Every day, Didier François deals with an international topic.
The standoff in Hong Kong between the pro-democracy movement and the pro-Chinese authorities is getting tougher with the control of the international airport occupied by several thousand demonstrators. To the point that since Monday, all the flights have been canceled, causing an extremely strong riposte of Beijing.
China is threatening to ban its airspace from the Hong Kong airline's planes. An ultimatum has been sent to Cathay Pacific which will "strengthen internal control and improve flight safety" by August 15th. In fact, the Chinese Communist authorities demand that the airline provide them with a complete list of its pilots and personnel, along with an assessment of their sympathy with the protest movement. China refuses to fly over its territory to any crew with even one pro-democracy activist, denounced as "violent criminals" by the official press who launched a massive campaign against Cathay Pacific employees after that the flight crew union supported the protesters. This is an incredible blackmail that has never been exercised to date by any country in the world but is extremely effective since the profitability of the company is obviously extremely dependent on its service and flight over mainland China.
The Cathay Pacific will therefore give in to the ultimatum of Beijing?
Absolutely! Its president (Rupert Hogg) has already announced in a message to all its employees that they are "obliged" to comply with the regulations of the Chinese civil aviation and that "disciplinary consequences" would strike employees "who support or participate illegal demonstrations ". Starting obviously by the protest actions within the airport of Hong Kong. "The consequences can be serious and involve the termination of the employment contract," warns the CEO of the company that announces having already dismissed three of its drivers. We can see that we are facing a new form of repression of the democratic movement. Admittedly, much less spectacular than police charges or threats of military intervention, but the effects of which could be much more devastating for the sustainability of the movement.
This is the system applied in Mainland China?
Yes, and this is also the reason for this protest movement of the people of Hong Kong that sees an absolute social control set up, little by little. It nibbles the last guarantees of autonomy and democracy promised in 1997 during the handover of Hong Kong to China. The horrifying thing about the Chinese communist system in the era of Xi Jinping and mass computing technologies is the total effectiveness of its hold on every aspect of people's lives. Facial recognition programs (coupled with artificial intelligence algorithms) have enabled the Beijing regime to set up the largest surveillance project in the world. Giant files constantly manage the behavior of all citizens who are assigned social notes that determine their right to a passport, a train ticket or a job. And no one can escape! In 2020, the actions of the Chinese will be scrutinized by 600 million interconnected cameras. China is inventing totalitarianism 2.0 and that is what scares Hong Kongers.