Tag: Hong Kong protests

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Is America Doing Enough for Freedom Protesters?

This article was prepared exclusively for the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by Judge John H. Wilson (Ret.)

In two places on our globe, Democracy movements have broken out in full force – Hong Kong, and Iran.  Both are inspired by the freedom and self-rule which the United States of America represents.  But just what as a country are we doing to fan these sparks into a blaze?

Overall, it seems we are doing next to nothing in support of either of these movements.

The current protests in Hong Kong began in April of this year, when the Chinese government introduced a bill which would have allowed for people accused of crimes in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China for their trials.  As described by the BBC,  “Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony but then returned to China. Under the “one country, two systems” arrangement, it has some autonomy, and its people more rights.”   

Fearing that this bill would lead to the incarceration and potential execution of dissidents, the people of Hong Kong took to the streets, and have been there ever since.  Despite the extradition bill being withdrawn in September, the protestors have four other demands –  “For the protests not to be characterized as a “riot”;  Amnesty for arrested protesters; An independent inquiry into alleged police brutality; and Implementation of complete universal suffrage.” 

Despite the efforts of mainland China to suppress the protestors, the desire for freedom continues to spread.  Last month, 7 out of 10 eligible voters cast their ballots in Hong Kong’s local elections for pro-democracy candidates, who took 389 out of 452 seats in local district councils. 

The protests continue up to the time of this writing, and during a Thanksgiving day rally, the protestors sang our national anthem, and held up pictures of President Donald Trump – at least, President Trump’s face superimposed on an image of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa.  

What exactly has the United States done to support the huddled masses of Hong Kong, yearning to be free?

At the end of November, President Trump signed two bills;  “The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and requires an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. The second bill prohibits export to Hong Kong police of certain nonlethal munitions, including tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water cannons, stun guns and tasers.” 

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Meanwhile, in Iran, there have been a series of protests against the government installed by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.  In June, the streets of Tehran were filled with thousands of protestors, who were described by the Independent as a “response to the soaring cost of living and plummeting value of the rial, following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the (Obama) nuclear deal.”  In reality, however, these on-going protests are not merely in support of economic concerns. 

According to Amnesty International, more than 100 protestors in 21 cities have been killed by the Iranian security forces in the past month.  More than 1,000 have been detained.  Yet, the protests go on.

While it is true that the recent protests were sparked by an increase in fuel prices in Iran, that increase, and other economic “belt-tightening” was necessitated by heavier sanctions imposed on Iran by the Trump administration.   But despite these efforts to free themselves from the tyranny of the mullahs, sanctions are the only concrete measure taken by the US government to date.

Both the Chinese and the Iranian governments blame the US government for the unrest in their countries, and claim that President Trump is fostering these protests. But in reality, other than sanctions and toothless bills in support of the protestors, the US government is not doing anything to encourage or support these protests.

In the 1980’s, President Ronald Reagan reversed the policy of “containment” of communism in favor of a “roll back” policy – that is, as Reagan said,  “We must stand by all our democratic allies. And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.” 

It is time that the United States returns to this robust policy of increasing democracy and freedom across the globe.  However, it has become equally obvious that President Trump is not interested in involving the United States in any foreign wars whatsoever. 

No one is seriously advocating war with either the Chinese or with Iran.  But unless more is done to help the people of Hong Kong and Iran, both may suffer the fate the Iranians suffered in 2009 when President Obama failed to act in support of the “Green Revolution” – death and incarceration of protestors on a large scale.

Photo: Pixabay

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China Escapes Criticism for Hong Kong Repression

The plight of the over seven million inhabitants of Hong Kong, who are being deprived of their freedom by the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic government of China, should receive the same level of sympathy and support exhibited worldwide for other significant human rights concerns, such as that which was provided to fight apartheid in South Africa. 

That this has not occurred is not an accident. Unlike Russia, or its predecessor the Soviet Union, China has been able to combine its more sophisticated understanding of public relations and utilize its financial leverage to quell criticism.

It is a remarkable political accomplishment. Beijing operates hundreds of concentration camps in which political dissidents and religious minorities are incarcerated, tortured and killed. It’s military openly intimidates almost all of its neighbors, and invades sovereign territory. The government engages in massive espionage, steals intellectual property, and adheres to massive unfair trade practices. It produces the world’s highest CO2 emissions.  It brutally repressed a pro-democracy movement at Tiananmen Square, and may be on the verge of doing the same in Hong Kong.

Beijing has made international censorship a top priority, and key social media outlets have been complicit. in a vitally important investigative journalism piece, an Intercept article by Ryan Gallagher recently reported that “google is planning to launch a censored version of its search engine in China that will blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest… The project – code-named Dragonfly – has been underway since spring of [2017.]

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China’s leadership is not content to merely eliminate free speech and political dissent within its own borders. The New York Times reported in 2018 that “Within its digital borders, China has long censored what its people read and say online. Now, it is increasingly going beyond its own online realms to police what people and companies are saying about it all over the world.”

