Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protest Leaders Throw in the Towel Following Chinese Takeover
Shane Trejo
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The leaders of Hong Kong freedom protests that brought out millions into the streets throughout 2019 and early 2020 are quitting on the cause following a new law that will allow China to punish protesters harshly.
Joshua Wong, secretary-general of resistance group Demosisto, announced that he would be quitting the organization and effectively waving the white flag on the crusade for independence.
“It [the law] marks the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before,” Wong said. “From now on, Hong Kong enters a new era of reign of terror, just like Taiwan’s White Terror, with arbitrary prosecutions, black jails, secret trials, forced confessions, media clampdowns and political censorship.”
“With sweeping powers and ill-defined law, the city will turn into a secret police state. Hong Kong protesters now face high possibilities of being extradited to China’s courts for trials and life sentences,” he added.
Nathan Law, the founding chairman of Demosisto, also announced that he was quitting the group although he said that he plans to fight for democracy “in a personal capacity,” whatever that means.
The Hong Kong National Front also announced it would be disbanding. Although they remain active in other countries and insist that “today is not the end point,” they will not be active in Hong Kong any longer and their spokesman, Baggio Leung, who was formerly a parliamentary member in 2016, is leaving the group.
Amnesty International confirmed that the freedom revolution in Hong Kong was a failure, and China has an iron grip over the city now.
“From now on, China will have the power to impose its own laws on any criminal suspect it chooses,” said the head of Amnesty’s China team, Joshua Rosenzweig.
“The fact that the Chinese authorities have now passed this law without the people of Hong Kong being able to see it tells you a lot about their intentions. Their aim is to govern Hong Kong through fear from this point forward,” he added.
President Trump announced last month that Hong Kong would be losing their special treatment in trade policy considerations because of their pathetic surrender to the red menace:
President Donald Trump announced today that he will be “terminating” the relationship between the disgraced World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. as well as cutting off special trade advantages given to Hong Kong after China seized control of the formerly semi-autonomous city…
Trump is also putting the squeeze on Hong Kong following China’s announcement that they will be taking additional power over the city that has rebelled against the red menace throughout the past year.
“I am directing my administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment,” Trump said at the same press conference.
“My announcement today will affect the full range of agreements that we have with Hong Kong, from our extradition treaty, to our export controls and technologies,” Trump added. “We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China.”
“No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement after delivering a report to Congress indicating that Hong Kong has been usurped by China.
The president also said he will instruct his “presidential working group on financial markets to study the different practices of Chinese companies listed on the U.S. financial markets, with a goal of protecting American investors.”
“Investment firms should not be subjecting their clients to the hidden and undue risks associated with financing Chinese companies that do not play by the same rules,” Trump said, adding that “Americans are entitled to fairness and transparency.”
America will have to show more resolve than Hong Kong in order to repel China’s evil influence and remain the world’s top super-power.
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