US Can Put Its Savior Complex to Rest

On Sept. 25, House and Senate committees on foreign relations ignored strong opposition from the Chinese people and passed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. 

Stirring up trouble in China’s Hong Kong affairs reflects the arrogant savior complex of certain U.S. politicians. It reveals their sinister intentions to grossly interfere in China’s internal politics, and also displays their undisguised double standards with regard to human rights.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and as such, its affairs are purely Chinese internal affairs. The future of Hong Kong must be, and can only be, left in the hands of the Chinese people, including our Hong Kong compatriots. No foreign country has any right to intervene. Some members of Congress pose as arbitrators, and attempt to use legislation to meddle in and lie about Hong Kong affairs, even threatening punishment, all in the name of democracy and human rights. This is long-arm jurisdiction, full of strong ideological bias and a sense of national superiority. It is groundless on legal, rational and logical terms.

Putting forth this so-called Human Rights and Democracy Act is the latest round in a series of detrimental actions by some U.S. politicians concerning Hong Kong. When protest marches were held in Hong Kong, they called it “a beautiful sight to behold.”* However, with regard to the series of violent incidents and severe damage to social order caused by a small number of extremists, they were selectively blind and mute, and as Hong Kong’s government and police force properly defended law and order, they demonstrated their forte for defamation, slander and intimidation.

Frankly, the words and actions of some U.S. politicians reveal their unending double standard on human rights. The U.S. is notorious for its infringement of human rights with issues like racism and gun violence; however, by embellishing Hong Kong’s violent street crimes as a fight for human rights, while calling the Hong Kong police department’s restraint and civil enforcement an “excessive use of force,”* the U.S. is hypocritically criticizing a foreign country’s human rights issues. Some U.S. politicians often jump at criticizing other countries for getting involved in U.S. internal politics, yet they openly collaborate with radical separatists from foreign nations to exploit and unabashedly interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.

The unrestrained words and actions of these politicians show that they have no intention of abandoning this double standard. With examples like these, it’s easy to see that the Americans who get involved in Hong Kong’s affairs are not really concerned with the well-being of Hongkongers, but instead have other motives.

For some time, some Americans have wanted to create issues between the two nations, and cause Chinese development to falter. The U.S. has defined China as a strategic competitor, and has pressured China on issues related to trade, technology, Taiwan and more in a multipronged attempt to constrain Chinese development. These days, the U.S. has also begun to enthusiastically use the the Hong Kong card in its political games.

However, no matter how much some U.S. politicians may make waves and distort the facts about Hong Kong, their efforts to mislead the public will certainly be unsuccessful. Since Hong Kong’s return to China, the policies of one country, two systems, Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong, and high degree of autonomy have been been practically and effectively implemented, and Hong Kong’s citizens widely enjoy unprecedented democratic rights and freedoms under the law. This is a fact openly accepted by anyone without bias. The entire Chinese society, including many Hong Kong compatriots, fiercely oppose U.S. politicians’ disgraceful and futile plot to create disorder and destroy Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.

No matter how much some Americans plot and scheme, no matter how much energy they put into their actions, their attempts to damage Hong Kong and constrain China will not succeed. I would advise the U.S. to stop advancing bills regarding Hong Kong and to stop interfering in Chinese internal affairs immediately. China’s Hong Kong doesn’t need a hypocritical “savior.”

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, this quoted remark could not be independently verified.