Same tbh
Discussion
I’m Hong Kong born, a Canadian citizen, and a US permanent resident. My fear of disappearing in HK at the hands of the government is non-zero because I made a post on nostr telling them to go fuck themselves. I will go visit to see family but I don’t know about attending a conference about censorship resistance in HK.
Yeah, same tbh, I don’t think I’d risk it, although #[6] lives there and says it’s a non-issue 😅
There are a few aspects to think about here:
Japan is a great choice and better suited for most of the international community who don't want to risk feeling unsafe, but someone still needs to push the envelope wrt the 20% of our fellow humans who don't live outside China.
People should recognise that there's a degree of propaganda designed to manufacture consent for xyz, sprouting from the same machinery that treated anyone without an mRNA vaccine like a criminal, locked people in their homes, and froze bank accounts (none of which happened in HK by the way).
Gavin and Vitalik along with about 20,000 other shitcoiners have descended on HK for a shitcoin conference (and all these shitcoins are ostensibly "censorship resistant"). Granted, they're only doing it because they want Chinese money, but still a valid data point.
I spent 22 years of my life in Hong Kong and was very active in the protests movement.
It’s simply not rationale to try and have a Nostr freedom conference in HK without risking having all your data mined by CCP.
Anyone who tells you differently and says HK is friendly towards tech is being disingenuous, naive or both. HK is a police state in every sense of the word. A Nostr conference in HK would be a honey pot for intel.
Better to go to Japan.
Exactly
HK’s latest buzz topic to get itself outta the shit heap it threw itself into is to become a ‘tech hub’. Firstly, HK has announced it will be about 20 different kind of hubs in last 20+years. None exist, except as a hub for repression and authoritarianism.
Secondly, HK authorities ARE interested in tech and do want to promote it, but not the kinda tech Nostr is built on. China wants to export tech it can control and kill tech that can’t be controlled. At the height of the protest movement, HKongers were the most digitally connected network on the net, and they pioneered many original tactics, like coordinating protests via airdrop. Conversely the HK police are very active in prosecuting people for their online views and actions and constantly send police actions to social media platforms. I’m sure HKongers will migrate to Nostr as they learn about it and realise they can’t be censored here - but it doesn’t need a conference infested with CCP spies to do this.
appreciate all the feedback
I've been to Hong Kong a few times. I'm sad that I may never be able to visit again. Right now, there's no way I'd go to a privacy conference in HK.
I also have a 10 year visa for China... and it's likely I will never visit again.
thanks for your feedback Peter 🤙
Wow. I had no idea it was that tight. Thank you for your insight and frankly your bravery.
I’m not brave at all. I’m safe in North America just making posts online with no real consequences.
Just look up all the major events that have happened in HK in the past few years, and the lead up from the last few decades. Many protesters have disappeared, pro-independence party and lawmakers ousted and banned, and HK is a police state. It’s one of the reasons why my family left in the 90s, and the main reason why my cousins left HK last year. Any chance of freedom in Hong Kong is dead and will get only worse. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.
tbf sounds like Nostr is needed there
It's all relative, and full of tradeoffs as always. As an Australian citizen HK has consistently been the lesser evil over the last 10 years.
I was particularly greatful to have HK permanent residence during Covid, it meant there was somewhere I could live where my movement was not restricted and I wasn't coerced into any unneccessary medical interventions, it was very painful to see what happened to the rest of my family who were not able to escape.
That said, I would absolutely not want to be in the mainland, and so along the current trajectory I won't be able to stay in HK forever either. Networks like Bitcoin and Nostr potentially have the power to raise the general consciousness and enable change.