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China's new fact sheet lays bare U.S. interference in HK
First Voice

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China's Foreign Ministry released a new fact sheet titled U.S. Interference in Hong Kong Affairs and Support for Anti-China, Destabilizing Forces on Friday. The fact-sheet sets out a comprehensive chronological list of events which details how the United States has sought to interfere in and undermine the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. The report offers graphic insight into every aspect of U.S. support for riots in the city 2019, its backing for leading figures in these events, its attempts to undermine the city through sanctions, embargoes and other measures, as well as its smearing of the region's reputation and attempts to discredit its national security law.

The document is a "smoking gun" proof of Washington's meddling.

Sanctions, resolutions and embargoes

In order to encourage unrest and separatism in Hong Kong, the United States actively leveraged an ever-growing number of bills targeting the Hong Kong region. These include the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020. These, in response to the National Security Law, have pushed the imposition of sanctions against local officials, forced banks to comply with these measures with the threat of fines, banned exports to Hong Kong police and cancelled numerous bilateral agreements with the SAR.

All these acts have had one common objective – to hurt and divide China's national sovereignty, to undermine international public opinion of China, and to use as bargaining chips in diplomacy. The acts exaggerate the impact of national security legislation on the city's autonomy accordingly, pretending "autonomy" equates to constant unrest and chaos in the region.

Despite the fact that the city continues to have the free economy through its judicial system, the Biden administration unleashed a cynical and bad faith "Hong Kong business advisory" in 2021, attempting to claim that the SAR posed risks for American businesses present there.

Rioters in standoff with police outside of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, south China, November 17, 2019. /Xinhua

Rioters in standoff with police outside of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, south China, November 17, 2019. /Xinhua

Supporting riots and undermining law enforcement

In conjunction with this, the U.S. made long-winded efforts to undermine law enforcement in the city and to portray violent attempts at insurrection, which included deliberately destroying and disabling the city's infrastructure, as "peaceful pro-democracy protests."

The document shows how the U.S. made excessive accusations of "police brutality" including through Congressional committees, even though in practice not a single individual died at their hands in containing the protests. Nancy Pelosi had infamously called the riots a "beautiful sight to behold," whilst the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong Hanscom Smith said that "the United States stands with Hong Kong."

The fact sheet also reveals the hypocrisy of the U.S. in the process. Washington happily ignores police violence and oppression in a swathe of allied countries, showing how America typically latches on to "atrocity propaganda" in enemy countries in order to generate public support and sympathy for more intervention, which was in this case pushing for the sanctions above.

Actively meeting with and promoting separatist and riot leaders

For those who believe that the Hong Kong movement had "authentic" legitimacy and was not being orchestrated by external forces, the document sets to bed this argument by offering large-scale evidence of how advocates of unrest in Hong Kong met frequently with U.S. representatives and officials. This has included the U.S. consulate in the city arranging meetings with Anson Chan Fang On-sang, Martin Lee Chu-ming, Joshua Wong Chi-fung and U.S. House Members in March 2019, who later met with Nancy Pelosi on the same trip. They also gave speeches at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University and the Heritage Foundation. In all aspects of their trip, they called for sanctions against China.

In May 2019, Martin Lee Chu-ming, Lee Cheuk-yan, Mak Yin-ting, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, James To Kun-sun and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, visited the United States holding meetings with Nancy Pelosi, Mike Pompeo and White House National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Matt Pottinger. Apple Daily Chief Jimmy Lai is also listed as having visited the U.S. in July of that year meeting with Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and John Bolton, showing how U.S. interference was directly coming from the highest levels of state. Nancy Pelosi would meet with leading figures several more times, whilst U.S senator Ted Cruz actively visited the city to meet with the ringleaders.

In conclusion, this fact-sheet is a smoking gun. The evidence is not coincidental or anecdotal. It provides clear as crystal proof that the United States is deeply involved in explicit political interference in Hong Kong from every single level of government, from supporting and meeting with leading rioters, to actively encouraging unrest and disorder, to undermining law enforcement and  promoting sanctions, to smearing the city's name.

The evidence is both overwhelming and staggering, and anyone who doubts America's role in attempting to undermine this area should have a good and hard long read of it.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

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