‘Beautiful sight’: China mocks US Capitol siege online, recalls Hong Kong protests

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 6: Trump supporters take over the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, as the Congress works to certify the electoral college votes. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

New Delhi: Comparison of anarchy by President Donald Trump’s supporters sabotage in the US Capitol, sparked on China’s Internet in America’s turbulent democracy following the 2019 Hong Kong anti-government protests.

UNITED STATES – JANUARY 6: Trump supporters stand on the U.S. Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, as the Congress works to certify the electoral college votes. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

On Thursday morning, the state media tabloid Global Times on Wednesday tweeted a side-by-side photo comparison of Hong Kong protesters captured in the city’s Legislative Council complex in July 2019 with the Washington riots.

Subsequent hardcore Trump fans attacked the US Capitol to protest the election defeat, take selfies, scramble with security and vandalize parts of the building.

The Communist Youth League of China also called the unrest on Weibo platforms such as Twitter a “beautiful sight”. The hashtag “Trump supporters storm the US Capitol” pinned on Weibo on Thursday, 230 million views, as users compared the global support of Hong Kong protesters with a boycott of condemnation for the pro-Trump crowd.

“Currently, leaders in all European countries have shown double standards and condemned it (the Washington riot),” read a Weibo comment that garnered more than 5,000 likes.

“I don’t know what kind of double standards would be reported by Hong Kong or Taiwan media this time.” In a comment with more than 4,500 likes, another user wrote, “What happened in the Hong Kong Legislative Council last year is being repeated in the US Capitol.” While the strategy was similar, there are variations in the causes and motivations of the two legislative storms.

Hong Kong protesters broke into their legislature to demand full democracy and vetoed an unpopular bill that was being pushed by the city’s unequal leadership. The semi-autonomous Chinese city is not a democracy, the reason for years of popular protest. China has since responded with a draconian security law on the restless city, arresting scores of critics and silencing dissent.

In contrast, those who competed with the US Capitol were trying to reverse the results declared for a free and fair presidential election. US President-Elect Joe Biden said American rioters were undermining democracy by trying to reverse Trump’s defeat in the November election.