11/14/2014

The history behind the current state of politics in Hongkong

U.S. funded NGOs
 

Below is part of a write up by Sara Flounders.
The full article on American and foreign meddling in Hongkong is at http://www.4thmedia.org/2014/10/hong-kong-protests-why-imperialists-support-democracy-movement/

Fearful of democratic change coming from the working class as soon as the British signed the agreement in 1984, the ruling class began to violate it, putting in place new political parties and organizations to operate after the return of the territory to China. After 145 years of appointed government, they pompously called for
democratic change.

Three years before the 1997 handover of sovereignty, the British changed the constitution and set up district boards, urban and regional councils, and a legislative council. These top-down reforms were strongly opposed by the Chinese government as a violation of the agreement and a tactic to subvert its political system.

But more insidious than the official changes was the vast expansion of U.S. “soft power” in Hong Kong. Today more than 30,000 NGOs are registered in Hong Kong. They cover every aspect of life. (Social Indicators of Hong Kong)

The U.S. funds NGOs for political subversion through the U.S. State Department’s U.S. Agency for International Development, which makes grants to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), National Democratic Institute (NDI), National Republican Institute, Ford Foundation, Carter Center, Asia Foundation, Freedom House, Soros’s Open Society and Human Rights Watch, among others.

All these groups and many more fund projects that claim to be supporting and promoting human rights, democracy, a free press and electoral reform. This funding of social networks operates for the same purposes in Latin America and the Caribbean, throughout the Middle East and Africa, and in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics.

U.S. imperialism has not established democracy in any of its hundreds of interventions, wars, drone attacks, coups or global surveillance. But “promoting democracy” has become a cover for attacks on the sovereignty of countries all around the world.
Of course, religious groups and other states, especially those in the European Union, also fund political associations and social networks in Hong Kong and everywhere across the globe.

A few of these groups may genuinely operate independently and provide aid to immigrant workers, help low-paid workers organize, or address housing and health needs of the most unrepresented in Hong Kong. But for the most part, the NGOs are a network of “civil society” organizations controlled by and for U.S. corporate power.

A growing number of articles in the Chinese press have connected the dots of the leaders of Occupy Central and the U.S.-funded NGOs. According to China.org.cn, “Each and every ‘Occupy Central’ leader is either directly linked to the U.S. State Department, NED, and NDI, or involved in one of NDI’s many schemes.” (Oct. 6)

Occupy Central’s self-proclaimed leader, Benny Tai, is a law professor who has received NDI and NED grants and was on the board of the NDI-funded Center for Comparative and Public Law. He attended many NDI-funded conferences. This is also true for another prominent Occupy Central figure, Audrey Eu.

Also, according to China.org.cn, “Martin Lee, founding chairman of Hong Kong’s Democrat Party, is another prominent figure who has come out in support of Occupy Central. Just this year, Lee was in Washington meeting directly with Vice President Joseph Biden and Rep.

Nancy Pelosi and even took part in an NED talk hosted specifically for him and his agenda of “democracy” in Hong Kong. Lee even has a NED page dedicated to him after he was awarded NED’s Democracy Award in 1997. With him in Washington was Anson Chan, another prominent figure currently supporting the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong’s streets.”

A number of publications in the West are picking up on these exposés, including Counterpunch in “Hong Kong and the Democracy Question”; Global Research in “U.S. Now Admits It Is Funding Occupy Central in Hong Kong”; and InfoWars.com in “Is the U.S. Secretly Egging on Hong Kong Protesters?”….

U.S. and British imperialism hope to use Hong Kong as they did 150 years ago as a stronghold for pushing deeper politically into China. Today, however, they are not facing a backward feudal dynasty.
As U.S. corporate dominance in production and finance slips, the Asia pivot of the Obama administration means that the U.S. ruling class and its military apparatus has made the decision to become more confrontational toward Russia and China.
Opponents of U.S. wars and organizations defending workers’ interests in the U.S. can play an important role by refusing to align with U.S. schemes aimed at overturning pro-socialist norms inside China and undermining Chinese sovereignty. 





Kopi Level - Green


By Sara Flounders, Workers
http://www.4thmedia.org/2014/10/hong-kong-protests-why-imperialists-support-democracy-movement/

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

RB. This is Friday leh. Your article very chiem.

Yes, for all protest and uprising, there are always shadowy figures behind the scene. Sadly most people who take the front seats rarly understand the Grand Plan behind. Democracy is desirable but you cannot just plug from somewhere. It takes time and maturity. It has to evolve in line with the people's culture and needs.

Anonymous said...

hi rb
I wonder if you know why USA isn't sponsoring NGO for "democratic" causes in SG? USA has been playing this dirty game on almost all countries except Singapore...

lust for love said...

I always believe that it is only when things get rotten inside then they will get attacked by germs. For a woman whose marriage has broken down to solely blame another 3rd party woman as the culprit will not solve the root of the problem. Similarly, to put a lot of blame on foreign meddling for the current situation in HK will not address the underlying grievances of the HK people.

Democracy has its flaws, but democracy offers a peaceful way for the transfer of political power. For this reason, I believe for the sake of long run interest and stability for the whole of China, they should start to introduce real democracy step-by-step in China, starting with the 1st tier Chinese cities such as HK, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou.

When you look at China now, outwardly its looks modern but this is very misleading because it is still the same as ancient China when political power switched from one ruling dynasty to another dynasty by way of civil wars.

Do Chinese people still want to be caught in the same kind of vicious circle again as happened in their thousand years of history?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Flounders is a idiot western liberal.

The lack of democracy in HK has little or nothing to do with ALLEGED (but unproven) "western meddling".

Flounders is talking cock -- she doesn't understand the CULTURE of Hong Kong -- look carefully you union twat: HK people like to MAKE MONEY. They are entrepreneurial. They will not have a system which has the potential to legally rob the rich and give freely to the lazy.

Not every cuntree can function successfully under a democracy. There is a myth going around, perpetuated by the fan boys and goupie gilrs of the Useless United Nations that democracy is a basic "human right".

What fucking nonsense. Every cuntrees politics is an emergent phenomena from its CULTURE.

Western liberals are really brain-damaged fuck-tards. Sad to see so many young Chinese following in their footsteps.

Do you honestly believe that you can trust these fuckers with democracy? Gimme a break lah! They will vote you out of your Ferraris and M-series Beemers lah.

Hong Kong, don't be silly...stay they way you are! And ignore western liberal nonsense.

Anonymous said...

China transferred power from Deng to Jiang, to Hu to Xi, got bloodshed, not peaceful transfer of power? Only democracy got peaceful transfer of power?

Wait see what happens if PAP loses the next election.

patriot said...

Me am in complete concurrence with Matilah Singapura and would like to add that the Chinese Cultureis well over 5000 years old. The Foundation of the Chinese Culture is not define by political system, it is far more complex.

It is said that the Wisemen are from the East, I have no doubt about that.

patriot

b said...

Behind that curtain, I think usofa is secretly working with china to bankrupt/finish eu. Usofa likes cheap labour and all those investment in china are making them very rich. They will not do anything to jeopardise it. The world is round, depending on which angle, the west can be east but the middle kingdom will be middle.

b said...

For the chinese, and most people, it does not matter whether demo or auto so long as people can have decent living condition. Demo or auto is just to confuse the people.