China lashes out at US and Britain over support for Hong Kong’s ‘black mobs’
- While Trump remains silent on the city’s unrest, Raab and Biden condemn police use of force
- Beijing accuses critics of ‘turning blind eye to violence of rioters’
The condemnation came after politicians in various countries denounced the use of force by police on Tuesday, when National Day protests descended into chaos.
On Wednesday, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong criticised the United States and Britain for “ignoring the facts, and turning the truth on its head” with messages in support of the protesters.
The office denounced “mobs” for violent behaviour on Tuesday, saying “there is no evil they will not commit”.
“How come they put the blame on police but turn a blind eye to the violence of rioters when such things happen in Hong Kong?” the office said in a statement, adding that in 2017 about 1,000 people were shot and killed by police officers in the US, and similar incidents were reported in Britain.
“Hong Kong police were forced to fire at the attackers to save themselves and their colleagues, after being attacked, encircled and having their lives threatened by mobs.”
Thousands of Hongkongers rallied in the streets at locations across the city on Tuesday, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, in defiance of police bans on demonstrations.
An 18-year-old student was shot in the chest by police in Tsuen Wan, one of six live rounds fired by police on Tuesday.
Student in stable condition after being shot with live round by police
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that Chinese and US officials might be forced to touch on Hong Kong when their trade negotiations resume in Washington next week.
“It probably will have some impact on the Chinese side, even despite whatever it has on ours, because this is a sign of domestic dissent within their community and Hong Kong is quite important for the international trading activities of China,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that while there was no excuse for violence, “the use of live ammunition is disproportionate, and only risks inflaming the situation”.
A European Union spokesman said that “dialogue, de-escalation and restraint are the only way forward”, and that the rights to assembly and peaceful protest must be upheld in the city.
Top US politicians, including the Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, also offered their support for the protesters.
“The brave people of Hong Kong deserve the full support of the United States as they demand the civil liberties and autonomy promised to them. Violent suppression is unacceptable. The world is watching,” Biden, the former vice-president during the Obama administration, posted on Twitter.
However, US President Donald Trump did not mention Hong Kong, instead congratulating “President Xi and the Chinese people on the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China!”
Hundreds take to Hong Kong streets to protest against teen shooting
Trump’s message was in contrast to other politicians, including the 21 members of the Republican wing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“A 12th grader was shot in the chest at point-blank range today in Hong Kong while Xi Jinping paraded weapons through Tiananmen Square (30 years after massacre). Both are grave reminders how far the Chinese Communist Party will go to achieve total control,” the group said in a Twitter post.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, chided Trump for failing to mention Hong Kong. “Why is President [Trump] tweeting his congrats for 70 years of Communist rule in China just as reports are emerging that the Chinese government continues to oppose the people of Hong Kong’s freedom of expression? Warped priorities,” he said.
Top Republican Mitch McConnell also spoke out on Hong Kong, saying the Chinese Communist Party “has always squashed dissent with force”.
“It is darkly fitting that on the 70th anniversary of the PRC, its agents would be reduced to using force against protesters in Hong Kong who seek to preserve basic personal freedoms,” McConnell said in a statement.
Journalist shot by police projectile will be blind in one eye, lawyer says
Anti-government protests in Hong Kong, sparked by a now-abandoned extradition bill, have become more violent in the four months since they started, culminating most recently in an effort by many of the demonstrators to tarnish the National Day celebrations the Chinese government had intended to be a high point of national pride.
Sean Starrs, assistant professor in Asian and international studies at City University of Hong Kong, said that while governments around the world had spoken out repeatedly on Hong Kong, it was unlikely their actions would go beyond statements.
“I very much doubt that the West will do anything about Hong Kong police brutality, apart from rhetorical posturing,” Starrs said.
But he said there were policy options if the situation escalated.
Last week, two US congressional committees approved the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 – a bill acting as an amendment to the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992. If passed, the act would require the US to sanction Chinese officials deemed responsible for “undermining basic freedoms in Hong Kong”.
“Overturning the 1992 United States-Hong Kong Policy Act would certainly be a huge threat to Hong Kong’s role as China’s gateway to and from global capitalism, and Beijing will want to avoid that,” Starrs said.
“Beijing will also want to avoid the US sanctioning its officials for human rights violations, which is another potential tool if Beijing decides to intervene directly in Hong Kong – which is one reason why I think this is unlikely,” Starrs said.
Additional reporting by Owen Churchill
