Opinion | 5 years on, the attack on the Hong Kong Legislative Council would be tolerated nowhere else

By Tom Fowdy

Five years ago, Hong Kong rioters violently attacked and vandalised the legislative council building in the central area of the city. The event marked a watershed whereby protests over a proposed extradition bill in the special administrative region ultimately turned "ugly" and transformed into a violent insurrection intent on causing chaos and destruction. Yesterday, America's broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR), published a piece praising the attack, called: "5 years ago they protested for freedom in Hong Kong. They want us to remember them."

Describing the assault on the building as a "bold act of violence" the NPR article seeks to praise these events as an act of defiance against China, and of course depict the inevitable conclusion of the national security law as something oppressive, presenting Hong Kongers living in fear. The piece is an extraordinary act of double standards and lopsided thinking, given we have to ask ourselves would such a "ransacking" as it describes, of a legislative council building be tolerated anywhere else in the world? And likewise, what was the reaction from the mainstream media when this happened to the US Capitol in early 2021 of all places? This is quite self-explanatory.

In 2021, with Trump supporters rejecting the US election result and claiming the vote had been rigged, at the encouragement of the outgoing President, his supporters laid siege to the US capitol building in what was widely described as a "riot." The event not only led to the deaths of five people, but was also met with near universal condemnation on both sides of the Atlantic. To attack a legislative institution was seen as disrespect for the rule of law and the US constitution itself. The perpetrators were met with a sordid response by law enforcement and received hefty jail sentences consequently for their actions.

Yet when such an event happens in Hong Kong, it is in fact given praise as an act of defiance in the struggle for freedom. Granted, Trump's supporters were condemned because they are deemed to be overturning democracy, whereas supporters of the Hong Kong rioters argue they were in advocation of it, does it make such an assault justified or morally superior? I would argue it does not, it still represents the destruction of the rule of law and constitutional order by seeking to undermine the legislature. This is insurrection, and the reality is that such an event would as stated above, not be tolerated or supported in any other country on the planet, as we have just gotten into with the Trump example above.

In this case, we have to ask ourselves, why is it morally wrong for the Hong Kong authorities to have brought these people to justice? And why was a national security law deemed to be inappropriate when there is clear cut evidence of foreign intervention on behalf of those engaging in such violence? The protesters in question not only ransacked the legislature but they also reduced Hong Kong to a state of perpetual chaos and violence, which again crossed the threshold of tolerance and required special measures. Despite this, the mainstream media in the west seeks to depict the National Security Law as a means of oppression used to silence people, it really is not that simple and certainly not a matter of good versus evil.

As we can see from this NPR article, western media and politicians also have a niche for "immortalising" events in the form of anniversaries which are then routinely weaponised year upon year in order to score political points, especially when it comes to China. For example, the "Urumqi uprising" is a new one that has surfaced, which naturally negates the widespread instances of terrorism which accompanied it. By prolonging the memory of these events indefinitely, the ideological dispositions and points which become attached to the subsequent "mythology" are prolonged, weaponizing them as a "long term" political stick against the government in question in the hope the political goals of that agenda are one day implemented.

However, the ransacking of Hong Kong's legislative council building is not something to be glorified, it was a shameful day for the city and represented the destruction of the status quo as those seeking to undermine the city's relationship with its motherland sought to exploit local unrest and act on emerging tensions with the US. This is never something that is to be repeated.

The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:

Opinion | Can the UK reset its ties with China

Opinion | Broken Britain, the end of 14 years of Conservative government

Opinion | Facing the reality of a potential Trump return

Opinion | Back to the future - assessing the significance of the DPRK-Russia treaty