In America, people tired of systemic racial discrimination and enraged by the death of George Floyd are rampaging on the streets. They light fires and hurl rocks at the police. Within 48 hours, President Trump calls them thugs, tweets about looting and shooting, and warns “soft” Democrat governors that he’ll call in the army if they can’t keep control.
In Hong Kong, people worried about fewer freedoms under Chinese rule rampage on the streets. They light fires and hurl rocks at the police. And they do this for months, crippling the city and terrifying its residents. President Xi says the central government will introduce a national security law, as it is legally entitled to do under the Basic Law. And President Trump? He says Xi is trampling on Hong Kong’s rights and imposes sanctions!
If it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable. Sadly, the ironies don’t end there.
Much of the western world has embraced Hong Kong political activist Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the Umbrella protest movement in 2014, as a brave young man fighting for democracy and reportedly a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. So who should Wong, a vocal critic of police brutality and authoritarianism throughout the protests, turn to for support? Why, Donald Trump of course.
Wong actively solicited American intervention in Hong Kong and Trump, always keen to have another poke at China, happily obliged, revoking Hong Kong’s special trading status. Having sponsored economic sanctions against his home territory, Wong now has the gall to blame Xi for them!
While some big questions remain about the scope of the new law, and the role of Hong Kong judiciary in implementing it, it’s ludicrous for Trump or others to suggest this marks the end of “One Country, Two Systems”. A national security law was always part of the deal signed by the UK and China. The sad reality is that, after 23 years of dithering by successive Chief Executives, and a hopelessly divided pro-democracy camp, this was the only course of action left on the table. As former justice secretary Elsie Leung put it, Hong Kong must choose the lesser of two evils – American retaliation or a foreign investment exodus from an unstable society lacking a security law.
And let’s not forget how unstable Hong Kong was for much of last year – and still is. In recent days, we have seen disturbing incidents of individuals being assaulted for removing barriers or questioning protestors, as well as police reports of more serious weapons being stockpiled. Just when the city was picking itself up from the debilitating effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, it was gut-wrenching to see the street violence return.
Some suggest Trump’s sanctions may hurt the US more than Hong Kong. A small fraction of Hong Kong exports goes to the US, while the American trade surplus with the city is around USD 30 billion every year, not to mention the 1300 American companies operating in Hong Kong, 278 of which serve as regional headquarters. But for once Trump finds himself in a coalition of countries, along with the UK, Australia and Canada, critical of the new law.
Another sad reality for the likes of Joshua Wong, though, is that Trump doesn’t give a damn about the young people of Hong Kong. Re-election in November is the only concern and he’ll do whatever it takes, blaming others and distracting voters from his own shortcomings in order to succeed. Indeed, one by-product of Trump’s intensified rhetoric against China and the WHO over the “Wuhan virus” has been a resurgence in attacks and hate-speech directed against Asians around the world.
Foreign intervention in Hong Kong can only be counterproductive and will end badly for its citizens. What Hong Kong needs now, as it has for some time, is home-grown leadership to find a way through this mess.
Carrie Lam has proved hopelessly inadequate to date. The pro-democracy camp is crying out for a charismatic leader to harness the energy of young protestors and channel the community’s desire for electoral reform. But who?
Surely there must be someone, within or outside the political domain, willing to do the hard yards to constructively engage the pro-Beijing camp and progressively bring about meaningful reform. Now that would be worthy of a Nobel nomination!