Ron, I once stated that I desired to see ... no, I expected to see, something innovative from Hong Kong when faced with what hazards others in the region had already failed to thwart. I hadn't even a smidgeon of doubt that the Hongkongers would at some point attempt an end game, that swift and critical act intended not just to counter but defeat the force about to pitch them from their island boat. Having not just walked out of the woods, I of course realized what passive support there was in the communal wealth of a billion ancestral siblings. In that sense, and in that sense only, I welcome their presence. Too bad, it ought to be different, but that's the way I see it.
Others, unfortunately, aren't so capable of producing the end game. Again, much to Hong Kong's credit they did not sit in the calm wake of recent crisis but dispatched their officials abroad to discuss what learning there was in the experience.
Neither am I optimistic that U.S. policy-makers can continue to plow trouble into the distance. It appears that is what's being attempted. I certainly see nothing innovative or decisive. Maybe it's just me, but I believe it's what's required. We'll know it if we see it, I guess. Until then, two-thirds sounds good to me. |
