Wu Guangqiang

jw368@163.com

THE violent street riots in Hong Kong have been rampant for months and wreaked havoc on Hong Kong’s economy and citizen life. Though the initial unrest was triggered by a controversial bill on the extradition of criminals to the Chinese mainland, the fact that the peaceful protests later escalated to increasingly violent and destructive riots despite the Hong Kong SAR Government’s decision to withdraw the bill proved that the true motive of the mastermind and sponsors of the turmoil was to overturn the SAR government and separate Hong Kong from China.

The rest of the world are aghast at the rampancy and cruelty of the young rioters, whose acts are nothing short of those of terrorists. The cruelty of black-clad, masked mobsters even dwarf those of terrorists. Armed with iron bars, knives, bricks, laser beam pointers, highly corrosive liquids and firebombs, they have been running amuck through the city for months, committing increasingly brutal crimes both against police and innocent civilians opposing their violence.

Seldom have the audience across the world witnessed brutalities so well planned, organized and executed on TV and other media platforms. The terrorists are escalating their violence every day, turning their vandalism and destruction of public facilities into murdering and assassination and sending Hong Kong into “black terror.”

In an early attack on police, a beast bit off one finger of a police officer. In a recent assault, another beast stabbed a knife into the neck of an officer, seriously hurting him. In another savage attack, a policeman was hit by a corrosive “bomb,” causing substantial skin shedding. On Nov. 6, in broad daylight, an assassin thrust a knife into the chest of a pro-establishment legislator in an attempt to kill him. Fortunately, the legislator survived.

More terribly, the rule of law in which Hong Kong has long taken pride is virtually in a shock now; the safety of the general population is exposed to criminals’ willful violation. The accidental death of a local student of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKST) triggered indiscriminate “revenge” by violent Hong Kong students against students and faculty from the mainland. At the graduation ceremony, a throng of vicious local students beat up a mainland student for no reason at all.

As a result, all the students and teachers from the mainland have fled HKST back to the mainland for safety. How shameful of the university and Hong Kong!

Obviously, Hong Kong is already a lawless society, actually ruled by the brutal and barbarian. That’s why shop robberies, which had been basically eradicated, are back again. On Nov. 8, a group of gangsters stormed into an expensive watch shop and with ease took dozens of watches worth millions of Hong Kong dollars each. They may just be some of the terrorists attacking police. Or probably they are professional robbers who made good use of the “heaven-sent” chance to make a windfall.

By any standard, these hideous crimes deserve the strongest condemnation worldwide. However, instead of censuring rioters, American and European politicians and media openly praised and supported them, embellishing their violence with such cloaks as democratic pursuit, free expression and peaceful demonstration.

Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House speaker, called Hong Kong’s terrorist activity “a beautiful sight to behold.” Some English politicians also repeatedly voiced their support for Hong Kong “freedom fighters,” turning blind eyes and deaf ears to their vicious crimes.

Their hypocrisy appeared even more apparent compared to their attitude toward violent activities of the same nature in European countries and the U.S.

In October, violent protests broke out in Catalonia of Spain in pursuit of independence. Protesters seemed to have learned from Hong Kong mobsters such tactics as wearing black clothes, masking faces and using umbrellas to cover their crimes. They almost copied the same brutality: vandalizing subways and burning shops.

Spain police showed no mercy. They crushed the violence by force. At this, Pelosi and all Western hypocrites hushed in unison.

We all know very well how decisively and relentlessly American and European police crack down on protesters as shown in the crackdown on “occupying the Wall Street” in Washington, “Yellow Vest Movement” in Paris and the riots in London.

Terrorism is the common enemy of man, so it will be brought to an end regardless of Western nonsense.

(The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)