US politicians' tweets expose their ugly hypocrisy and malice: China Daily editorial

By whitewashing violence as a struggle for democracy and deliberately misinterpreting the work of Hong Kong police, some US politicians are clearly encouraging criminal acts in the Chinese metropolis and meddling in China's internal affairs.

According to reports, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Ted Yoho on Monday all tweeted that the Hong Kong police were violently suppressing the demonstrators and accused the Chinese central government of eroding democracy and freedom in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

On Tuesday, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton joined the chorus, encouraging Hong Kong people to speak out for democracy and freedom.

Such remarks distort the truth, which is that it is the criminal actions of the demonstrators that are denying democracy and freedom to law-abiding Hong Kong residents.

And although Washington has repeatedly denied playing any role in the violent demonstrations in Hong Kong, the ill-intentioned remarks from these prominent US political figures belies both those denials, since they have incited Hong Kong residents to engage in confrontation with both the SAR government and the central government.

If the increasing violent acts employed by the Hong Kong demonstrators are still being categorized as peaceful calls for democracy by these US politicians and others, what happened in Hong Kong in the past weeks has shown people around the world the ugly and violent side of Western-style democracy.

Here is what rioters have done in Hong Kong in the name of upholding democracy: They have repeatedly occupied public spaces to stage illegal demonstrations, they have blocked roads and hijacked subway carriages so that people cannot go to work, they have attacked police officers, police stations and police family quarters, even passers-by, and they have stormed the airport forcing it to shut down three times so far this month.

The Hong Kong police have done what they are supposed to do, which is enforce the law, fight crimes and uphold social order.

Yet by turning a blind eye to the iron-clad evidence of what is happening in the SAR, some politicians in the US have criticized the Hong Kong police claiming they have used excessive force. One only has to recall the police actions in Ferguson in the US and in Paris, France, to see how restrained the Hong Kong police have been. But using a double standard in this way has become typical US behavior. Anti-China forces in the West should not underestimate China's determination to safeguard stability and prosperity in Hong Kong. Nor should they underestimate China's capability to defend its territorial sovereignty and security.

Meanwhile, the agitators and insurrectionists in Hong Kong should discard any illusion they may have that they will get away with their illegal acts and crimes. And the SAR government will continue to enforce the law in the city and bring any lawbreakers to justice.