One cannot help feeling outraged over the obviously biased interview with US Consul General Hanscom Smith that the South China Morning Post (SCMP) did recently. It is so one-sided that it gives the impression that the reporter has allowed himself to be used as a propaganda mouthpiece for the US government!
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First, the timing. The interview was published on April 1, the day after the US State Department issued its annual report depicting a false and misleading picture of Hong Kong. This is clearly a premeditated public relations move of the US Consulate General, using the SCMP as its tool!
The heading of the interview article is most misleading: “Report on Hong Kong’s ‘deteriorating liberties’ outlines ‘truth’: US consul general.” Has the reporter made any attempt to challenge the so-called truth?
The crucial questions that should have been put to Smith during the interview should have included: What is his view of the 2019 insurrection riots in Hong Kong? What was the role of the US in them? Was it actually one of the many “color revolutions” America has mounted in various countries in the name of democracy, similar to the US modus operandi in the “Arab Spring”? Why were the Hong Kong protestors waving US flags? Does he agree that the National Security Law for Hong Kong is instrumental in returning Hong Kong to peace and stability so that he can now enjoy walking alone in Central at night in safety?
Before and during the riots, US Consulate staff were found to have held secret meetings with the opposition activists who were riot organizers. Are they Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents operating under diplomatic cover in Hong Kong? Indeed, the US Consulate in Hong Kong has a disproportionately large number of staff, the largest in fact of all US diplomatic missions. We know as a fact that “legal attaches” are actually FBI agents. How many of them are also national security agents? Are they abusing their consular status to conduct subversive activities in Hong Kong?
The best response to all these Hong Kong reports from the the US and UK is for China to publish a white paper on the 2019 riots in Hong Kong, laying out in detail the roles of the US and the UK in this “color revolution”. That would be the real truth for the world to see
Questions should also be asked on the role of the National Endowment for Democracy and National Democratic Institute, both believed to be fronts for the CIA, which, according to media reports, had provided funding for many opposition activist groups, such as the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, and even the public opinion survey firm Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.
Smith said he was concerned about the deteriorating human rights in Hong Kong. How about America’s obvious double standards when it comes to protecting the human rights of ethnic minorities such as Asian Americans and various people of color? US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once described the violent protests in Hong Kong as “a beautiful sight to behold”. But when violent rioters invaded the US Congress, many of them were arrested and their insurrection roundly condemned. Are they suggesting that violence is not the answer in the US, but it is fine in Hong Kong?
American society has long been marred by human rights issues, racial attacks, criminal shootings, looting and homelessness. The coronavirus pandemic alone has taken over 1 million innocent lives! So, in all fairness, the US really should get its own house in order first before poking its nose into other countries’ internal affairs. It’s a pity that Smith was not asked to comment on America’s own shortcomings.
But the diplomat did comment on our National Security Law, saying that it is time to “banish the fiction” that the law is equivalent to those passed by democratic countries. If so, how do you explain the US establishment of torture camps in Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners can be detained without trial indefinitely and tortured in interrogation, which is considered a major breach of human rights by Amnesty International? Can he also explain the principle of freedom of the press and information while taking all devious means to extradite and destroy Julian Assange, who was just doing what media practitioners are expected to do — exposing government lies?
Smith was also quoted as saying, “Britain’s recent move to pull judges from Hong Kong due to a Beijing-imposed National Security Law was proof that the city could not adopt a fragmented view on the rule of law.” The reporter, if he had done his homework properly, should have asked him why the other nine foreign judges, many of them actually more prestigious and experienced than the two who resigned, have chosen to remain and issued a joint public statement praising the integrity and independence of the Hong Kong Judiciary. That is the real “truth” that should have been included in the US State Department report.
Finally, if Hong Kong has deteriorated as badly as alleged, why are there still so many US enterprises in Hong Kong?
It is most interesting to note the readers’ comments on the SCMP homepage of the report. At the time of writing (April 2), it attracted 183 comments, 99 percent of them condemning the report, with lots of sarcastic comments like “April Fools’ Day’s joke!”, “Pack of lies!”, “Indeed US maintains ‘a very consistent policy’ of interference into China/HK!” On Smith’s allegation that Hong Kong is not business as usual, one reader aptly commented: “But it is business as usual in Hong Kong. The West’s fearmongering that HK would collapse never happened. We’re still in the top 5 financial cities, and peace and order have been restored. You say you’re ‘not confrontational’, but the fact that you’re still putting out these ridiculous reports shows that you’re still trying to interfere in China’s internal affairs!”
I believe the best response to all these Hong Kong reports from the US and the UK is for China to publish a white paper on the 2019 riots in Hong Kong, laying out in detail the roles of the US and the UK in this “color revolution”. That would be the real truth for the world to see.
The author is an honorary fellow of HKU Space and Metropolitan University.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.