Numerous Hong Kong residents expressed outrage at the opposition camp following its recent plea for US government sanctions against certain principal officials of the SAR government if not the city itself. Three legislators from the opposition bloc used a Hong Kong-US exchange symposium in California last week as an opportunity to present a list of senior government officials during a meeting with US federal officials. They “urged” Washington to take “punitive” action against their cherry-picked Hong Kong officials for “crimes” they have never committed. At a time when the city is struggling to cope with a deadly epidemic, every political officeholder is obligated to do their best to contribute to the ultimate victory over the infectious disease, including opposition lawmakers who receive fat paychecks supported by tax money every month. To the great disappointment of Hong Kong citizens, those well-paid legislators continue to prioritize their partisan interests over the common good.
These representatives of the opposition camp were no doubt on a mission to keep reminding their American patrons and bankrollers of the imagined benefits from hurting Hong Kong society. However, the petition they made with US federal officials for sanctions against SAR principal officials, such as Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu and Police Commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung, sounds more like a desperate plea for Washington not to abandon its proxies in Hong Kong. But they must have realized now that Washington is not in their pocket; and it will always prioritize US interests over those of its proxies and pawns in Hong Kong, particularly when it is struggling to cope with daunting domestic challenges.
Although this was before the US stock market meltdown, there is no denying they knew the COVID-19 epidemic was raging across America when they arrived. That is why even some of their fellow politicians do not expect Washington will interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs with a heavy hand — for the time being.
It is not hard at all to see the opposition camp is working furiously to secure US support in pulling off another victory against the pro-establishment camp in the upcoming Legislative Council election this September. Apparently, their blind faith in Hong Kong voters’ “fear” of Washington’s wrath in the shape of political and trade sanctions allowed them to underestimate the intellectual inadequacies of the Trump administration in the face of a public health crisis and its dire politico-economic consequences, as well as an upcoming presidential election.
That opposition politicians begged for US interference in Hong Kong affairs, which would inevitably weaken the city’s ability to tackle the epidemic should their self-serving scheme materialize, again unmistakably demonstrates that they put their own interests before the public good. As for what it could bring about on the city, that’s none of their concerns.