China’s Internet erupted in mirth at the US’ troubled democracy after supporters of US President Donald Trump broke into the US Capitol, comparing the chaos to the Hong Kong protests of 2019.
China’s state-run tabloid the Global Times yesterday posted side-by-side photographs on Twitter comparing Hong Kong protesters occupying the territory’s Legislative Council Complex in July 2019 with Wednesday’s Washington riot.
The latter saw hardcore Trump fans invade the Capitol to protest Trump’s election defeat, taking selfies, scuffling with security and ransacking parts of the building.
“@SpeakerPelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as ‘a beautiful sight to behold,’” the Global Times wrote on Twitter, referring to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s June 2019 comment about Hong Kong’s mass demonstrations, which were mostly peaceful at that time.
“It remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill,” the Global Times added.
The Chinese Communist Youth League also described the unrest as a “beautiful sight” on Sina Weibo.
The hashtag “Trump supporters storm US Capitol” yesterday pinballed across Sina Weibo, racking up 230 million views, as users compared the global support for Hong Kong’s protesters with the condemnation for the pro-Trump mob.
“All European countries’ leaders have shown double standards and condemned it,” said one user referring to the Washington rioting in a comment that gained more than 5,000 likes.
“What happened in the Hong Kong legislature last year is being repeated in the US Capitol,” wrote another user in a comment with more than 4,500 likes.
While the tactics were similar, there are stark differences in the causes and motivations of the two legislature stormings.
Hong Kong protesters broke into their legislature to demand full democracy and halt an unpopular bill that was being pushed through by Hong Kong’s unelected leadership.
The territory is not a democracy, the cause of years of popular protests.
China has since responded with a crackdown and imposed a harsh National Security Law, arresting scores of critics and smothering dissent.
In contrast, those storming the Capitol were trying to overturn the results of what has been declared a free and fair election.
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