges of faith in British Democracy and act strategically in the interests of a future Labour government is truly cancerous.

Corbyn is presented as weak and dithering, indecisive and 'on the fence' on this issue, whilst nothing could be further from the truth. I've been arguing this with people endlessly for months; the alternative was/is/will be electoral suicide.

Campaigning to revoke article 50 would in a stroke all but guarantee the alienation of millions of working class people in exactly the key marginal seats Labour NEEDS to gain power. The election will come down to these crucial swing seats in the former industrial heartlands where Labour absolutely must make gains. If you continue to ignore this fact because Brexit is the only issue of importance to you, you've already picked the hill you will die upon, now you just have to wait to see the manner of your death.