China Mocks Trump, Pompeo Over Subduing Minnesota & Provoking Hong Kong Protesters

Chinese media has lambasted Donald Trump’s handling of Minnesota protests over the death of an African American man by comparing the situation with Hong Kong riots.

“Secretary Pompeo, please stand with the angry people of Minneapolis, just like you did with the people of Hong Kong,” wrote Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of Chinese state-run media – Global Times (GT).

Hu made this comment after violent protests erupted across cities in the US over the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year old African American man.

As reported by EurAsian Times earlier, Trump said that he wouldn’t “stand back and watch this happen to a great American city”, adding that he had spoken to Minnesota governor Tim Waltz and told him “the military is with him all the way”. “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump warned.

“Just three days after unrest broke out in Minnesota, Trump threatened the use of “shooting” and announced that the army can support the governor. I strongly condemn such threats. Please protect the people of Minnesota, just like you sympathize with Hong Kong thugs,” tweeted Xijin.

Hong Kong has recently seen a series of violent protest against China’s new security law which is to be imposed on the city. US President Trump backed the protestors in Hong Kong by signing The Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would allow sanctions on China if it threatened the semi-autonomous status of Hong Kong.

The new law also prohibits the export of crowd-control munitions to the police in Hong Kong – including tear gas, rubber bullets and stun guns.

In his editorial, Xijin wrote that “more than 100,000 people have died (in the US) from COVID-19, most of them weak, elderly, poor and minorities. The death of George Floyd, from another perspective, reveals the desperate inequality rampant in the US.”.

Police arrested Floyd outside a convenience store after a report of a counterfeit bill being passed. In a video recorded by a witness, an officer kneels on Floyd’s neck, and he was heard pleading that he couldn’t breathe until he slowly stopped talking and moving.

On Thursday night, demonstrators torched a police station in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Trump blamed “radical left Mayor, Jacob Frey” for a “total lack of leadership” after Frey came out in support of the protestors demanding for a criminal investigation of Floyd’s death while requesting for calm.

CNN reported that its black reporter was arrested while legally covering the protests in Minneapolis,” the news organisation tweeted. “A white reporter also on the ground was not.”

According to Xijin, US political elites directly applauded Hong Kong’s riots, calling them a “beautiful sight” of democracy. He further added that the “chaos in Hong Kong has lasted for over a year and military forces have not been dispatched. Yet after only three days of chaos in Minnesota, Trump publicly threatened the use of firepower and implied military forces could be utilized”.

UN Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, condemned the killing of many unarmed African Americans by the Police. “I am dismayed to have to add George Floyd’s name to that of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and many other unarmed African Americans who have died over the years at the hands of the police – as well as people such as Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin who were killed by armed members of the public,” she said.

Xijin concluded by saying that the incident is an example of the US’s double standards.