Opinion | What the US narrative on Hong Kong leaves out, and simply gets wrong
- Viewed through a narrow anti-China lens, Hong Kong’s rights are being taken away by an autocratic ruler
- But there is another version of events, in which Hongkongers continue to enjoy relative freedom while welcoming the return of peace and stability
The US is using Hong Kong’s national security law as another battlefront in its anti-China crusade, and this is causing distress to countries trying to stay out of the fight.
In the CECC’s version of events, President Xi Jinping is portrayed as an autocratic ruler bent on quashing democracy by packing Hong Kong dissidents off to prisons, or worse, to be tortured in mainland China.
However, each country has its own DNA, and no one country has a monopoly on values. Nor are relationships between different value systems necessarily always binary in nature.
An understanding of Hong Kong’s storied past is crucial for a balanced appreciation of its current predicament. The political arguments have been well covered by the media, but less so is the impact of US politics on ordinary Hong Kong people who are trying to lead normal, honest lives.
