US support for Hong Kong protests squeezed by China
When Hong Kong outlawed masks last week, some international commentators spoke on television as if they actually thought this might stop the protests that have taken over the city for almost half a year. Yet the new law — created by what is, in essence, an authoritarian power — failed. The protests continued, and the protesters continued to wear masks. These brave young Hongkongers are willing to be arrested and it is becoming increasingly clear that many of them are willing to die. It is time the world realizes this.
The masks, like the protests, are a reaction to the brutality and heavy-handedness of the Hong Kong government and the Chinese communist regime.
Outside of Hong Kong and China, there is a different concern. The world is struggling with if and how it should express support for the protesters. In the US, this is becoming a particularly pertinent issue. There are four different groups considering their support for Hong Kong protesters and each has different motives and concerns. They are the presidential administration under Donald Trump, other elected government leaders, the American people, and big businesses.
Trump and his administration must be careful in their support, because their priority is rightly the interests of Americans. Some members of his administration have voiced tepid support for the protesters, while the White House has also increasingly called for action to assist the 1 million or more Uighurs currently imprisoned by the Chinese authorities. However, the president is also in the midst of contentious trade talks with China that are of utmost importance for the US economy. He does not want to risk ruining a potential deal right now. Other parts of the American government are, however, free to criticize China’s stance on Hong Kong. Several senators, most notably Marco Rubio of Florida, have vocally supported the protesters and criticized China’s response. Such criticism is seen positively by many American constituents. No matter the practical stances taken by American presidents, the people of the US tend to support those seeking their own freedom. Americans are limited in what they can do to support Hongkongers from an ocean away but, when the videos of freedom fighters are shown on television each night, they watch the violence in horror and respect the brave young men and women.
Then there is big business in America. China, by virtue of its giant population, is the largest market in the world and the secondlargest economy. American businesses are terrified of upsetting the authoritarians in Beijing. US movie studios have even altered their films to avoid Chinese censors.
This past weekend, the National Basketball Association (NBA) found itself caught directly between the moral cause of supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and the powerful centralized forces of the Chinese economy. Daryl Morey, a top executive for the Houston Rockets basketball franchise, tweeted his support for a free
Hong Kong. This immediately angered Chinese authorities. After threats to hinder the Rockets’ and NBA’s revenue in China, the Rockets’ biggest star James Harden, Morey, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, and the NBA all capitulated.
Americans become very uncomfortable when they see film studios, professional sports leagues, the press, retailers and others capitulate to China’s speech control. Money may rule, but it is a truly sad day when
China or any other authoritarian regime can squelch free speech in America with its economic weight.