by ERICA CAINES
Why do corporate media love Hong Kong dissidents while neglecting protests in Haiti, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Honduras and Bolivia?
“Hong Kong protestors engage in activities that in the U.S. would get them killed by the police or long prison sentences.”
Before adjourning for the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Senate unanimously approved HR 3289, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (417-1) to send the legislation to President Trump for his signature and in a rare bipartisan move, the bill was signed into law. The term “bipartisan” is a mere farce as both major political parties always seem to agree on funding and agitating wars.
Trump signed the bill into law, along with another bill that prohibits the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and other crowd-control munitions to the Hong Kong police. When we think about how this country handles its own protestors, from Ferguson to Baltimore to Standing Rock (many still imprisoned), and the inability of the U.S Congress to end the 1033 program, it is both laughable and insulting to see the “unity” in support of this bill. This bipartisan decision highlights many contradictions— The U.S. continues to out itself as a dangerous right-wing state and a threat to the world.
“Both major political parties always seem to agree on funding and agitating wars.”
We are witnessing global uprisings against state powers that, as colonized people within the U.S, we can (and are) finding inspiration in. Many confused “radicals,” however, have passionately jumped on the bandwagon of international protests offering uncritical support. All uprisings are not the same and the best way to distinguish that is understanding the class character of the uprisings.
For months the public has been bombarded with images from protests in Hong Kong against the PRC/China. Unfortunately, many have supported the Hong Kong protests without analyzing the implications of what is being protested, what the protestors are asking for or even why mainstream media covers it so thoroughly while blatantly ignoring Haiti, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, and most recently the coup d’etat in Bolivia.
While there are mixed and valid concerns that shouldn’t be minimized in the midst of the mass protests in Hong Kong, the overall character of the protests is right-wing. How do we know? Let’s consider the ultra-nationalist elements that are a fixture of the protests.
Hong Kong’s current political crisis was sparked by protests against an extradition bill meant to ensure Chan Tong-kai’s prosecution on murder charges for killing his girlfriend in Taiwan. This erupted in sovereignty claims and mass protests across Hong Kong complete with nostalgia for British colonialism, waving the U.S flag with praises and odes to Trump.
The movements to ‘recognize Hong Kong autonomy/independence’ had leaders of the allegedly “leaderless movement” touring Washington, D.C., while claiming to be repressed, with the likes of Senator Ted Cruz, urging the US Congress to pass the Human Rights bill and impose sanctions on their own state.
“The overall character of the Hong Kong protests is right-wing.”
US support of Hong Kong is significant. We have witnessed Hong Kong protestors engaging in activities that in the U.S. would get them killed by the police or long prison sentences. Furthermore, the U.S. Congress’ unanimous decision to support the Hong Kong Human Rights Act serves as another example of the hypocrisy from a country universally recognized as the greatest human rights violators on the planet.
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