A video clip on Twitter posted by US journalist/activist Rania Khalek explains how Hong Kong’s protesters are rioters. This is similar to what Chinese state media publish. So many people are disillusioned with US foreign policy and racism in the West that China’s imperialism – its debt-trapping of vulnerable economies, its actions in Xinjiang and Tibet, and now in Hong Kong – is being welcomed. Arguments in favour of the Chinese Communist Party? China is such a vast country, the people need stability. The party acts in the interests of its people. They follow successful (horrific) models of attaining power, like the US or UK. The Chinese diaspora are in a lose-lose situation. Chinese heritage and culture are bound up with mainland China, and the party has organically fused itself onto the brainstem of the civilisation. If people side with China, they lose their principles and freedom. If they side with the West, they lose their community and culture, and will still be viewed with increasing hostility by the general public in the West. If they act out prominently against China, they face violence from Beijing, wherever they are. Authoritarian regimes are supposedly fragile. But that doesn’t seem like China. It has effectively consolidated power. China spends more on domestic security, controlling their populace, than on their military. But the unrest is usually directed at local officials, about local issues. Han Chinese are so much better off economically, the party has real legitimacy. They couldn’t care less about Tibetans or Uygurs, or Hongkongers, for that matter. You can see proof of this on Chinese social media: mainlanders moved to tears as they watch videos of “patriots” tearing down Lennon walls abroad, and so on. Political analysts have called on Beijing to make concessions and leave Hong Kong autonomous, because the alternative is destroying it. But Beijing is so insecure of anything challenging its power , its only move is to make Hong Kong like any other mainland province. Mainland Chinese who oppose Hong Kong’s protests aren’t brainwashed Broad popular support for democracy in Hong Kong is a major threat . The Communist Party may now be capable of producing a kind of pre-WWII nationalistic frenzy as was seen in Germany. They don’t want to destroy Hong Kong, just turn it into a functioning, obedient city. Most citizens would prefer to live under those conditions instead of being thrown into a gulag. Life in China isn’t that bad for Han Chinese, as long as they are politically indifferent. So it’s easy for China to co-opt its people – especially if they are rich and have a lot to lose. D. Woo, Ontario