When Hong Kong was plagued with a series of protests last year, which were triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill, it attracted the attention from superpower United States – the champion of human rights, freedom of speech and democracy. First started in mid March 2019, the ongoing protests took a short break due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Demonstrations in Hong Kong were mostly peaceful – until last year. After months of taking to the streets, the supposedly peaceful protests promoted by the pro-democracy movement turned violent after some hardcore activists clashed with the police. A government’s ban on face masks and police brutality sparked a further escalation of the already tension situation.
Even after the controversial extradition bill was dropped, the anger continued as protesters shifted focus to police abuses, including teenagers being shot by the authorities. Marches quickly morphed into pitched battles, as demonstrators blocked roads, threw bricks, set fires and vandalized subway stations or stores or any properties that they perceived to be pro-Beijing.
Still engaged in a trade war with China, U.S. President Donald Trump deliberately chose to add fuel to the fire when he signed into law a bill that supports pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. The Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates an annual review – to check if Hong Kong has enough autonomy to justify its special trading status with the United States.
While Beijing was furious at Trump’s interference in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, hundreds of protesters carried Amerian flags as they marched to the United States consulate in the former British colony to express gratitude for the legislation aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong. China has claimed the U.S. as the “black hand” in instigating the anti-government protests.
But it didn’t take long for Donald Trump to taste his own medicine. Now, the U.S. is experiencing the same Hong Kong violent protests in its own backyard. Chaotic scenes erupted as peaceful protesters turned violent across major cities in America after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died in Minneapolis police custody.
Apparently, George Floyd was killed last Monday (25 May), after a 44-year-old white police officer – Derek Chauvin – knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, despite Floyd pleading that he could not breathe. Floyd was arrested after he was suspected of trying to purchase cigarettes with a US$20 counterfeit bill. Mr Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
In a country with history where a single death can spark a revolution, the death of George Floyd couldn’t come at a worse time, especially to President Trump. It was already bad that the black man had lost his job as a security guard because of layoffs in the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn’t just die, but the way he died in what critics said was caused by police brutality.
Pleading for his life, the way Floyd died was captured on video and triggered angry people into the streets across the country – from Minneapolis to Detroit to New York to Atlanta, and from Los Angeles to Kansas City to Las Vegas and other cities. Clearly the nationwide violent protests are more massive than Hong Kong’s. And China happily seized the opportunity.
Comparing the widespread unrest in the U.S. to the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, Chinese officials have accused Washington of hypocrisy. Foreign ministry spokesman, Lijian Zhao, criticized – “Why does the U.S. beautifies the so-called Hong Kong independence and violent elements as heroes and fighters while it calls its own people protesting against racial discrimination ‘rioters’?”
Zhao continued – “Why does the U.S. point fingers at the constrained law enforcement by Hong Kong police, but turn a blind eye to what happens at home while using shooting and even the National Guard against the protesters?” Lecturing American politicians, he told the U.S. to eliminate racial discrimination and protect the lawful rights of minorities. But the mocking has just begun.
In 2019, House Speaker Nancy Peloci called pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong “a beautiful sight to behold”. But over the weekend, the same phrase – “beautiful sight” – was trending on Chinese social media, but over the looting and burning of American buildings. China’s Global Times newspaper, ran an editorial entitled – “Watch out! ‘Beautiful sight’ in HK is spreading across the U.S.”
Global Times mocked and ridiculed American politicians’ reaction to Hong Kong protests last year – “Obviously, they didn’t expect such a beautiful sight to expand so fast that it could be seen now from their own windows. The protests in the U.S. are like a mirror that reflects the shame and disgrace of U.S. politicians as well as the deep-rooted political dysfunction and chaotic values in the U.S.”
Editor Hu Xijin sarcastically wrote – “I highly suspect that Hong Kong rioters have infiltrated American states. Attacking police stations, smashing shops, blocking roads, breaking public facilities, these are all routine in their protests. Vicious HK rioters obviously are masterminds of violent protests across the U.S. Let’s wait and see which country will encounter more chaos.”
But the mocking and ridiculing didn’t stop there. In response to Trump’s tweets about the Secret Service protecting the White House (and rushed him to bunkers) as protests spread to the official residence of the U.S. president, Mr. Hu tweeted – “Mr. President, don’t hide behind the Secret Service. Go to talk to demonstrators seriously. Negotiate with them, just like you urged Beijing to talk to Hong Kong rioters.”
“I can’t breathe,” – wrote Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, in a tweet on Saturday – a reference to the final words uttered repeatedly by a handcuffed George Floyd while gasping for air as white Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck. Her tweet was in retaliation at her U.S. counterpart, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.
Morgan Ortagus had earlier posted a tweet condemning Beijing’s plan to impose a national security law on Hong Kong – “This is a pivotal moment for the world. It will go down in history. Freedom loving people around the world must stand with the rule of law and hold to account the Chinese Communist Party, which has flagrantly broken its promises to the people of Hong Kong.”
Trump has announced that he would strip Hong Kong of its special privileges over the Hong Kong security law. But with protests in at least 140 cities across the U.S., China Daily said – “Better give up that dream and come back to reality. Violence is spreading across the US … US politicians should do their jobs and help solve problems in the US, instead of trying to create new problems and troubles in other countries.”
Joining the party were Russia and Iran. Hitting back at the U.S. who often criticises Russian deplorable human rights, Dmitry Polyanskiy, a Russian diplomat at the U.N. in New York, has accused America of double standard – “Why US denies China’s right to restore peace and order in HK while brutally dispersing crowds at home?”
Similarly, Iran also highlighted the U.S.’ hypocrisy. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, posted to Twitter an edited screenshot of a 2018 statement by American officials criticizing the country’s protests – “Some don’t think #BlackLivesMatter. To those of us who do: it is long overdue for the entire world to wage war against racism. Time for a #WorldAgainstRacism”. - financetwitter
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