China Trolls U.S. Over Protests After Trump Criticized Hong Kong

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese officials and state media needled the Trump administration over race-related protests and looting that have engulfed U.S. cities in recent days, after weathering criticism and threats from Washington over Beijing’s own moves to quell unrest in Hong Kong.(Bloomberg) -- Chinese officials and state media needled the Trump administration over race-related protests and looting that have engulfed U.S. cities in recent days, after weathering criticism and threats from Washington over Beijing’s own moves to quell unrest in Hong Kong.

China’s leaders recently moved to impose sweeping new national security legislation on the Asian financial hub following months of violent pro-democracy protests last year. The decision has alarmed foreign governments and prompted the U.S. to threaten retaliation, including Friday’s announcement that it would “begin the process” of eliminating the policy exemptions that allow America to treat Hong Kong differently than the mainland.

Yet as President Donald Trump expressed alarm about the “deeply troubling” situation in Hong Kong, he soon found himself facing similar scenes on the U.S.’s own streets. The U.S. is now struggling to contain widespread protests triggered by outrage over the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died after a white police officer held him to the ground and pressed a knee into his neck for more than eight minutes.Trump will meet on Monday with Attorney General William Barr at the White House, before convening a teleconference with governors, law enforcement and national security officials, the White House said late Sunday.

Over the weekend, China’s foreign ministry and state media seized the opportunity to fire back at Trump. Chinese propaganda outlets played up scenes from the U.S. of violence, burning buildings, harsh police responses and protesters decrying government as part of a broader narrative that western democracies are regularly plagued by chaos and unrest that would never be permitted in the mainland.Over the weekend, China’s foreign ministry and state media seized the opportunity to fire back at Trump. Chinese propaganda outlets played up scenes from the U.S. of violence, burning buildings, harsh police responses and protesters decrying government as part of a broader narrative that western democracies are regularly plagued by chaos and unrest that would never be permitted in the mainland.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying retweeted U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus -- who had urged people to stand against the Communist Party over its treatment of Hong Kong -- and added “I can’t breathe,” some of the last words uttered by Floyd before he died that have become a rallying cry.Hua then tweeted a link to a video report on the U.S. violence with the words “THUGS & HEROES HYPOCRISY.” The tweet was a reference to double standards over the Hong Kong protesters, who received praise from U.S. lawmakers as China repeatedly condemned them for acts of vandalism, arson and throwing petrol bombs at police.

On Chinese mico-blogging platform Sina Weibo, video clips showing Minneapolis police shooting paint rounds at residents on their porch for violating a curfew went viral in the mainland after being posted by top state media outlets including the People’s Daily newspaper and the Global Times.In another sarcastic tweet, he wrote “I highly suspect that Hong Kong rioters have infiltrated American states. Attacking police stations, smashing shops, blocking roads, breaking public facilities, these are all routine in their protests. Vicious HK rioters obviously are mastermind of violent protests across the U.S.”

Reference: Bloomberg: Iain Marlow 13 hrs ago : June 1st 2020