‘Rocky’ in Hong Kong

It’s a weird world.

Many American eyes rolled Wednesday after President Trump tweeted out a photo of his head on Rocky Balboa’s body. But the next day, Hong Kongers proudly brandished the image as they again rallied in protest of Beijing’s drive to remove their liberties.

The reason? The same day he tweeted the photo, Trump signed into law two measures supporting the protesters. The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act sanctions Chinese officials who abuse human rights and mandates a yearly review of the city’s favorable US trade status. Another bill bans the export of rubber bullets, stun guns and other nonlethal weaponry to the Hong Kong police.

Signing the bills is a risk for the president, who’d like to finalize new trade deals with Beijing: The mainland government was already furious about

Western “interference” in Hong Kong.

The Chinese Communist Party made a clear commitment to respect Hong Kong’s rights as part of the deal that handed control of the territory to Beijing in 1997. But the mainland’s rulers have been chipping away at those freedoms — finally triggering the current months of demonstrations.

In recent elections, the city’s people overwhelming voted for candidates who stand with the protesters and against the mainland’s puppets.

Washington can’t guarantee Hong Kong’s freedoms. But if Beijing won’t honor its promises to its own citizens in Hong Kong, its word on trade deals will also be meaningless.

Trump has avoided pressing that point so far, but the Wednesday bill-signing sent a clear message on where America stands. And that was enough to make the president a hero in Hong Kong.