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Bravery of Hong Kong shames the West
(official press, by Richard Lloyd Parry) Another source Discussions
3 Jul 2019
勇敢的香港示威者，令西方世界蒙羞 (譯文 by 水泡型樹窿)
4 Jul 2019
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No one with real power has the guts to admit it, but a few years ago the rest of the world gave up caring about the evils perpetrated by the government of China. Perhaps it was the moment when the People’s Republic overtook Japan to become the world’s second biggest economy. Perhaps it was the accession of Xi Jinping, the most uncompromisingly authoritarian Chinese leader since Mao. At some point in the past 15 years, the right-thinking governments of western Europe and North America, confronted by the oppression, cruelty and petty vindictiveness of the Chinese regime towards its opponents, shrugged their shoulders and turned away.
It’s not that the West ignores the rounding up of Muslim Uighurs in “re-education” camps in Xinjiang province, the persecution of peaceful democracy activists or the suppression of Tibet’s independence movement; but the objections raised are so timid and bureaucratic, so hobbled by the fear of causing offence, as to be almost meaningless. The only person standing up to Mr Xi is Donald Trump, who is engaged in a trade war not on grounds of principle, but for national self-interest. He makes little secret of his indifference to the rights of the Chinese; his concern is only for the economic advantage of Americans.
This is the most remarkable, and the most shaming, thing about the protest movement that has emerged in Hong Kong in the past month. The youth of its organisers, several of whom are little more than teenagers, is inspiring. The scale of the demonstrations, some reaching 2 million people, has taken everyone by surprise. But the most important thing about them is their uniqueness. The Hong Kong protesters represent the only significant challenge anywhere in the world to the oppression and arrogance of the Chinese communist party.
What began as a movement against a proposed new extradition law, that would allow people arrested in Hong Kong to be sent for trial in China, has metamorphosed into a determined campaign to force the resignation of the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, who is effectively appointed by Beijing. Its leaders, such as 22-year-old Joshua Wong, talk openly about their goal: the introduction of genuine democracy in Hong Kong, a demand which long ago became taboo among the leaders of the G20 nations.
There are reasons, of course, for the reluctance of governments to confront Beijing, beginning with the most obvious of all. Chinese money and technology exert an increasingly powerful influence on the global economy. The Chinese market is one that no multinational manufacturer or financial institution can ignore.
Beijing has made it clear that it will punish any government that challenges it on issues such as democracy and human rights. For a British prime minister to speak out in support of independence for Taiwan, for example, would bring a heavy cost in terms of Chinese investment and opportunities for British companies in Beijing. If the leader of one of its competitor economies, such as France or Germany, were to do so, Britain would stand to benefit from its own silence. It is not surprising that governments prefer to avoid the problem altogether and resort to diplomatic bromides, such as those uttered by Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, when he warned Beijing yesterday (Tuesday) of unspecified “serious consequences” if the rights of Hong Kongers were trampled on.
There is another argument for not tackling human rights in China head on — the wish to avoid a new Cold War, in which political differences turn into a broad economic, cultural and military confrontation. Barring some internal catastrophe, China’s rise to global economic pre-eminence is inevitable; military power will not lag very far behind. Surely it is better, the argument goes, to find points of common interest and understanding with this new superpower, rather than turning points of principle into the trenches of a new battle of ideologies.
This is where the young men and women of Hong Kong put the rest of the world to shame. Their city is part of China. The tanks of the People’s Liberation Army are within short trundling distance of their schools, workplaces and homes. British politicians worry about scaring Chinese securities firms away from the City of London. Hong Kong people face a one-party dictatorship, encroaching on the liberties supposedly guaranteed under the Sino-British “one country, two systems” agreement.
How much more they have to lose than us. They have no army, no embassies, no seat at the United Nations. But for all their vulnerability, they have demonstrated the power of principled dissent. The vandalism perpetrated by a few activists during Monday’s invasion of parliament will be used by Ms Lam and the authorities in Beijing in an effort to portray the whole movement as one of thugs and hooligans. It will not succeed.
