Hong Kong And Its Greater World Impact ~ Nicholas Ventresca

-
As I'm sure everyone is well-aware, over the past few months, there have been many protests against the Chinese government in Hong Kong. These protests are against a proposed bill that would have criminals arrested in Hong Kong be tried in mainland Chinese courts. This would give the Chinese government increased control over Hong Kong and its citizens, as they are potentially subject to corrupt judicial processes that would force the people of Hong Kong to abide by Chinese rules.

Image result for blizzard
Blizzard is a video game company that makes and owns several games
However, there has been a clear lack of international support, not only from other nations but also from global businesses. For example, the video game company Blizzard has recently been caught up in the Hong Kong controversy. During a tournament for one of their games, the winner of the tournament, a player from Hong Kong named Ng Wai Chung, said the slogan of the protests, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on a live-streamed post-tournament interview. In response, Blizzard banned the player from all-future tournaments and has taken away any prize money he had just won. This has sparked outrage from many players and even Blizzard employees themselves. At Blizzard's headquarters, there is a plaque on the wall that says Blizzard's, "core-values". Among these values were, 'think globally' and 'every voice matters'; two values which one anonymous discontent employee covered up after Blizzard's punishment of Chung. Even other corporations such as the NBA have also been involved in this controversy after they forced the general manager of the Rockets to take down a tweet voicing his support of the Hong Kong protests.

Image result for hong kong protests
Image taken at a Hong Kong protest
Now as many may be wondering, the big question is now why? Why would a corporation stand with such a clearly corrupt government? Well, ladies and gentlemen, the answer is sadly all too simple; money. China is the second-best economy in the world and has a population of almost 1.4 billion people. With such a large company and so many potential customers living in China, it is far too risky for a corporation to risk angering the Chinese government and making them implement a ban on its products. While this does make sense logically, ethically, citizens of free governments around the world should be appalled. The only way that the rights of the citizens of Hong Kong can be protected is through collective international intervention, regardless of the economic drawbacks that it may cause. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves what the importance of a voice is if we never use it to speak up for those who can not do so for themselves.

- Nicholas Ventresca, October 27, 2019

Comments

  1. DanielleOctober 28, 2019 at 8:50 AM

    Money is often the root of many strong convictions. That last question is certainly one worth asking.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient Greek Heroes VS. Modern Day Heroes

-
Image
Heroes in Greek/Anglo-Saxon (I am grouping the types of historical literature we have read) writing are very obvious and much of ancient Greek literature involves a central hero or a supernatural story. In modern day English, however, the plots are less often mythical and more realistic. Since each person has a different definition for heroism, modern day heroism literature can be more varied. Ancient Greek writing is very often far-fetched, however. There are many similarities and differences between the two types of writing, but first I will run through the most significant differences. In Greek mythology, heroes were often religious figures, like demigods, while modern day writing focuses more on ordinary people. This could be because authors nowadays want the readers to be able to relate with the heroes in their stories. Greek writing had heroes that had the power to protect or destroy the people depending on prevailing circumstances. In contrast, modern day heroes are acknowledg...
Read more

My Brother by Elizabeth Hailey DeGasperis

-
Image
          When I contemplate what is most important in my life, my mind is drawn to my 21-year-old brother, Tom. There are not enough words in the English language I could use to describe what he means to me. I cannot imagine the past fifteen years of my life without him. Allow me to start from the beginning.           Even when I was an infant, he never failed to take me out of my crib, strap me in my high chair, and cook scrambled eggs for us (at the tender age of six). He did this so my mother could catch up on sleep in the mornings and take care of me however he could. I only wish I could return the favour in some way. Though we have always been tight, we used to fight frequently as all siblings do. As immature children, we viewed every ordeal as monumental. The apocalypse would occur if either of us decided to give the other access to the TV remote or the pogo sticks for five minutes. However, we would always make-up in the end and...
Read more

Not Fate, Just a Coincidence - Sila Paniker

-
Image
The idea of fate confuses me. I don't really understand how something will happen no matter what you do. It just seems very unlikely. I think we're constantly making choices that lead to occurrences. We make so many decisions a day that it seems impossible that fate can find a way around it all.  Awhile ago, I saw something called the Butterfly Effect, which doesn't exactly relate to fate but it makes sense to me. The idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the world. Essentially, small changes can have large impacts. In my head, this connects with the thousands of tiny decisions we subconsciously make each day. There are people I've met or things that have happened and it feels like it was meant to be but they're just a bunch of coincidences that had the ability to change everything. Thinking about it, there are reasons that can explain everything. For example, I met one of my closest friends a few years ago a...
Read more