Letter from Hong Kong: An unexpected Thanksgiving
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Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer
| Hong Kong
Gratitude, gatherings, and, of course, good food 鈥� I felt fortunate to enjoy all these on Thanksgiving, despite being far from grandmother鈥檚 house.
I鈥檇 expected just another day of political reporting in restive Hong Kong, where I covered Nov. 24 local elections that produced a resounding win for pro-democracy candidates. The victory buoyed protesters waging a 6-month-old campaign against Beijing鈥檚 curtailment of Hong Kong鈥檚 freedoms.
Then Thanksgiving morning, news broke that U.S. President Donald Trump, after sending mixed signals, had signed into law the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA). The law, which won veto-proof, bipartisan support in Congress, is aimed at bolstering basic rights for Hong Kongers. Instantly, the quintessential American holiday took on new meaning in this semi-autonomous region of 7.4 million people.
Why We Wrote This
Reporting in Hong Kong, our correspondent wasn鈥檛 expecting much of a traditional Thanksgiving. But it turned into a day of thanks 鈥� and a reminder of how many people look to the U.S. as a leader for human rights.
At dusk, I joined tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents flooding into a large redbrick plaza in Central district on the shores of Victoria Harbor. Chanting 鈥淔ight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!鈥� many waved U.S. flags as they spilled over into nearby streets in a huge Thanksgiving rally.
A gray-haired man in a baseball cap turned to me. 鈥淲here are you from?鈥� he asked with the slight English accent common in this former British colony, which reverted to Chinese sovereignty 22 years ago, in 1997. I told him.
鈥淭hanks for your country supporting the law!鈥� said the man, Stannial Leung, a retired Hong Kong-born engineer and seaman. 鈥淗ong Kong will have no future if the government handles things like this,鈥� he said, referring to Chief Executive Carrie Lam鈥檚 refusal to grant protester demands for greater autonomy and police accountability. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we need a revolution.鈥�
All around, strangers approached me with smiles and heartfelt thanks, a testament to U.S. influence abroad, where many still rely on Washington as a beacon of freedom. Such feelings are acute today in Hong Kong, which straddles the authoritarian and democratic worlds. Many residents fear China鈥檚 Communist Party is undermining the 鈥渙ne country, two systems鈥� formula that protects Hong Kong鈥檚 independent, British-style legal system, basic political rights, and constitution for 50 years after the handover, until 2047.
Often while navigating Hong Kong鈥檚 thronging streets, I鈥檓 reminded of Chinese novelist Han Suyin鈥檚 famous phrase, 鈥渂orrowed time in a borrowed place,鈥� when the territory was under a 99-year lease to Britain. Now, once again, Hong Kongers feel the clock ticking.
鈥淭hey say 鈥榦ne country, two systems鈥� but we feel it鈥檚 getting to be 鈥榦ne country, 1.1 systems,鈥欌�� says Peter Wong, a retired pharmaceutical worker. 鈥淚t鈥檚 moving so fast, we are so worried now.鈥�
鈥淟ook at this beautiful city!鈥� he says wistfully, standing under the city鈥檚 glittering skyline. 鈥淲hy must we wear masks?鈥� he asks, highlighting concerns about surveillance from mainland China.
People at the rally told me they hope the U.S. act will help buffer Hong Kong from such incursions. The HKHRDA requires the U.S. government to assess Hong Kong鈥檚 autonomy from mainland China each year, and whether it is sufficient to justify its current special treatment under U.S. law, and to sanction Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Hong Kong. A second U.S. bill signed into law Wednesday prohibits the sale of American crowd-control equipment like tear gas and rubber bullets to Hong Kong police.
鈥淭oday, Hong Kong is the new Berlin,鈥� said Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in one of several video-taped addresses by key supporters of the act broadcast at the rally on a giant screen. 鈥淭he cause for freedom has never been greater,鈥� Senator Cruz said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Many at the rally hailed Mr. Trump as a hero. They held banners depicting him riding on a tank, and images of his head atop film character Rocky鈥檚 shirtless torso. 鈥淒onald Trump is the greatest president in the world,鈥� a young worker who gave his name only as Mr. J told me, holding a U.S. flag. 鈥淚 really like Donald Trump. He helps us fight China.鈥�
China, for its part, warned of 鈥渟trong countermeasures鈥� after Mr. Trump signed the act, saying the U.S. law constitutes 鈥渋nterference in China鈥檚 internal affairs.鈥� On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Beijing has suspended U.S. Navy stops in Hong Kong. Such visits have been suspended in the past, including during the recent pro-democracy protests. Ms. Hua said Beijing would also sanction several U.S. human rights and democracy groups. 鈥淭hese NGOs have supported anti-China plotters who messed up Hong Kong,鈥� she said, referring to the protesters. She declined to specify the sanctions.
At the rallies on Thanksgiving and again on Sunday, when about 1,500 people marched in appreciation to the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, residents told me they hoped the U.S. government would move swiftly to implement the act.
鈥淲e are putting faith in President Trump to take concrete actions and pressure the Communist Party to stop suppressing Hong Kong and allow universal suffrage,鈥� said a middle-aged worker named Paul, holding a bold blue sign saying: 鈥淧resident TRUMP 鈥� Let鈥檚 Make Hong Kong Great Again.鈥�
As the night deepened on Thanksgiving, the crowd broke out in song 鈥� first Hong Kong鈥檚 unofficial new anthem, 鈥淕lory to Hong Kong,鈥� and then, 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner.鈥� Waving thousands of cellphone lights in the air like so many candles, as flags fluttered in the coastal, briny breeze, Hong Kongers expressed how much they cherish freedoms that Americans already enjoy beyond measure.
Something worth keeping in mind, I thought.
Oh, and about the food? The next day, I pulled up a stool at a large circular table in a dim sum restaurant packed with families joking and talking in Cantonese. It was the perfect cap to a Hong Kong Thanksgiving.
