Letters | To let Hong Kong be Hong Kong, stop interfering

Hong Kong neither seeks nor needs advice from the US, a country that takes the moral high ground on the backs of broken communities within its own borders

Reading Time:1 minute

US Senator Ted Cruz speaks to reporters at the US Consul-General’s House in Hong Kong on October 12, 2019. Cruz said he wore black to show support to pro-democracy protesters in the city. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:10am, 5 Apr 2021Updated: 7:10am, 5 Apr 2021

For US Consul General Hanscom Smith to suggest the solution for Hong Kong is letting the city “be itself” (“Letting Hong Kong be itself offers best hope for city’s future”, April 2), he might want to call US senators Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz or former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and ask them to refrain from interfering in every aspect of the city to allow Hong Kong to “be itself”.

Hong Kong is part of China, a proud city that will stand tall as the key player within the Pearl River Delta. We neither seek nor need advice from a country that takes the moral high ground on the backs of broken communities within its own borders.

Mark Peaker, The Peak

US cities have regulations on public gatherings

Following the conviction last week of prominent pro-democracy leaders for their participation in an unlawful assembly in 2019, US Consul General Hanscom Smith took little time weighing into the debate with his condemnation of the ruling.

Smith knows perfectly well that virtually every large city in his own country has restrictions on public gatherings. In case he has forgotten, in New York City it is unlawful without a permit from the police to use amplified sound on public property, hold an event with more than 20 people in a park, conduct a march in a public street or conduct a procession involving 50 or more vehicles on a public street.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2-3x faster

1.1x

220 WPM

Slow

Normal

Fast

00:0000:00

1.1x