Beijing Slams Foreign Meddling, ‘Turning Black into White,’ To Destabilize Hong Kong

Aug. 13, 2019 (EIRNS)—The Chinese government today reiterated its demand that U.S. Congressional and other circles stay out of its internal affairs, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congress members condemned what they called acts of violence by police against protesters in Hong Kong. Numerous “protesters” have been caught on video using molotov cocktails, heavy slingshots, and other weapons to assault the police and others, as well as destroy property.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted by Reuters as saying the U.S. lawmakers “have disregarded the facts, turned what’s black into white, and characterized violent crimes as a beautiful fight for human rights and freedom.” “You should take care of your own business. HK is not a matter that needs your worrying, Hua said in the statement,” Reuters reported.

President Donald Trump has not joined in the China-bashing: “The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation,” he told reporters today. “Very tough. We’ll see what happens. But I’m sure it’ll work out. I hope it works out for everybody, including China, by the way.”

The tone of Chinese media response remains very sharp. Xinhua ran an editorial Aug. 12 headlined “Stop Mobsters from Pushing Hong Kong into Abyss,” which warned: “Any connivance or support for the mobsters, any appeasement of them, or sophistry and excuses for them are an insult and defamation of the Hong Kong police force guarding their homeland.”

China Daily, a publication of the Chinese Communist Party, yesterday ran a lengthy article, “HK Protesters Have Their Flags Backward,” going after the British role in particular, reminding its readers of some historical issues. “Many demonstrators have taken to waving the colonial flag used for the territory before its return to China in 1997, and some go a step further, flaunting Great Britain’s current Union Jack or the flag of the United States to show their desire for Western-style government or even intervention by those countries.” The author continued:

“Just in case there’s any genuine confusion, I can provide a couple quick reminders. After slaughtering thousands in the Opium Wars, Britain flooded the country with the drug, killing countless more. The heinous trade generated a feeding frenzy as multiple countries sapped China of its resources and left huge swathes of its population docile and dependent on an opiate fix. Unequal treaties, signed in quick succession by scheming imperialists, stole chunks of Chinese territory for foreign use.”

Over time,

“certain segments [in Hong Kong] were won over to the idea of living as colonial subjects. This led to a sort of Stockholm Syndrome, where despite being occupiers the British were looked upon more favorably as time passed.... Not all flags are created equal. There’s a reason the flag of Nazi Germany is only flown by the most hateful people on the planet; that symbol has been rightfully shunned. Yet an equally noxious banner gets unfurled by myopic protesters.... Let’s not forget the millions of Indians killed in the Bengal famine engineered under British rule and no one bats an eye.”