Having agreed to give Hong Kong autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula, Beijing finally showed its hand and ruled out elections there.
It is a weak and cowardly ruler who avoids universal suffrage. There has never been
and never will be a democratic communist government, simply because no sane citizenry would ever vote in favor of
a communist government. Communism is merely a tool of the dictator, a paternalistic regime based on the errant notion that an elite ruling class can best know how to take care of the "ignorant masses."
This is China in a nutshell. The dictators live in luxury while the peasants are kept in the dark, fed nonsense and taught lies about the Communist Party. There have been so many lies in Beijing for so long, no one remembers how to spell "truth."
This latest fiasco in Hong Kong must be a warning to the world about Taiwan and Tibet. China lies when it says it favors human rights and freedom. It lies when it says it respects freedom of religion. It lies when it says Taiwan is an errant province. It lies when it says it is merely "helping" Tibet's economy.
It lies when it says Hong Kong is governed by "one country, two systems." That is another communist lie -- there is no such system. There is one party in Hong Kong -- it is the Chinese Communist Party, and anyone else is "unpatriotic" and therefore disqualified.
The communist version of democracy is laughable. The Constitution of China is a joke. It is the binding of a book on the outside and empty pages on the inside. Communist China is a place where lying is the most sacred art. The communists have had over 50 years to practice lying, and they even lie to each other.
Sadly, they believe their own lies, and the people truly have suffered long for it.
Hwa Lee-long
United States
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