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A comment on Daniel Ellsberg: The 90-year-old whistleblower tempting prosecution. Parent comment

Re:Daniel Ellsberg: The 90-year-old whistleblower tempting p... by lkramer on Monday June 07, 2021 @03:38AM (#27420045)
Before Hong Kong I would probably have agreed with you, but You're assuming a purely rational reasoning. For China, and Xi in particular, there is a big element of national and personal pride at stake. It's for the same reason they have risked strangling Hong Kong in order to bring it more in line with the rest of China.

Xi (more so than his predecessors) is quite happy to take a short term loss for (what he sees) as a long term gain. In addition, he would love to be remembered in history as the man he reunified China.

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Re:Daniel Ellsberg: The 90-year-old whistleblower tempting p... by michaelt on Monday June 07, 2021 @04:39AM (#27420367)
Furthermore, Hong Kong and Crimea show that western powers aren't spoiling for a fight - especially if you can present them with a fait accompli.
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Re:Daniel Ellsberg: The 90-year-old whistleblower tempting p... by maybelsyrup on Monday June 07, 2021 @07:07AM (#27421167)
Agreed. This is what an obsessive focus on "facts and logic" at the expense of a similar focus on emotion, instinct, and subjectivity gets you. People have values that often contradict rationality, and in too many cases they're ready to kill and die for them.
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