Waving U.S. flags protesters in Hong Kong have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene and liberate them as they marched to the U.S. consulate general in the city on September 8, 2019. They engaged in violent acts including setting fires, breaking traffic signs and tearing away pavement before making the appeal. International media including AFP, BBC and New York Times covered the news and the images.
Many of the protesters carried banners reading, “President Trump, please save Hong Kong” and “Make Hong Kong great again”.
They chanted “Resist Beijing, liberate Hong Kong”, and handed over petitions at the U.S. Consulate.
The protesters have called for U.S. intervention in Hong Kong, China’s city, enjoying autonomy.
Protesters chanted the U.S. national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, and raised a new slogan “five demands, not one less” – after one of their long-standing conditions for ending demonstrations was met earlier this week.
The protests, now in their 14th straight week, have continued despite Hong Kong’s leadership finally meeting one of the protesters’ key demands.
China has consistently warned other countries not to interfere.
China says the situation in Hong Kong, a former British colony handed back to China in 1997, is purely its own internal affair.
China has not only warned foreign powers not to interfere, but has outright accused the U.S. and Britain of fuelling the protests.
The protesters appealed to the U.S. government to pass a proposed “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act”, which Democratic Senators are pushing for consideration next week.
The law would require the U.S. to certify Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy on an annual basis to justify its special trade status.
It could also expose Chinese officials to U.S. sanctions.
The protests first erupted over a controversial extradition law, which would have allowed Hong Kongers to be extradited to mainland China – where a different legal system applies.
Protesters demanded that the plan be abandoned. It was initially suspended in June, and then finally dropped earlier this week.
On Saturday, some protesters attempted to gain access to the international airport, the site of previous demonstrations. But police only allowed airline passengers with a ticket to board trains and buses bound for the terminal.
By Saturday night, the situation had destabilized into running clashes between protesters and police.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said China should show “restraint”.
He urged Chinese authorities to “to sit down and talk with the protesters and resolve the differences.”
The protest quickly devolved into vandalism and street chaos. Protesters smashed Hong Kong’s Chung MTR station, and set fire to barricades on Sunday. Smoke billowed from a fire at an exit for the MTR station.
The mob smashed a long glass panel at a station entrance and other windows.
MTR stations have been attacked during the protests.
The protesters dug up bricks from pathways to break windows and set fires from cardboard boxes on the streets, building barricades with metal fencing.
Police stood by as protesters, under a sea of umbrellas, waved the Stars and Stripes, the U.S. flag.
The vandalism started in the evening. Police have responded to violence with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Later in the evening, riot police moved on protesters from the Central business district that dispersed to nearby Admiralty, the bar district of Wan Chai and on to Causeway Bay in a now familiar pattern of cat-and-mouse clashes.
U.S. measures
U.S. legislation on Hong Kong will be among the top priorities pushed by Senate Democrats when Congress returns to work after a recess next week, their leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.
Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican who sets the floor agenda, to bring up a bipartisan bill that would require an annual justification of the special treatment afforded by Washington to Hong Kong, including special trade and business privileges, under the US Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on August 13, “The [Hong Kong] Chief Executive and Legislative Council must finally, fully meet the legitimate democratic aspirations of the Hong Kong people.” US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter on August 12, “The people of Hong Kong are bravely standing up to the Chinese Communist Party as Beijing tries to encroach on their autonomy and freedom.”
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government proposed to amend an extradition bill in February. At that time, Hong Kongers generally supported it. In March, American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong wrote a letter to Hong Kong’s security chief, voicing their objections to the bill, reported the South China Morning Post. After that, protesters began organizing.
U.S. rhetoric plays a special role amid the current China-U.S. strategic struggle. The protest helps the U.S. pile pressure on China.
HK unrest part of U.S. attempt to spread its brand of democracy
China views that the U.S. wants to export its brand of democracy not only to China but also across the world. Washington likes to change the social and political systems of other countries in line with U.S. values and interests to reduce the threat of war.
Cuba condemns interference in China’s internal affairs
A statement of the Cuban ministry of foreign affairs said:
Over the last few weeks we have noted with concern the succession of violent demonstrations and acts of vandalism in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, encouraged from abroad, attempting to disrupt the political, economic and social order, and create insecurity in the People’s Republic of China.
Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 was an act of historical justice and an expression of the peaceful spirit of the People’s Republic of China, despite having been victim of the imposition of unequal treaties by imperialist powers.
Since then, while holding its current status, Hong Kong has been an inseparable part of the People’s Republic of China and has managed to achieve a sound development with stability and economic prosperity, based on the successful implementation of the “One China” and “one country, two systems” principles.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned interference in the internal affairs of China and rejects any attempt to harm the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China.
Cuba supports efforts made by the central government of Beijing and the authorities of Hong Kong to reverse this situation, preserve peace, and re-establish stability.
We are fully confident in the capacity and wisdom of the Chinese authorities to put an end to these destabilizing events and return to normalcy.
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