Political experts in Hong Kong on Friday have dismissed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s anti-China rhetoric as “pure idle threats” made to divert attention from domestic problems in the United States.
Despite the escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies, China has remained steadfast in upholding “one country, two systems”, defending Hong Kong’s interests and its international status, unlike the US, which is trying to contain China at the expense of the SAR, they said.
In a speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, on Thursday, Pompeo launched a scathing attack on China, its military and its people. In particular, he tried to drive a wedge between the central government and the Chinese people by saying people in China are “surveilled, oppressed” by their government and are “scared to speak out”.
Lau Lan-cheong, president of the Golden Mean Institute, praised the central government for having exercised restraint and maturity in the face of US provocation, whether it’s direct conflict over foreign policy with the US or in the US’ covert subversion through Hong Kong
Lau Lan-cheong, president of the Golden Mean Institute, a local think tank, said Hong Kong people and their Chinese mainland compatriots would laugh off Pompeo’s attempts to sow discord between the central government and the Chinese people.
READ MORE: Beijing hits back at Pompeo's slanders against China
Such an unrealistic approach shows that the Trump administration has been rattled as it’s counting on playing the China card to offset the American people’s frustrations with the US government’s failure to tackle issues at home, including the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment and racial conflicts, said Lau, who’s also a veteran commentator for Phoenix Television.
In addition, he said Pompeo’s remarks have confirmed the US ambition to instigate a “color revolution” to overthrow the Chinese government.
Lau praised the central government for having exercised restraint and maturity in the face of US provocation, whether it’s direct conflict over foreign policy with the US or in the US’ covert subversion through Hong Kong.
One of the manifestations is that China on Friday has ordered the closure of the US Consulate General in Chengdu instead of the US consulate in Hong Kong as many people had expected, in response to the US decision to order the shutdown of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston.
Lau said the central government’s commitment to “one country, two systems” includes ensuring the SAR’s special status in the international community. Therefore, it won’t sacrifice the city’s unique international character when retaliating against the US.
Although external forces, such as the US and Taiwan, have been using “one country, two systems” to subvert Hong Kong, Beijing has responded by enacting the new National Security Law to close the loophole instead of breaching or rejecting that principle, he said.
ALSO READ: China-Africa ties: China refutes Pompeo's anti-China statements
As China strives to secure Hong Kong’s special status, the US, however, has repeatedly threatened to crack down on Hong Kong’s role in global finance and trade. Hong Kong’s opposition camp, in applauding the US move, has shown they’re at the service of the US, not Hong Kong, said Lau.
Stanley Ng Chau-pei — a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress — said the Trump administration’s attempts to divide the central government and the Chinese people are delusional and showed it knows nothing about China’s situation. ‘‘It’s ridiculous and it’s not worth rebutting,” he said.
Ng said the “color revolution” orchestrated by the US in Hong Kong in the past year has failed. It was aimed at infiltrating the Chinese mainland and overthrowing the central government but, in effect, it has had the opposite effect in making the Chinese people more united, he added.
