The
U.S. sponsored riots in Hong Kong are mostly over. They were sustained much
longer than we had expected.
The
“marginal violence” campaign of the “pro-democratic” students has failed to win more support for them.
Regular Hongkongers are increasingly willing to take a stand against further
provocations:
Demonstrators gathered at
about 12.30pm on a bridge outside Exchange Square, which houses Hong Kong’s
stock exchange in the city’s financial heartland, in another round of lunchtime
protests that have been staged most days over the past two weeks.Scuffles broke
out after a pro-police group of about 50 people showed up about an hour later,
but police arrived soon after to clear the area.
During at least two
altercations between some members of each group, an anti-government contingent
yelled “go back to China” at their adversaries, and one of their number kicked
a woman walking towards the smaller group.
Ten
days ago the core of the black clad rioters began to paralyze Hong Kong’s
traffic during regular workdays. They ransacked nearly every metro stations and
barricaded large thoroughfares and tunnels. Schools were closed, businesses and
workers were severely harmed.Against the Left: A Ro...Buy
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One 70 year old street
cleaner was killed when he was hit by a stone thrown by the rioters against
civilians who tried to remove a barricade. A 57 year old man was drenched with
gasoline and set alight after he verbally disagreed with the rioter’s
ransacking of a metro station. A policeman was shot with an arrow.
The
rioters occupied the Chinese University and the Polytechnic University (PolyU)
which are next to large streets and the important Cross-Harbor-Tunnel. Using
the universities as logistic bases and fortifications they managed to keep many
roads closed throughout day and night. After some negotiations with the
president of the Chinese University the rioters evacuated from there
while leaving some 8,000 petrol bombs behind. They
concentrated in the PolyU next to the Cross-Harbor-Tunnel.
That
was a mistake.
Last Sunday the police
surrounded the PolyU and let no one leave. Those who wanted out were either
arrested or, when under 18, identified and handed to their parents. There were
several violent battles when the rioters attempted to break through the police
cordon but only a few escaped.
After a few days most of
those inside PolyU surrendered to the police.
Today
there are still some 30 rioter holed up in a PolyU
building. The police are waiting them out. They said that they had made more
than a thousand arrests. The university is ransacked and there was significant battle damage. The rioters again
left thousands of Molotov cocktails and other weapons behind.
The blockage of the city
traffic and the increasing damage caused by rioter vandalism has alienated even
those who earlier supported them. As the police now have most of the core
rioters under arrest there is little chance that such violent protests will
continue.
On Sunday there will be
citywide district council elections in Hong Kong. China had pushed for the
elections to go forward under all circumstances. Riot police will guard all
polling stations.
Weeks
ago the “pro-dem” candidates, who supported the rioters, were still poised to
win more seats than they had held before the protests. But they now fear that
the general public will punish them for the mayhem they have caused and
will choose establishment candidates:
Chinese University political
scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said while the turnout could set another record,
the overall situation was more unpredictable than before.“The pan-democrats
could have won a landslide victory if the elections had been held in the
summer, when the protests erupted,” Choy said. “But after the recent clashes at
two universities, undecided voters may be worried about public order and be
discouraged from voting.
He was referring to fiery
battles protesters fought with police outside Chinese University on November
12, followed by more confrontations outside Polytechnic University last week.
“It will be difficult for the
camp to win more than half of the seats, as some originally envisaged,” Choy
said.
The
Hong Kong government has conceded none of the protesters’ “five demands”. The
only thing that the protesters have won is the passing of legislation by the U.S. Congress:
The House of Representatives
on Wednesday followed the lead of the Senate in overwhelmingly approving two
pieces of legislation: The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which
requires the president to annually review the favourable trading status that
the US gives to Hong Kong, threatening to revoke it and impose penalties
against officials if freedoms are determined to have been quashed; and the
Protect Hong Kong Act, which will block the sale of tear gas and other policing
items.The former, although largely symbolic, could alter Washington’s relationship
with Hong Kong and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump has
a straightforward choice on legislation passed on to him by the United States
Congress supporting the protests that have engulfed Hong Kong – approve or
veto. Coming amid tough bargaining on his trade war with China, he may be
tempted to make his decision part of the negotiations.
…
But Beijing sees such measures as striking at the heart of Chinese sovereignty. Radical protesters could be spurred to greater violence. Unspecified countermeasures are promised should Trump give his approval.
…
But the trade war, violence and legislation have damaged business sentiment in Hong Kong. Approval or not, pessimism and uncertainty have already been deepened. There can be no winners.
…
But Beijing sees such measures as striking at the heart of Chinese sovereignty. Radical protesters could be spurred to greater violence. Unspecified countermeasures are promised should Trump give his approval.
…
But the trade war, violence and legislation have damaged business sentiment in Hong Kong. Approval or not, pessimism and uncertainty have already been deepened. There can be no winners.
Trump
wants the trade deal with China and will therefore likely veto the bill:
Speaking on the “Fox &
Friends” morning program, the president said that he was balancing competing
priorities in the U.S.-China relationship.“We have to stand with Hong Kong, but
I’m also standing with President Xi [Jinping], he’s a friend of mine. He’s an
incredible guy, but we have to stand … I’d like to see them work it out, okay?”
the president said. “I stand with freedom, I stand with all of the things that
I want to do, but we are also in the process of making one of the largest trade
deals in history. And if we could do that, it would be great.”
A
veto would only have a temporary impact as the law has passed the House and
Senate by veto proof majorities.Amazon.com Gift Card i...Buy New $50.00(as of 10:40 EST - Details)
The
idea behind the protests and the rioters In Hong Kong was all along to provoke
another Tian An Men incident. This has been quite
obvious since the start of the protest. It now gets publicly acknowledged:
BBC
Newsnight @BBCNewsnight – 11:00 UTC · Nov 19, 2019“Some of the
protesters seem to have an objective to provoke a military confrontation with
China. They seem to want a Tiananmen Square outcome as success.”
Fmr Foreign Sec @Jeremy_Hunt
says he is “concerned with the tactics” with some of #HongKong’s protesters
Had
China moved troops to Hong Kong, or allowed more force to be used against the
protesters, the U.S. would have used that to press its allies to put strong
sanctions on China. The protesters’ violence was designed to achieve that
outcome. The plan was part of the larger U.S. strategy of decoupling from China.
The plan failed because China
was too smart to give the U.S. what it wanted. Now it is Trump who is under
pressure. He needs the trade deal with China because the current trade war is
doing harm to the U.S. economy and endangers his reelection.
Which is probably the real
reason why the protests have died down.
Reprinted
with permission from Moon of Alabama.
Copyright
© 2019 Moon
of Alabama