HK riot leaders remain silent on US unrest
People's Daily
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HK silent.jpeg

(Photo: People's Daily)

No comment on George Floyd's death caused by racism and police brutality, remaining silent on the vigorous law enforcement of US police, and keeping mum on the protests and riots in the US - that is the current situation of some Hong Kong riot leaders.

Hong Kong riots leaders, such as secessionist and activist Joshua Wong and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, have posted nothing about the #GeorgeFloyd, the trending hashtag with over 1.74 million Tweets. It seems that the Hong Kong riot leaders and rioters became even more mute after US President Donald Trump on May 30 said he's ready to deploy military troops to crush the protests in Minneapolis.  

Experts noted that it is interesting to someone who used to blame the Hong Kong police's law enforcement - which was much restrained than the US police - sealed their mouths. Many are also waiting to see their remarks on the US riots.


They said that the silence reveals their embarrassment over the issue as they, on one hand, do not want to blame their US paymasters, but on the other, do not want to expose their double standards on police law enforcement and rioters' violence. 

The riot leaders are also silent on long-existing racism in the US, which is the cause of the Floyd issue and the core problem triggered by this wave of protests. As a nation of immigrants, the persistent problem of racial conflicts triggered the current violent protests in the US, and the country failed to cope with the black people's interests and proper rights from presidents Lincoln to Obama. The situation deteriorated after the Trump "white supremacy" brought him victory in the 2016 election. 


US police officers continued to increase their use of force. In Louisville, one man was shot and killed when police and the National Guard opened fire following a confrontation between a group at a parking lot and authorities' attempt to disperse the crowd, the Washington Post reported Monday, citing officials.

More than 4,000 people were arrested in US cities over the weekend, the report said.


In a previous interview with DW, Wong called on Hong Kong authorities to launch an investigation into police "brutality".

"If the enhanced version of the Hong Kong police's law enforcement is acceptable to Jimmy Lai and Joshua Wong, then the US police set a good example to Hong Kong counterparts when cracking down on their violence in our city in the future," a man surnamed Ren, a Hong Kong resident, told Global Times on Monday.


The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made several comments since last year, slammed US politicians like Mike Pompeo and Nancy Pelosi for intervening in Hong Kong's issue. Former chief executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying suggested that when comparing the characteristics of the chaos and violence in the US, the unrest that started in Hong Kong last summer clearly had backstage manipulators.

They dare not blame the US government, as some US politicians have voiced support for the riots they led in Hong Kong, and some US organizations even sponsored the riots, Yin Hongbiao, an expert on Hong Kong affairs at Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.


Nor did they dare to blame the violent protesters, as street violence is exactly what they have always encouraged during the Hong Kong unrest, Yin noted. 

Yin predicted that these riot masterminds are very likely preparing for a new wave of social unrest, as June and July are always the peak time for illegal assemblies in the city, might be in a less intense way.


"I am not sure if rioters in Hong Kong would keep tossing Molotov cocktails at police and burning public facilities, which come with murder charges in the US. But I think severe punishment and greater public anger would come if they did so in future protests," a Hong Kong netizen said on Facebook.