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When Hong Kong civil servants protest too, can China still blame American ‘black hands’ for the unrest?
- With over 1,400 US companies in Hong Kong, Washington has little to gain from increased political risk in the city – especially when business interests trump all others
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Why you can trust SCMP
US diplomats and politicians talk endlessly about American ideals. When addressing audiences worldwide, many are so high on rhetoric, they can’t see how many eyes in the room they send rolling. Human rights and democracy, they will tell captive audiences from the four corners of the Earth, are sacred to the American sensibility.
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Therefore, accusations that the United States government is somehow behind the unrest gripping Hong Kong might not seem far-fetched at first blush.
But there’s a reason the rhetoric US officials spew elicits more groans than hallelujahs. Their oratory would be more inspiring if it wasn’t for what everyone familiar with US foreign policy knows: corporate interests trump all other considerations.
Even Christian zeal takes a back seat to the almighty dollar. Why else would the US be so willing to maintain close ties with Saudi Arabia in the face of the kingdom’s butchering of Jamal Khashoggi or its legally enforced paternalistic treatment of women under a strict interpretation of Islamic orthodoxy? Perhaps US$8 billion worth of arms sales to Riyadh?
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Here’s another reason to doubt officials, including China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi and Hong Kong’s former leader Tung Chee-hwa when they blame the US for the popular uprising and subsequent violence in Hong Kong: Washington’s entire 40-year relationship with Beijing is premised on the understanding that criticism of China’s human rights record will not be allowed beyond the point at which it damages business ties.
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