Blaming "foreign forces" whenever calls for democracy erupt is a classic pattern of denunciation demonstrated by one-party states or de facto totalitarian regimes such as China. It sees everything in either black or white; good or evil, with us or against us, and national interests or democracy.
Sometimes the former incorporates the latter; the Umbrella Revolution is one. China's national interests are to coexist with a democratic Hong Kong that has thrived for more than a decade, never posing a "threat" to mainland China.
The international community is an eyewitness. To think otherwise is only attributable to the China's habitual attraction to the very dichotomy, that is, criminalizing democracy in the name of national unity or interests. Sorry for China, but such myopic and anachronistic judgment remains no longer valid.
Sometimes the former incorporates the latter; the Umbrella Revolution is one. China's national interests are to coexist with a democratic Hong Kong that has thrived for more than a decade, never posing a "threat" to mainland China.
The international community is an eyewitness. To think otherwise is only attributable to the China's habitual attraction to the very dichotomy, that is, criminalizing democracy in the name of national unity or interests. Sorry for China, but such myopic and anachronistic judgment remains no longer valid.
Choi Si-young
Editing adviser of Yonsei European Studies, Yonsei University
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