Hong Kong, the Hard Part: Kick Out U.S., Build National Consensus

[marmar]

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance

This piece first appeared at Popular Resistance.

When protests in Hong Kong exploded, knowledgeable people looked for US involvement. It was not hard to find. The overt intrusion of the US is available in budgets, documents and websites; the covert involvement has not yet been uncovered but is no doubt there. What does US involvement mean for the credibility of the protest movement and the future of Hong Kong? How should Hong Kong activists respond?

The issues raised by the protests, lack of democracy and an unfair economy, are very real. But so are the concerns of Beijing for economic growth and continuing to lift people out of poverty, something China has done remarkably well. Those who seek to transform governance and create a more equal economy now have a more challenging task than protests, they must build national consensus on their issues in Hong Kong and in China’s leadership. The Chinese People’s Daily quoted a Chinese-American author who wrote the Occupy Central leadership, Yin Haoliu, said: “Democracy is a step-by-step process that cannot be approached in haste, otherwise it will bring about troubles.” How quickly those steps advance depends, in part, on how well the democracy movement organizes.

Now that the US has been exposed, it needs to be removed. US goals are very different than the people in Hong Kong. The US is in the process of encircling China militarily and economically. It sees China as a competitor, a nation that can undermine the US as the single world superpower. Conflict between Hong Kong and Beijing would serve US interests but undermine the Hong Kong economy which is tied to China. The protest movement has already begun to separate itself from people too close to the US. Hong Kong’s people and government need to go further and expel US influence, remembering the historic imperialism of the US in China and noting the current strategic goals of the United States. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hong_kong_the_hard_part_kick_out_the_us_build_national_consensus_20141005

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. Because no group anywhere will independently come to reject communism... that's crazy talk.

The mainland having already mostly re-nagged on the One Country, Two Systems deal is not a great starting point for building a consensus.

The world needs to step-up and demand that Beijing honor it's obligations under the 1984 treaty that guaranteed that Hong Kong would be "an island of capitalism".

[KamaAina]

2. I shall ask my HK connection, a US expat, for her opinion.

Bet none of you can say that your college girlfriend/boyfriend moved to Hong Kong to gvet away from you!!

[KamaAina]

3. From our Senior Hong Kong Correspondent:

"Very US-centric view of the situation - and in my opinion - US playing minor role".