Hong Kong democracy supporters are in a desperate fight to keep Middle Kingdom influence out of their territory. The Communist Party in mainland China is eager to integrate Hong Kong (and its wealth) into its ever-expanding grasp. The former British colony has generations of youth who have only known democracy and freedom, things that don't jibe well with the ChiComs.
Protesters have been battling the extradition legislation that the Hong Kong government has been debating. They fear citizens and demonstrators being extradited to China to face harsh and pointless courts. Because if the Communist Party wants you to disappear, you disappear. No matter how wealthy, how popular, how famous you might be. (See Bingbing, Fan.)
It seemed like a victory when pro-democracy protesters came out by the hundreds of thousands and shut down government buildings. They convinced their leaders (some of whom are pro-Beijing legislators) to withdraw the bill temporarily.
But the extradition plan wasn't entirely scrapped, so protests continued. And last weekend things got bloody thanks to some jackbooted thugs:
"The next day, dozens of men in white T-shirts and masks descended on a railway station in Yuen Long where they beat commuters with long bamboo rods and pipes. Footage showed several men punching and kneeing demonstrators returning from an anti-government march. Photos showed commuters with bloodied faces and blood smeared on the station floor. At least 45 people were taken to hospital."--The Guardian
The newspaper goes on to report that journalists were attacked, too. When the bamboo rods and pipes go to swingin', anybody in the way gets whacked.
Police in Hong Kong, usually around to monitor protests, only showed up long after the attackers left. To make matters worse, there's video footage of a pro-Beijing legislator shaking hands with attackers and calling them "his heroes."
Police denied they were involved in any wrongdoing, and the legislator later condemned the attacks, but the optics are pretty damning. On Reddit, commenters discussing the attacks said callers to 999 (their version of 911) were being disconnected. It doesn't seem like there's any hard evidence the ChiComs hired local thugs to attack protesters, but something sure doesn't pass the smell test here.
A Catholic church worker, who was attacked while trying to help a woman reporting on the protests, told The Guardian, "'Normally, they won't attack local citizens. Utilizing triads to assault citizens, threatening them to withdraw from the social movement, is a common tactic used by the Communist party, qunzhong dou qunzhong'--'the masses fighting the masses'. It seems the government has no way to stop the protests.'"
The masses fighting the masses? Now that sounds like a strategy straight out of the Red Chinese playbook.
Hong Kong is already living on borrowed time. When the British returned control to China in 1997, it was understood that Beijing would guarantee Hong Kong's economic and political systems for 50 years after the transfer. So in 2047, China is free to just go ahead and sweep democratically elected leaders aside and introduce Hongkongers to the magic of "do what we say, or else."
It seems the ChiComs are getting antsy. So they're inching forward and testing the waters of this free "special administrative region." Think of it as skipping your vegetables to get to dessert.
We should encourage our congressional leaders to strengthen ties with the struggling democrats. The ChiComs have a deal in place. They'd sure protest if Hong Kong tried to slow things down in 28 more years.
Editorial on 07/24/2019