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Letters | Do Hong Kong protesters know what those flags they are waving stand for?
- No matter how high-minded the ideals, protesters have no special dispensation to ignore law and order, and other people’s rights
- Choosing to play this game means risking arrest. That is how it works the world over, including in the great democracies of Britain and the US
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Why you can trust SCMP
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Uninformed Americans instinctively tend to support any activity labelled “pro-democracy,” generally choosing not to look beyond the headlines, whatever is served up to them on a 24-hour news network or making the rounds on Facebook.
As a visiting American, I recently spent several weeks observing the troubles in Hong Kong. Perhaps my observations are worth noting because I am not biased towards either side and I have spent more time with tear gas than the good senators from the United States recently did on their whirlwind visits combined.
What I have seen time and again is remarkable restraint and professional behaviour from the Hong Kong Police Force and remarkable hooliganism from the protesters.
Irrespective of politics, it is commendable that the younger generation is politically aware and has impressively employed technology to organise and assemble. Unfortunately, this peaceful movement has been usurped by mayhem, something missing from the headlines in the West. Some protesters seem to have no purpose other than to provoke the police and maximise damage to MTR stations, shops owned by mainland Chinese and other infrastructure.
Others set fires and assault individuals on the streets who do not share their opinions, lynch-mob style.
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