I just read China Law Blog about HK being closed for international business.

For those who are wondering, I have been on r/China for about 8 years, 6 in this account. I was a management consultant in China for 10 years. I moved away 4 years ago.

Before I left, many foreigners were leaving. The real international schools in Beijing and Shanghai were losing students. The Japanese schools lost so many students they were barely holding on.

My best friend from my time in China is a corporate lawyer, head of Asia Pacific region for a Fortune 500, NYSE listed company. He doesn't go back to China because he believes it's dangerous for him. Another friend was head liaison to China in the Commerce Department for a Western country; he quite because he didn't think it would be safe for him to go to China any more. Another good friend - Taiwanese man - doesn't post on Facebook nor Wechat because it's gotten dangerous for him to say what he things. He just sold his factory and is trying to get out within a year.

I'm in Japan now, just teaching English. I have a lot of students who worked in China. They are all looking to get stationed in Vietnam. Their companies cannot pull out fast enough.

Things are different now. Before, I would have commented on the shit going down in HK anywhere I want. I would have talked about it with any Chinese friend. My Chinese friends - guys who were smart, dynamic, and inquisitive - have long ago drunken the koolaid.

And right now, I'm pretty sure that if I posted a free-HK meme on Facebook, it would be tagged and and that info collated and used by the foreign ministry in visa decisions. Yeah I can hear the r/sino people saying "Good. Don't go to China." OK I won't. China thinks companies will not hire people that have criticized China. The world will be censored because the China market is so great. Maybe. But companies also don't want to worry about if they can send their people or not. This is why Western business - and with it Western investment - is going to flood out of China. As this happens, the situation in China WILL get more unstable.

Just some thoughts, folks.