Hong Kong will withstand external meddling: China Daily editorial

The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has condemned the US National Democratic Institute for International Affairs for meddling in Hong Kong affairs.

In a terse statement issued by the commissioner's office, the spokesman rightfully pointed out the US organization's depiction of the months-long social unrest in Hong Kong as a "fight over democratization" is nothing but a lie and irrefutable evidence that anti-China elements in the West, the United States in particular, are colluding with extremists in Hong Kong to provoke confrontation and undermine the rule of law.

Indeed, the institute's biased report is clear evidence that some ill-intentioned people in the US are the "black hands" behind the violent activities of Hong Kong's so-called pro-democracy movement that have roiled the city.

In the second half of last year, Hong Kong was subject to appalling and escalating violence that nearly paralyzed the Asian financial hub, harmed its economy, cost innocent lives and brought incessant social unrest. No conscientious people would dream of calling such blatant violence as lawful moves that uphold democracy. Yet that is what the institute's act-distorting and finger-pointing report does. It deserves the condemnation it has received.

But it is not only China's interests that will be put in harm's way if rioters continue to create mayhem in this Chinese metropolis. Statistics from the US side show the US trade surplus with Hong Kong was the highest among all its global trading partners in the 10 years leading up to 2018. By encouraging the violence and "coloring" it to its liking, the US is lifting a stone that being too heavy to hold will drop, crushing its own toes.

It is high time the US stopped meddling in Hong Kong's affairs as its interference is odious in its purpose and belies the democratic values it purports to uphold. The US organization has time and again been a notorious example of US hypocrisy trumpeting democracy and freedom worldwide while seeking to subvert governments and instigate regime change.

The activities of the rioters in Hong Kong that the report upholds as a fight for democracy are instead the ruin of it. By condoning and supporting those engaging in the violent acts, it suggests they are somehow above the law.
Ignorance, prejudice and arrogance have been the hallmarks of the unrest in Hong Kong, and those have once again come to the fore in the report by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

But the violence it endorses will not lessen the determination of both the central and HKSAR governments to uphold the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" policy in Hong Kong.