Hong Kong nut-cutting time fast approaching

Looks like the crunch is coming for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Agent 78 has been following the news closely and reports that, as of this morning (Walt's time) only 100 or so anti-government protesters remain holed up at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as a police siege of the campus entered its third day.

Carrie Lam, the puppet CEO chosen by the Beijing government, said 600 people, including 200 minors, had left the campus. The police siege, oddly, is intended to prevent the protesters from leaving, so they can be arrested and face "justice", Communist-style. Police have surrounded the university and are arresting anyone who leaves.

On Monday, groups of protesters made several attempts to escape, including sliding down hoses to waiting motorcycles, but it wasn’t clear if they managed to evade arrest. Ms Lam told AP that 400 of the 600 who left were detailed, but that those under 18 were not be immediately arrested but could face charges later. "We will use whatever means to continue to persuade and arrange for these remaining protesters to leave the campus as soon as possible," she said, "so that this whole operation could end in a peaceful manner."

Hong Kong police also announced that they will be treating the death of a man hit by a brick thrown by protesters late on Thursday as murder. Last Friday, pro-democracy protesters blocked a road near the Hong Kong Polytechnic campus, but were dispersed by police forces led by Inspector Charles Chan, using tear gas and water cannons. The president of the university said on Friday that he would call on the "assistance of non-students" if necessary. Sure enough, troops of the so-called People's Liberation Army (read: Chinese regular army) came to clear up the debris and open the road. The message was clear. Today they came with brooms. Tomorrow they will be back with something else.

Here in the decadent imperialist West, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo finally opened his official mouth to state the American non-position on the pro-democracy protests. He called on police and protesters to refrain from violence. Well, he used a few more words than that, without adding much more substance.

On Monday, Mr Pompeo called for all sides to exercise restraint in the escalating Hong Kong conflict, and said the territory's government should start an independent investigation into "incidents" during the pro-democracy protests, now entering their seventh month. That inquiry presumably would include reviewing accusations of police misconduct, one of the key demands of the protesters.

Speaking at a presser in Foggy Bottom, Secretary Pompeo said, the Hong Kong government bears primary responsibility for the conflict, which he said could not be resolved by law enforcement alone. He called for the Hong Kong government to "take clear steps to address public concerns," and stressed that Carrie Lam, the territory's chief executive, should "promote accountability" by putting in place an independent investigation.

What Mr Pompeo did not say was that Ms Lam's hands are tied. She answers not to Hong Kong's toothless Legislative Council, but to the Communist masters in Beijing, who are running out of patience with the Hong Kongers' refusal to embrace the benefits of "democracy with Chinese characteristics". Somehow the Secretary of State managed to get through his entire statement without once uttering the words "Beijing" or "China".

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on the other hand, said Still-President Trump should make forceful statements on Hong Kong. Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Senator McConnell said leaders in Beijing and Hong Kong must "de-escalate." He said the administration already had "significant tools" it could use to support Hong Kong protesters. "I would encourage this president, who has seen Chinese behaviour for what it is, with clarity that others have lacked, not to shy away from speaking out on Hong Kong himself," Mr McConnell said. "The world should hear from him directly that the United States stands with these brave men and women."

He added he was working to try to bring the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to a floor vote. The bill, which passed the House by unanimous consent, would mandate the executive branch to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and review annually the favourable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. Mr McConnell has been criticized for delaying a floor vote on the bill. If he can do so now, and the bill passes the Senate (not a sure thing), it will be more than interesting to see what President Trump does with it. Nut-cutting time not just for the Hong Kong protesters but for the leader of the USA and the free world.

Footnote: Looking at the top photo Ed. has chosen for this story, I see that some of the students have obviously been paying attention in English class. As a former teacher of English to Chinese university students, seeing correct use of English in public discourse makes me quietly proud.

Hong Kong government ramps up violence vs pro-democracy protesters

As I write, in the wee hours of the morning, Hong Kong time, the city is relatively quiet. Pro-democracy protesters, the majority of them high school and college students yesterday, are licking their wounds -- literally -- after a day filled with violence and terrorism, perpetrated by the Hong Kong police to quell yet another day of anti-government protests.

For over thirteen weeks now -- a quarter of a year -- the Hong Kong "Special Administrative Region of China" has been convulsed by sometimes violent protests and mass demonstrations, in response to a proposed law by the Communist-backed administration of CEO Carrie Lam that would allow people suspected of crimes on the mainland to be extradited to face trial in Chinese courts.

Today was supposed to be back-to-school day in Hong Kong, but yesterday over 100,000 students chose to go on strike to force the puppet government not just to withdraw completely the extradition bill, but guarantee the people of Hong Kong the democratic freedoms they were promised under the "one country two systems" provisions of the agreement between Britain and China when the Brits handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

The student demonstrators tried to make their point peacefully -- chanting and holding up signs -- while at the same time obstructing the flow of traffic in the city-state's streets and around the airport, one of the world's busiest. Hong Kong police responded by using pepper spray against travellers on the city's Mass Transit Railway (MTR), beating them with batons regardless of whether or not they were involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations.

Radio Free Asia reported that police began beating individuals indiscriminately at the Prince Edward MTR station, attacking them with pepper spray which they were sitting quietly on trains. RFA cited video which showed that "the police, who wore the black, armored uniforms of the 'raptor' special forces, appeared to be in pursuit of protesters, but instead attacked passengers indiscriminately, the footage showed. One was a small boy who was left with head injuries." Footage appeared to show individuals, including protesters, trying to stop police from beating innocent bystanders but largely failing to prevent the violence.

Just a few minutes ago, Reuters reported that Ms Lam, speaking in last week to a group of businesspeople, said she has caused "unforgivable havoc" by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice. But she doesn't. Under Hong Kong's current political set-up, the Chief Executive is chosen indirectly, by a group of electors (not unlike the American Electoral College!) chosen in elections rigged to favour pro-Beijing candidates.

At the closed-door meeting, Ms Lam told the group that she now has "very limited" room to resolve the crisis because the unrest has become a national security and sovereignty issue for China amid rising tensions with the United States. "If I have a choice," she said, speaking in English, "the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology."

She suggested that Beijing had not yet reached a turning point, and had not imposed any deadline for ending the crisis ahead of China's National Day celebrations scheduled for October 1. And, she said, China had "absolutely no plan" to deploy People's Liberation Army troops on Hong Kong streets. World leaders have been closely watching whether China will send in the military to quell the protests, as it did a generation ago in the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

Ms Lam noted, however, that she had few options once an issue had been elevated "to the national level" -- meaning the Communist Party Pollitburo in Beijing -- "to a sort of sovereignty and security level, let alone in the midst of this sort of unprecedented tension between the two big economies in the world."

Walt, spent the better (?) party of two years in Hong Kong and its twin across the bay, Shenzhen, is watching too, and is in complete sympathy with the protesters. Will our leaders, who preach democracy and freedom (except of course in their own countries) do anything to help the people of Hong Kong in their struggle to avoid total domination by the Chinese Communists? I'm sad to say I think the chances are slim and none. But stay tuned.