The result is that the world is still less of a market-denying ideology, but more of an increasingly nationalistic rivalry, with powerful states fighting to control dwindling interests. The international community could have jointly dealt with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Instead, senior US and Chinese officials have thrown out conspiracy theories and insulted each other on social media, only exacerbating the scourge of the epidemic. Hong Kong's middle ground is more precarious than ever, adding to the pressure some Hong Kongers feel to align with external powers.
Last fall, pro-democracy whatsapp database activists in Hong Kong took a new step of directly lobbying the United States for aid. U.S. lawmakers are eager to take this opportunity to symbolically hit China again, signing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act last September. The bill aims to "preserve" Hong Kong's autonomy, but uses a suicidal logic: current U.S. policy on trade and immigration sees Hong Kong and China as two distinct entities. But if China undermines Hong Kong's autonomy, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act may completely revoke this special treatment. The unspoken assumption is that China does not dare to harm its precious conduit to global capital, the golden hen of Hong Kong. However, with the promulgation of the new
Hong Kong version of the national security law, China has shown that the United States is only bluffing. It remains to be seen what Hong Kong people will gain if they continue to lobby the U.S. government to fuel more conflict, and Hong Kong people will be the first to suffer in this conflict. It is not easy for the people of Hong Kong and the Chinese people to fight against the CCP, and the Chinese in mainland China also face similar state repression.