President Obama, speak up for Hong Kong
As we speak, an extraordinary, courageous, and dignified popular movement is rising in Hong Kong, and the state’s reaction to that movement is increasingly menacing.
It may well be the case that confronting Xi Jinping publicly could dig him in, strengthen nationalist and xenophobic elements, and be counterproductive, but silence will be read as license. Right now, Xi is weighing the costs and benefits of suppressing the protests violently. The President could do much to deter such a course with a strong warning now, behind the scenes, that a violent crackdown would have severe consequences for China’s trade relations, and for America’s policy response to a whole range of regional security issues.
When it comes to police treatment of non-violent protestors, the United States is rather lacking in moral authority right now.
US support for democratic movements hasn’t worked out well for the movements recently…
You mean like Solidarity and Charter 77? Be careful not to conclude too much from selective, agenda-driven coverage.
I agree Obama should make a public call of support. Demanding that the U.S. be a utopia before Americans call out dictatorships abroad, or throw their support behind democratic movements, is just a kind of defeatism. No nation will ever be perfect, but we all should keep lobbying to make them better.
If perfection is the standard that moral authority is judged by, there is no such thing as moral authority at all, and every thug on the planet has carte blanche to explore the full potential of his helicopter gunships. That line of argument is especially silly because in America, despite the obvious problems that some police officers undoubtedly exhibit, police abuse invites internal discipline, litigation, personal liability under Bivens, and prosecution. In China, they give out medals for that sort of thing.
Demanding that the U.S. be a utopia
I made no such demand.
Solidarity? Charter 77? You do know it’s 2014, not 1994, right Joshua?
The problem for the USG supporting pro-democracy protests is that when authoritarian regimes crack down on them, we tend to go conspicuously silent. I’d prefer we not say anything if we’re not going to be there the whole way, and I have zero faith in our willingness to speak up when things get hard for the Hong Kongers (which it will; the PRC is smart enough not to let it turn into Tiananmen Square, but once things quiet down…there will be a crackdown).
OK, how about the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine? It was eventually crushed by pro-Russian forces, but the movement it was a part of eventually seized power again. My point is that there are different ways the U.S. can provide support, and sometimes that support changes a country’s history. And frankly, the greater problem for Ukraine (and other places) recently has been a lack of U.S. support.
Getting back to Gary – yes you did make that demand. And Blackshoe’s complaint isn’t that there’s a “problem with supporting” democratic movements, it’s that we don’t follow through. So the “problem” is a lack of support for democratic movements. And rather than say the solution is to keep silent, why don’t we address the dynamics that keep us from following through?
No, I did not. I’m not going to argue strawmen.
Let me clarify – I’d love to see the US take a strong stance in support of the protestors in Hong Kong. I just don’t think it would do any good. In addition to my other concerns, I agree with Sean and Blackshoe that the US lacks the political will to see it through to any positive conclusion.
Personally, I think it’s time the rest of the free world started being more helpful in situations like this.
I agree with you that the rest of the world should step up to the plate more. Other countries like to complain about American arrogance, and often those complaints are just. But then when it comes time to do some heavy lifting they grow quiet. Regarding my earlier criticism, it comes from many years of hearing flippant put downs when an American, or anyone from the “First World,” calls out political oppression abroad. The underlying message is, “Your own society isn’t completely free, so you have no moral authority to criticize that other country.” One more step down this road (I don’t think you are doing this, BTW) but one more step, and we get to “Advocating for democracy is a form of cultural imperialism.” Yikes! I understand, and share, your frustration with the problems we have at home, but I’d like to ask you to re-examine the way you bring them up. – And thanks for the feedback!
While I respect the work you do, I have to disagree. It’s not really Obamas place to speak up, granted he could, and should, but more than anything it should be up to David Cameron to say something. Hong Kong was under the UK rule for a time. Britain ruled it for 155 years before handing it over, you would think the government would speak up and voice their disapproval. They haven’t.
In retrospect, my original comment was a little reactionary. I was conflating two separate issues – police treatment of peaceful protestors, and the right of citizens to be governed as they see fit. The U.S. should definitely press for the latter.
And Matthew makes a great point that Britain ought to be saying more about this, since they handed HK over to China.