by Mark Armstrong
We’re all aware of the Hong Kong protests, but they may be more serious than we knew. This isn’t a crowd of antifa-types, though Chinese authorities say there are thuggish elements within them. This massive uprising entails general strikes by city workers and professionals of every stripe. At this writing, it’s been going on constantly for over two months. The crowds are huge and clashes with police have resulted in lots of people being hospitalized. Strikes are in effect across many segments of society and it’s threatening to grind the city to a halt.
Travel and tourism are suffering as airport workers, airline crews and pilots are participating.
All this happened because China tried to implement a law in Hong Kong that would allow people charged with whatever crime to be extradited to the mainland for prosecution, or whatever else may happen to those charged with crimes by the communist regime. Hong Kong’s female governor, Carrie Lam, presumably with approval from Chinese officials, publicly revoked the extradition rule but it was too late.
Residents of Hong Kong, having long enjoyed the freedoms and protections of British custom and law, feared that their lives and freedoms were about to be subsumed by the brutality of the communist regime. The Chinese legal system doesn’t have the best reputation, to put it mildly. Hong Kongers, as they call themselves, expect to be able to live under a system of relative freedom at least until 2047 when Hong Kong is due to revert to full Chinese control.
Reports show that these demonstrations have brought out young adults who will only be middle-aged by 2047 and believe that now is the time to stand up to the communist Chinese regime. They’ve blocked subway entrances, major boulevards, and congregated around government buildings. With the strikes now targeting travel, tourism, and city boulevards, the Chinese government is showing signs of getting tough.
Most think of Hong Kong as being the busy Lantau Island that is home to the international airport and financial center, and Hong Kong Island. The New Territories, however, is included under the British treaties, and entails part of the Chinese mainland only separated by a border. Recent reports indicate a build-up of Chinese military forces along that border. This has been reported even by the White House, which says the situation is being carefully monitored.
No one has forgotten the brutality with which the Chinese dealt with the protests in Tienanmen Square in 1989, and there are fears that another brutal military crackdown may be in the offing, treaty or no treaty. The protesters show no sign of backing down, and neither does the communist regime.
Hong Kong Airport was shut down as demonstrations paralyzed operations August 12. The Chinese Foreign Ministry claims the unrest is the handiwork of the United States, and that American faces have appeared within the crowds. Chinese troops are said to be in Hong Kong, on standby, keeping a low profile. But for how long?
Even though the U.S. has no involvement or direct interest in what is going on in Hong Kong, some of the protesters are carrying the American flag and singing the national anthem. President Trump has said only that he wants everything to work out and expressed the hope that, “nobody gets killed.” ABC News reports that the State Department has called for restraint on all sides, “but has vocalized more support for the protesters than Trump, saying the U.S. is ‘staunch in our support for freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in Hong Kong.’ ” But Chinese officials want to blame the United States for instigating the ongoing debacle.
Far from instigating the perilous situation in Hong Kong, Americans are feeling helpless to do anything about resolving a situation where 7 ½ million residents are facing the loss of freedoms they have known from a Chinese government that exerts ruthless control over access to information and freedoms of every kind. “What are we supposed to do? Invade Hong Kong?,” asked the President in response to media questions.
The trade situation is still in flux between the U.S. and China. President Trump has come out with the statement that China must deal with the Hong Kong situation humanely if they want a workable trade deal with the United States. Now Chinese officials will at least have to consider those ramifications in whatever actions they take to restore order. Other than that, this looks like it may not have a solution.
