Hong Kong police have made their first arrests under a new ‘anti-protest’ law imposed by Beijing, as crowds marked 23 years since the end of British rule. …
The law, imposed by China following last year’s anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory, makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs. Any person taking part in secessionist activities, such as shouting slogans or holding up banners and flags calling for the city’s independence, is violating the law regardless of whether violence is used.
(The Associated Press, July 1, 2020)
Clearly, if nothing else, China appears to have learned one lesson from its infamous crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, namely:
- Why use tanks and guns when gas and clubs will do.
As it happens, here is what I wrote three years ago today in “China: Where Hong Kong Is Concerned Britain Is Now Adrift at Sea,” July 1, 2017:
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Today is the 20th anniversary of ‘the Handover’ (as the British say) or ‘the Return’ (as the Chinese say) of sovereign authority over Hong Kong from Britain to China. To mark the occasion, China is going out of its way to disabuse Britain of any notion that it retains any authority at all. …
It is clearly daring Britain (and the United States) to interfere in its domestic affairs with Hong Kong. It is doing so by stamping out all embers of democracy in Hong Kong to ensure that it looks more like Beijing than London.
But, as remarkable as this might seem, I think China is right to assert its exclusive and unconditional sovereignty in this respect:
As one who lived under British colonialism, I appreciate why its colonial rule is preferable to China’s communist rule. My national/racial pride is such, however, that I have little sympathy for Chinese residents in Hong Kong who consented to be governed by British colonialists, but are refusing to be governed by Chinese nationalists. Besides, the issue here is not between colonialism and communism; it’s between national unity and regional secession.
Frankly, solidarity with Hong Kongers who want independence from China is tantamount to solidarity with Texans or Californians who want independence from the United States. Therefore, one can hardly blame Chinese President Xi Jinping for acting pursuant to the same principle that compelled US President Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union … by any means necessary.
(“China Vows to Crush Hong Kong-Led Confederacy; and It Should,” The iPINIONS Journal, November 15, 2016)
Britain is now left with only a few ‘Overseas Territories,’ which dot the globe with as much significance as fleas on the butt of an elephant. This is why it’s fair to say that the sun has finally set on the British Empire.
Good riddance, Britannia!
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Incidentally, I hasten to clarify that I have warned, in too many commentaries to count, that it’s fool’s gold to vest hope in China as a more worthy superpower than the United States. Indeed, I had cause to cite a few recently in “Covid-19 Exposing China as More Global Menace than Rival Superpower,” May 7, 2020.
Still, given the topical nature of Confederate statues, I hope my reference to “China’s Vow to Crush Hong Kong-Led Confederacy” resonates.
In any event, nothing reflects Britain’s lame claim to an empire lost quite like the passive-aggressive way it is reacting to this latest crackdown. It is pledging anew to offer Hong Kongers refuge:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged Wednesday to overhaul immigration rules to grant almost 3 million Hong Kong residents a pathway to British citizenship, a response to Beijing’s move to impose a far-reaching security law here that many fear will dismantle the city’s political freedoms.
(The Washington Post, June 3, 2020)
Except that Britain made a similar offer to Caribbean nationals over 70 years ago. Yet it took a series of George Floyd-type racial incidents shocking and appalling public consciousness in recent years for the British government to finally begin honoring its promises. Unfortunately, it would be an understatement to say their efforts to make amends were too little too late for irreparably harmed members of that “Windrush Generation.”
Therefore, one can hardly blame Hong Kongers for not rushing to accept Britain’s invitation to jump from the frying pan of political oppression in Hong Kong, which Beijing is hell-bent on imposing, into the fire of racial discrimination in London, which Britain will impose, naturally.
But, again, I prefer to sympathize with pro-democracy protesters in places like Myanmar and Palestine, where the fight for the right of self-determination does not depend on the race, color, creed, or ideology of the oppressors.
That said, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Hong Kongers appear equally hell-bent on defying this new law. Therefore, China, you have a lot of arresting to do.
The foreboding thing, though, is that it might take thousands of George Floyd-type images of police brutality before the Chinese government expresses any concern. So protesters beware, you could end up dead if you continue participating in anti-government protests …
Related commentaries:
Britain adrift… HK Confederacy…
Windrush… Myanmar… Palestine… Covid-19…