Residents must protect HK against US deceit

Preparing to travel home to South Africa for Christmas is an unnerving experience for many reasons. But surprisingly, Cathay Pacific is now the most affordable airline to use on a student's budget.

Yet we know Cathay ticket prices are low compared with other airlines because travelers, for some time, have been avoiding Hong Kong not least because the airport was closed for one whole day in August, leaving many passengers stranded. Even more worrying is the thought of having to spend a night in the city in case the connecting flight from Beijing is delayed. Staying the night in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, once a looked-forward to experience in what was then a peaceful city, would mean venturing into an environment considered unsafe these days.

But many may ask why someone from an African country would feel afraid in Hong Kong. It is precisely because I come from an African country that I am afraid, afraid for myself, afraid for the people of Hong Kong and the city's future. Like most developing countries in the world, we in South Africa have seen the direct interference by the West, especially by the United States, in our domestic affairs.

From Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chile and Nicaragua to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, to give just a few examples, the US has intervened in the internal affairs of a long list of countries. Its modus operandi has been similar: acquire allies among the locals, fund them, cause mayhem, intervene through force if need be and leave a trail of destruction.

What is happening in Hong Kong today has happened in so many other places across the globe. Some Hong Kong residents believe they have allies in the US and the West, but they couldn't be more wrong. All the US and many other Western countries care about is their own interests. The US' support for some in Hong Kong is not aimed at promoting democracy, as it claims; it is simply to weaken the SAR's economy and it seems to be succeeding in its efforts.

A recent report in The New York Times, for instance, said that during the Golden Week National Day holiday alone, the occupancy rate in Hong Kong hotels dropped from 90 percent last year to just above 60 percent this year. Sales in the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui have fallen by 90 percent, while overall retail sales have dipped by a quarter. And all this is largely because the majority of tourists coming from the Chinese mainland, nearly two-thirds of the total, have stayed away from the SAR.

Many Western politicians and media outlets have claimed the violent demonstrators are fighting for democracy. But contrary to their claim, democracy has never been under threat in the more than 22 years since Hong Kong's reunification with the motherland. Had that been the case, so many opposition candidates would not have won in the recent District Council elections.

One cannot break the law, cause chaos and mayhem and still be called "pro-democracy". Respect for rule of law is what makes a person democratic. Yet Western media outlets didn't hesitate before labeling the rioters and marauding university students "pro-democracy".

South Africa is said to have one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, because it guarantees socio-economic rights to each and every individual. Yet the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights can do little to improve the lives of nearly half the country's population that lives in poverty. The sooner Hong Kong residents realize the importance of safeguarding their economy, built after generations of hard work the sooner will Hong Kong regain its economic vibrancy.

But if Hong Kong residents continue to ignore the needs of their economy and society, the city could lose its advantages as an international financial, logistics and freight hub, and might be overtaken by cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

More important, when the real socioeconomic consequences of the protests finally become clear, Hong Kong residents will find that they can only turn to compatriots on the mainland for help, because US vested interest groups only know how to stoke trouble, cause destruction and stand and watch.

The author, a South African national, is a PhD candidate in international relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.