US Vice President Mike Pence last week delivered a hawkish speech on China, criticizing its human rights records and unfair trading practice, while praising Hong Kong’s months-long pro-democracy struggle.
This built momentum and hope for bipartisan efforts toward a swift vote in the US Senate on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, passed unanimously by the US House of Representatives on Oct. 15.
If passed in the Senate, this legislation would require various US agencies to assess whether the Chinese communist regime and Hong Kong government recognize the democratic aspirations of Hong Kongers, whether the territory remains sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment under US law and whether Beijing has abused the territory’s special economic status to evade US export controls.
The bill also authorizes the US Department of State to sanction Hong Kong officials for abducting, abusing and torturing nonviolent demonstrators — demonstrators defending human rights, freedom and the rule of law.
There are three immediate takeaways from this proposed legislation. First and foremost, the timing is immensely important as it marks the beginning of US diplomatic intervention in Hong Kong’s political affairs.
International commentators might debate among themselves whether this act would effectively help pro-democracy advocates refrain from street violence against police.
Because the pro-democracy movement has persisted for months, affecting people from all walks of life, it is difficult for outside mediators to balance the desire for crisis intervention with the need for patience.
The situation on the ground is actually spiraling out of control. Abandoning the principle of political neutrality of civil servants, the Hong Kong police have operated as an instrument of repression by ruthlessly breaking up peaceful rallies and suppressing civil disobedience.
The police have also withheld firsthand information about the alleged rape of activists in detention centers, and the alleged mysterious deaths of hundreds of arrested demonstrators.
The brutalization by the local police is not an accidental occurrence; it is a carefully planned scheme to intimidate Hong Kongers into submission.
Worrying that the call for liberalization would motivate people to remove the ruling elite from their perch, Beijing and its handpicked agents have militarized the police to thwart the idea of democratic sovereignty.
On Oct. 20, some police officers deliberately used water cannons to blast the entrances of the Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre and St Andrews Church in Tsim Sha Tsui, warning Muslim and Christian residents not to support peaceful demonstrators.
Not an isolated incident of vandalism, the desecration of sacred sites is intolerable because it institutionalizes in local policing China’s anti-religious sentiment.
Second, the act sets out to help qualified Hong Kongers secure visas to work and study in the US, even if they had been arrested for nonviolent resistance. This humanitarian support, together with sanctions on abusive government officials, is designed to level the political playing field.
Since Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) still retains enormous resources for repression, international help is crucial for protecting and empowering pro-democracy advocates. The underlying moral message is that Hong Kongers are not alone in the global struggle between democracy and dictatorial rule.
Third, a key measure of the efficacy of this intervention is the extent to which the ruthless power of the Lam administration would be constrained institutionally.
It remains to be seen whether the threat of US sanctions would restrict the autocratic power of the chief executive and prompt police commanders to adopt a more conciliatory approach to resolving police-community conflicts. Only when the police are reined in from violent misconduct would the public outrage truly abate.
In short, anticipation of unforeseeable dangers ahead is an essential part of the political calculation.
Before the current governance crisis pits communities against each other in Hong Kong, the US and Taiwan should take the lead in supporting local civic groups and progressive leaders who are still working for nonviolent transformation, freedom and justice. Thus, foreign diplomatic intervention, both real and symbolic, might be the one and only way to restore peace and stability, and shield the territory from mounting Chinese pressure and stress.
Joseph Tse-Hei Lee is professor of history at Pace University in New York City.
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