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China demands UK talks with Argentina over Falklands slamming 'colonial legacy'
(www.express.co.uk)
_A study of the influence of such factors as geography, economics, and demography on the politics and especially the foreign policy of a state_
Withdrawing support as a consequence of someone's actions seems like it fits the definition of punishment.
The point I was trying to make is: who are you really trying to punish? Everyone involved in the opium wars is long dead, everyone involved in the handing over of Hong Kong, or the lack thereof, is either dead or very nearly so. The exception being King Charles, who was present for the handover, and the extent the British royalty had influence in that decision could start an entirely separate debate.
Today the UK is a trashy backwater island isolating itself from its neighbours, with a failing economy and an unstable currency, I say that as someone who was born here and lived here my entire life. Current living British people have no more influence over political theatre than they did during the opium wars, or during Hong Kong. So who are you really trying to punish?