Thread by @FrankJannuzi

@SopanDeb As a “student of history,” Let me add a couple of things @joetsai1999 left out:
1) Hong Kong protesters are NOT “separatists”
2) HK citizens are CHINESE too, belying Joe’s claim that “all” Chinese are against HK protesters;
3) HK residents demand rights PROMISED them by China.

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 4) the humiliations endured by the corrupt, weak, venal late Qing Manchurian Dynasty don’t justify CCP abrogation of the HK Basic Law, police brutality, or suppression of rights promised under “one country, two systems.”
5) the allied relief force that marched on Beijing did so..

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 ...to reduce hundreds of diplomats and their families who were beseiged (and being starved) by Boxer rebels — rebels the Qing Dynasty could have easily put down, but chose not to. And yes, they burned the summer palace of the Empress afterwards. Most regrettable and a war crime.

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 Finally— and this is important. Chinese citizens outside of Hong Kong have no freedom of speech or assembly. Not only are they vulnerable to media manipulation, but we have no real way to know what they think about a particular issue. Anyone who claims to know...is self-deluded.

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 Rescue...not “reduce”. Sorry for typo.

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 The Basic Law promises HK residents rights that should be enjoyed by all Chinese citizens, but sadly aren’t. Those rights include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the right to elect (through competitive, democratic process) their legislature. HK citizens are asking...

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 ...that HK government respect those rights. They are also asking to be allowed to elect their chief executive // something made possible, but not mandatory, under the Basic Law. The promise of universal suffrage is part of Basic Law, and it is not unreasonable for HK to want it.

@SopanDeb @joetsai1999 @joetsai1999 was my classmate at Yale. He’s a smart guy. I respect what he has accomplished in life. I don’t concur with his characterization of HK protesters as “separatists.” By using that moniker, he has condemned them - wrongly, unjustly - as traitors to China. They are not.