Given the frustrations the people of the territory face, and the frustration of the democratic impulse, it is remarkable that there has not been more bad behaviour. The people of Hong Kong have behaved with courage, confidence, dignity and restraint. These qualities in themselves have been enough to throw on to the back foot the mighty Chinese state. It is an example from which the anxious governments of the West could learn a valuable lesson.
現在那些有實權在手的人完全沒勇氣承認，這些香港的民主示威者，是唯一願意在殘酷和傲慢的中共政權下挺身而出的人。早幾年前，應該話當習近平成為毛澤東後最獨裁的一位掌權者而領導中共取代日本成世界第二經濟體時，全世界就都已放棄插手中共所犯之罪，至少在過去十五年間，那些歐洲和北美的右翼政府，他們面對這些自中國國內而來的慘絕控訴時所採取的態度是聳一聳肩後就乾脆視而不視。
如今西方國家不只漠視穆斯林及維吾爾族被關押在再教育營的事，在一副怕得罪中共的樣子下對極權中共迫害示威平民和鎮壓西藏獨立運動的抗議也非常溫和，毫無效果，只流於官僚，別無意義。唯一不怕跟中共對抗的只有狂人特朗普但非因他能兼持原則，他根本從不掩飾對於中共獨裁施政的不在乎，一切不過出於美國利益。
這次運動由本來為反逃犯修訂條例(條例一旦修訂有機會令香港市民什至旅客送到中共受審)，已經轉化成對政府核心議題的直接挑戰，例如要求由中央委任的特首林鄭下台。尤其當中的青少年組織，令人非常鼓舞，同時近二百萬人的示威亦令人震驚，他們所展現的獨特性代表了一股非常重要的力量，直接使中共的壓迫受挑戰。香港這個六月的民主運動可以說狠狠刮了那些西方國家一巴。
同時間，22歲的民主運動領袖G phone公開表達要求重啟政改為香港的真民主帶來起步，令本來在G20高峰會前成為禁忌的訴求再次在國際間引起注目。此前，不同政府都不願直接對中共政權表達出不滿，原因明顯在於它的資金和技術都在世界有著愈來愈重大的影響，北京亦表明會對任何向它提出人權議題的政府實施制裁。倘以英國為例，她國內的中資會全面撤走而英資公司在中國的發展機會將被徹底剝奪。同樣環境下，若德法出聲譴責，其他沈默的國家便很有機會搶得德法原在中國的利益，所以，出於經濟因素，他們明顯會逃避中共管治下的人權問題，不可能有國家會像英國外相一樣直接表示憂慮並警告北京勿再踐踏香港人權否則將面臨嚴重後果。
另外也因為他們希望逃避新一輪冷戰必然帶來的環球政治局面，例如引致宏觀的經濟、文化什至軍事上的衝突問題。因普遍認為，中共政體爬上國際舞台尖端指日可待，當它的經濟力不斷增強，其軍事力量也不會有太大差距，故之，理所當然是彼此幾個超級強國之間能找到共同利益及互相尊重而並非死抱各自原則打一場意識形態之戰。
這無疑是今日仍為中共管轄的香港的年輕人令國際感到蒙羞之處。共產黨之下的軍隊和坦克其實與他們的社區包括學校、公司、住所僅是咫呎之遙。而以倫敦與中共解放軍這種明明非常之遠的威脅距離，卻竟然讓英國的政客感到害怕。
反而香港人面對著一黨專政的極權，面對著近在咫尺的坦克(譯者按：中環海濱已永久成為解放軍軍事禁區)仍有勇氣走出來爭取那訂明在基本法內原本就屬於他們的稱為一國兩際的權利。比之於英國，他們沒有保護自己的軍隊、沒有能提供足夠庇護的專屬於自己的領事館，聯合國之上也無一席之位自由發表意見，但他們卻在此中諸多軟弱下展示了更強大的反抗。
眼下，香港政府毋庸置疑會無所不用其極去將七月一日立法會內外所遭受的破壞描繪成暴徒行為，但他們不會得逞。香港人在這場亂局中所展現的種種美德，包括勇氣、自信、尊嚴及自制已扯動到中共後腿。
這正好給那些過分緊張、憂慮的政府一個好例子，願我們大家都能好好跟香港人上一課。