The situation in Hong Kong is becoming worse every weekend. Protesters refuse to give in, and the same — sadly — goes for Beijing, which demands full and complete surrender from all its subjects. This weekend, Beijing clearly told Hong Kong riot police to step it up a notch: tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, and fists and sticks were all used against pro-democracy protesters. The authorities even admit that two police officers fired live warning shots.
The BBC reports:
Protesters lit fires, threw petrol bombs and attacked the parliament building. A number of people were later held as they fled into metro stations. Saturday’s event to mark five years since China ruled out fully democratic elections was banned in Hong Kong. On Friday, several key pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in China’s special administrative region were arrested.
The BBC’s headline is rather manipulative: “Hong Kong Protesters Defy and Battle Police.” Yes, they did indeed defy the ban, but let’s not forget that the protesters weren’t violent at all. Their violence is nothing more than self-defense.
Case in point, watch this video:
Dear Antifa,
This is what real fascism looks like — the Communist Party of China.https://t.co/M1bKWOfViv
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) September 1, 2019
In this video, you see how protesters hiding in the metro are ruthlessly, brutally attacked and beaten up by riot police. As Kyle Kashuv correctly points out, this is what “real fascism looks like — the Communist Party of China.”
Having said that, as I wrote two weeks ago, this was to be expected. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of Chinese history knows that Beijing doesn’t tolerate dissent — let alone public dissent in the form of protests.
What’s more, if history is anything to go by — and it usually is — the protesters have little chance of winning this battle. In fact, they are very likely to end up with less freedom than they enjoyed only a few months ago. This is why I warned Westerners not to inflame the passions of Hongkongers too much — no matter how courageous they clearly are.
In response to the video above some Westerners say it’s all “heartbreaking”:
https://twitter.com/DaveSorren/status/1168065494974230528
No, you know what it is? Expected. A blind person could and should have seen this coming. What’s more, if Hongkongers continue, the footage in this video will likely be considered “moderate” a few weeks from now. Beijing is willing to go much further than beating up some protesters — and there is nothing the West can do about it. If we could, the country of Tibet (a cause célèbre for years) would’ve regained its independence decades ago. As it is, that country has been all but annihilated.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member