Those who criticize China quickly discover the power of its influence, and its vast tentacles in far-flung organizations. The sports blog SBNATION provides one example: “ A tweet by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey supporting protestors in Hong Kong is setting off a chain reaction of fallout between the NBA and China. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has already issued two statements clarifying the league’s position on Morey’s tweet. Despite the tweet being almost immediately deleted, Silver stated he “regrets” upsetting people in China but wouldn’t limit free speech for league employees. The response has not appeased business leaders and the state-run broadcast networks previously set to air the games. What originally started as a backlash focused on the Rockets now threatens to derail the NBA’s strong relationship in China. The Lakers-Nets game went on with no media availability.”

What about the supposedly “woke” college campuses? China has instituted “Confucius Institutes” to deflect potential criticism from academia. Politico  reports that “More than a decade after they were created, Confucius Institutes have sprouted up at more than 500 college campuses worldwide, with more than 100 of them in the United States…Overseen by a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Education known colloquially as Hanban, the institutes are part of a broader propaganda initiative that the Chinese government is pumping an estimated $10 billion into annually…”

Beijing has not ignored the cultural scene, either. Hollywood moguls, never known for their moral standards, will now pander even further to Chinese censors for two main reasons.  First, they do not wish to offend a potential big-bucks investor in their industry.  Chinese companies have invested $4.5 billion in Hollywood assets. Second, the lure of selling tickets to China’s billion-plus citizens inhibits them from producing films that Beijing censors will keep out of the world’s most populous nation. Business Insider notes that “Hollywood studio productions will… increasingly be made by China—or rather, by Chinese companies investing in Hollywood.”

Photo: A self-propelled howitzer attached to a brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army fires 122mm shells at mock target during a night live-fire training exercise on October 28, 2019. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Zhang Wenjyu)

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Hong Kong Legislation Passed

Two pieces of legislation supporting human rights in Hong Kong have been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. President Trump is expected to sign the measures.

When the United Kingdom gave control of Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997, it did so under the condition that for half a century, Hong Kong would essentially be self-ruling in domestic affairs. However, in 2014, Beijing asserted its authority over the territory. Recently, it sought to have Hong Kong residents tried in mainland courts in certain cases.

 China’s deeply flawed human rights record, which includes complete rejection of free speech and political opposition and its use of concentration camps to imprison both ethnic minorities and dissidents has deeply frightened the people of Hong Kong.  

Not unexpectedly, the Beijing regime has threatened to retaliate against the legislative moves with “strong countermeasures,” which presumably include a refusal to agree to a trade deal that restricts its unfair practices.

One of the two bills forbids the export to Hong Kong authorities of the types of equipment they have used to suppress demonstrators.

The more far-reaching of the two bills provides for a number of actions, which would:

  •  Require the Secretary of State to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment afforded to Hong Kong by the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
  • Require the President to identify persons responsible for the abductions of Hong Kong booksellers and journalists and those complicit in suppressing basic freedoms in Hong Kong, including those complicit in the forced removal of individuals exercising internationally recognized rights to mainland China for detention or trial, and to freeze their U.S.-based assets and deny them entry to the United States.
  • Require the President to issue a strategy to protect U.S. citizens and businesses from the implications of a revised Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, including by determining whether to revise the U.S.-Hong Kong extradition agreement and the State Department’s travel advisory for Hong Kong.     
  • Require the Secretary of Commerce to issue an annual report assessing whether the Government of Hong Kong is adequately enforcing both U.S. export regulations regarding sensitive dual-use items and U.S. and U.N. sanctions, particularly regarding Iran and North Korea.   
  • Make clear that visa applicants shall not be denied visas on the basis of the applicant’s arrest, detention or other adverse government action taken as a result of their participation in the nonviolent protest activities related to pro-democracy advocacy, human rights, or the rule of law in Hong Kong.
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Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) who introduced the measures, issued a release upon the bill’s introduction which noted:

 “As over one million Hong Kongers take to the streets protesting amendments to the territory’s extradition law, the U.S. must send a strong message that we stand with those peacefully advocating for freedom and the rule of law and against Beijing’s growing interference in Hong Kong affairs…[this] places the U.S. firmly on the side of human rights and democracy and against those who would erode the freedoms and autonomy guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong, freedoms that have made the city a prosperous global commercial hub governed by the rule of law.”
 
The legislation had broad bipartisan support.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who was the lead Democrat co-sponsor, stated

“… the world has witnessed the bravery of tens of thousands of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong whose quest for autonomy and democracy has been beaten back with brutal force. Our bill sends a strong message that Congress and the people of the United States stand in solidarity with them. The United States cannot stand idly by as China tramples on the basic human and civil rights of the people of Hong Kong and spreads disinformation in an attempt to discredit and silence their voices. Our bill demonstrates the Congress’ work across party lines to ensure robust affirmation of Hong Kong’s autonomy and to make clear that there must be consequences those who seek to further undermine it.”

Photo: Discover Hong Kong