To observe the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong is to feel a mixture of admiration and dread: short of standing down, the city seems to have no chance of escaping a brutal Chinese crackdown, except by somehow bringing to bear a combination of moral and political force and arriving at a compromise currently difficult to imagine. But although it’s easy to feel helpless as well, Americans must bear witness to the bravery and spirit of the hundreds of thousands of ordinary Hong Kong residents who have chosen to participate.
These protests may have their origins particular to Hong Kong politics, but they’re happening in the context of a global movement towards authoritarianism and illiberalism that makes them both inspiring and a warning sign. China is deploying the tools of authoritarianism to control the narrative, poisoning media with state-sponsored propaganda in order to influence the mainland Chinese population as well as members of the Chinese diaspora; against this, it’s even more important that we see events for what they are. That the Hong Kong protestors fight against such overwhelming odds is remarkable; that it is taken as a matter of course that China is a totalitarian state that can do what it wants with its Hong Kong territory is a grotesquerie. And the intersection of this conflict with the global economy, given Hong Kong’s outsized role in finance and trade, is also worth remarking, as if the world were being forced to choose between democracy or capitalism.
The Chinese government is already using the idea of American support of the protests to try to discredit them. The joke, of course, is that we currently have the least democratic president in our history. Donald Trump, an admirer and avowed friend of authoritarians, doubtless looks out on the protestors and sees a people to whom he can’t begin to relate, given the gulf of democratic intentions and skin color. It’s notable that he has had plenty of harsh words about China’s trade policies, but only mumble-jumble to say about the potential of a deadly clampdown on unarmed civilians.
Regardless, it seems both deeply said and incredible to me that the United States would not make it clear that any escalation of violence against the protestors would have repercussions for the entirety of the U.S.-China relationship. I have zero confidence that the Trump administration will do the right thing here.
If the United States were to assume its proper role as an advocate for democracy, the inability of Chinese citizens to elect their leaders would offend us far more than whether they’re a currency manipulator, and whether a Hong Kong protestor could get a fair trial would matter as much as whether China was stealing American trade secrets. This, above all, is the context to keep in mind when viewing how this story unfolds: China lacks the most basic legitimacy or moral standing when it denies protestor calls for democracy and due process. These are not outrageous demands in any shape or form; they are basic human rights. What we are watching may be deeply familiar, but we can’t let that obscure the shocking obscenity of telling people they can have no say in their own affairs. That simply makes no sense, and should never be treated as if it does.