Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<< Kind of a strange statement >>> <<I think it's a strange statement all around. What does the form of government possibly have to do with where to locate a Disney park, other than any issues concerning the deal directly? The questioner almost seemed to be hinting at Disney having some sort of moral duty to NOT build a park in a country that wasn't democratic even if the business case supported it. It's a very strange notion.>> Well you have to remember its not just a moral duty so much as an IMAGE duty as well . Disney is considered family entertainment with wholesome values and there are certain places where people will question that. I mean, just giving a broad example, Disney couldn't put a park in Zimbabwe without every civil rights group in the world will question it even if the government and economy was suddenly the most stable in the world. Even China, where this discussion started from, people question should Disney partner themselves so closely to a communist country even though everyone else is now lol. Hell, I might be working in China next year . I also think thats partly why Hong Kong got a Disney park first. Besides the fact its in a big tourist city, a little richer and more westernized, its also considered democratic as well. So it's a nice starting point to get in China and getting people use to seeing Disney there with a bigger footprint in the future. Just an opinion though .
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Even China, where this discussion started from, people question should Disney partner themselves so closely to a communist country even though everyone else is now lol. >>> ... including Disney itself, where most of the in-park goods sold in all the parks worldwide are made? Or, where most of the stuff that Joe Sixpack buys at Wal-Mart is made? <<< I also think thats partly why Hong Kong got a Disney park first. Besides the fact its in a big tourist city, a little richer and more westernized, its also considered democratic as well. >>> The huge irony here is that Hong Kong was governed from the top down for 150 years under British colonial rule, with a Governor appointed by the Crown, and who answered to nobody locally. The British had all that time to establish democracy in Hong Kong, but seemingly had no interest whatever in doing so until the very end, when they tried to quickly establish at least partial democracy so that it could be in place before the handover to China and hopefully grandfathered.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Wait till the free tibet protesters start flying tibetan flags inside Shanghai Disneyland, then the mouse will start to have serious regrets about going into mainland China. Not to mention the beauracracy and corruption of mainland China. Hong Kong has all of this, but to a much smaller degree... so if the mouse already has a headache from HK, it's only going to be worse in Shanghai, IMO. - Anatole
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Not to mention the beauracracy and corruption of mainland China. Hong Kong has all of this, but to a much smaller degree... so if the mouse already has a headache from HK, it's only going to be worse in Shanghai, IMO. >>> Although mainland China is rife with problems in this area, Hong Kong is generally regarded very highly in terms of lack of corruption. In fact, it regularly ranks as having less corruption than the United States.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Corruption may be a wrong wrong, but how about collution then? Not unusual in the US either, but it still exists in HK. EG one of the powerful families in HK made a ton of money through real estate investment along the MTR line buy buying land that the government would later need to own for the MTR and then selling it at a higher price or holding onto it to develop business and commercial interests along the route. Also the government owns lots of property along the shoreline and can choose who gets to develop it and for what reasons, sometimes against the public interests. Or reclamation of HK harbor despite its decreasing size. If all of this is above board in terms of collusion between business and politcs at the expense of the public interests, I would expect this to be even worse in mainland China. How did that land for Shanghai Disneyland become available anyway, my understanding is it was a land grab by the government. Fun. - Anatole
