LettersWas Donald Trump endorsing Xi Jinping’s approach to Hong Kong? No, he was stating the obvious

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US President Donald Trump recently said that China’s president has been “very responsible” in how he has responded to Hong Kong’s protests, and expressed hope that Xi Jinping will continue to “do the right thing”. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:30am, 29 Jul 2019Updated: 4:54am, 29 Jul 2019

In an editorial, The Washington Post contends that US President Donald Trump “sided with the dictatorship” and that he “explicitly endorsed the Xi [Jinping] regime’s behaviour” over the Hong Kong protests.

There is, of course, no evidence to support that contention. Unrest has long been a fact of life in the former British colony. The Post’s quarrel is not with Mr Trump but with China’s Communist Party.

It is true that Hong Kong’s autonomy has eroded steadily over the past two decades. But even when I arrived in the colony in 1960, the unrest was unmistakably clear. The territory has long been wary of Beijing’s notorious past and the memories of those fateful years under Mao Zedong are likely not forgotten.

Hong Kong deserves the support of the US and the civilised world, but that alone will not be enough. Meanwhile, the protests will go on.

Brian Stuckey, Denver, Colorado

Writing is on the wall for Carrie Lam and the liaison office

From the anti-extradition bill march on June 9 to the latest fracas, the Hong Kong government has been growing increasingly defensive and rejecting advice not only from the opposition parties but even their Beijing loyalist allies. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s government has been given numerous chances to correct its missteps but has not.