US journalist 'shocked' by ignorance of HK rioters

A veteran US investigative journalist has blamed Western powers for stirring up trouble in places like Hong Kong, saying he was "shocked" by the ignorance of Hong Kong rioters.

Andre Vltchek — a political analyst and writer of Russian origin — recalled having tried to reason with the rioters when he was in Hong Kong covering the violent protests.

Describing his conversation with the rioters as a "truly revealing experience", he said most of them looked perplexed when he presented them with evidence of Western powers pulling the strings that have ended up ruining the lives of millions of people, destroying villages and cities and even entire countries around the world.

Vltchek said he had shown the protesters photos he had taken in Afghanistan and Syria, but they didn't believe the "good", "tender" and "democratic" Western powers are, in fact, the real troublemakers who have made the lives of innocent people extremely miserable.

In comments in a column published in the online magazine New Eastern Outlook on Tuesday, Vltchek said: "That's not what they were taught at universities. That's not what the BBC or CNN said and wrote."

The writer blamed "biased and one-sided news" coverage by the Western media, saying the facts of the crimes against humanity committed by Western powers, including the US meddling in overthrowing Latin American nations, have been "twisted" and "manipulated", making Hong Kong and the rest of the world more alienated from each other.

In the Western media, what happened in Hong Kong, despite its violent nature, was portrayed as a "pro-democracy" movement.

"In Hong Kong, rioters indoctrinated by the West are portrayed as 'pro-democracy protesters'. They kill, burn and beat up people, but they're still the West's favorites because they're antagonizing the People's Republic of China, now Washington's biggest enemy, and because they were created and sustained by the West," Vltchek wrote.

A 70-year-old part-time cleaner died last month after being struck on the head by a brick believed to have been hurled by a rioter during a mass rally in Hong Kong. Another man was set on fire in broad daylight when he criticized protesters for vandalizing a metro station. The man was in a coma for days and has had several skin grafts.

Vltchek, who also writes for various books, said the same situation happens all over the world, especially in the Middle East and Latin America.

False news coverage is fragmenting the world, he warned, saying even people living in two neighboring countries know close to nothing about each other. "I've never seen the world so divided."

However, a good sign is that countries like China, Russia and Iran have woken up and are trying to learn about each other, Vltchek said.

Asia's growing power is changing the world and would result in the Western media being confronted and marginalized as Western concepts, such as "democracy", "peace" and "human rights", have to be questioned and redefined, he said.

"We need a new world, not an improved one."