From Russia to China to…
Two pieces of international news came this week, both somewhat expected, yet both significant in magnitude — and potentially lasting consequences:
China passed a new “security” law allowing the central government to effectively neutralize political opposition in Hong Kong: in a document that looks quite similar to rules already in place in mainland China, local authorities now have the legal flexibility to act against protesters rather freely. This is the most important (formal) step towards this “Special region” becoming less special — and more integrated with the rest of the country;
Russia had a referendum that gave President Putin a clear go-ahead to potentially ruling the country till 2036: indeed, the vote resets the number of terms already served by Putin, therefore allowing him to run for another 2 come 2024 — each lasting 6 years. Given that the man is currently 67 years old, that would bring him to the grand old age of 83, provided no subsequent changes are made in the meantime…
These laws were no surprise: the control over Hong Kong had been an evident goal of the Chinese government after recent protests proved too violently critical to be ignored. In order to maintain a hold over not only the region but the entire country, in this tense political and economic climate, it became increasingly likely that Beijing would enforce stricter rules as quickly as it could. Meanwhile, the Russian referendum was not even necessary: changes to the constitution had already been approved by the Duma, this was essentially a political device setup by Vladimir Putin to reaffirm his popularity in the land.
While these new elements were to be expected, they still contribute to this overall feeling of unrest throughout the globe: from the United States to England to Brazil to Russia to China, not to mention so many other countries with moderate rulers but growing extremist parties (see: France, Germany, Italy…), the populist threat does seem to become ever more present in this young century of ours. Whether that triggers more instability and tension than there already is in the future remains to be seen. In any event, what we can do is support the more moderate political candidates in our respective countries, vocalize progressive opinions, try and fight the good fight despite it all…
For, although we can’t tell how bad it will get, this too shall pass…