colonialism, brexit, national security law

separate events look interesting when considered together.

year 2020:

people’s republic of china passed national security law on hong kong ;
brexit – uk leaving the european union

beijing passed draconian laws on hong kong, with “colluding with foreign forces” popping up in google search boxes even without one typing much.
london reacted by giving most hongkongers living there prior to 1997, the current or past british national overseas (bno) holders an option to live, work, study, etc. in the uk with an eventual path to british citizenship. a measure which they denied hongkongers in the 1990s.

 

it is interesting because so many expatriated chinese gained foreign citizenships over the years, decades or centuries. are these overseas, ethnic chinese “foreign forces”? also without hong kong being the middleman and “colluding with foreign forces”, could china have received the techno know-how, the legal and accounting systems that are central to (international) trade?

on the other hand, while thousands (il)legal immigrants still want to get to uk in whatever means, many must be jealous of what the hongkongers can apply for. over the channel in spain, brits who voted brexit are fearing deportation! strange world, isn’t it?

https://www.indy100.com/news/brexit-spain-deportation-leave-eu-b1823499

bno application

kendji gitano

gypsy 吉布賽人，一旦聽到這名詞便覺得有點神秘。像是傳說裡跑出來的人物。法語歌手kendji就給我這種感覺。他的歌大部份是法文，也有唱西班牙文的，但感覺就多是西班牙的gitano。讀者不如聽聽，嘗試感受一吓佢嘅曲風。
https://youtu.be/9WOJi80zTBg

kendji, which sounded almost japanese and indeed there is one lengendary japanese entertainer who deserves a whole long blog entry. anyway, kendji, whom sings in french and spanish, often times with a very gypsy, or should i say, a mythical feel. he caught my attention with his interpretation of maître gims’ Bella. hear for yourself if you get any gitano vibes.

multilingualism in times of depression

i m not depressed but the month of march has a series of events that will easily suffocate people in my hometown.

the mass arrest and detention of hong kong politicians and activists continue; the social unrest in myanmar adds too many casualties on a daily basis. on a not so personal level, two people who influenced me passed from earth to heaven.

taking a break from all the negativity, this weekend i indulge myself in some free online language workshops. in addition to the usual castellano ones, there are kalligraphie arabische, german prononciation, as well as a hello-goodbye course in greek.

indeed the world exists outside of our routines. do take time to infuse new ideas and thinking. the battle never ends, but smelling the roses from time to time does our bodies good.

kalligraphie15

german 2021 03 27

greek 2021 03 27

unam oaxaca34