Yesterday, the Chinese government sent a chilling message to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protestors by way of a National Day editorial in the official state newspaper, the People’s Daily. Packed with vague terms and veiled threats, the long piece, which has been handily translated and analysed by Lily Kuo from quartz.com, harbours subtle but striking similarities to the editorial posted in the same newspaper just days before the June 4 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Let’s take a look:
Calling the gatherings “illegal”
The Communist Party has branded both the protests that spawned from the death of reformist party member Hu Yaobang in April 1989, and the Occupy Central pro-democracy protests that sprung up in Hong Kong on Sunday, as “illegal”.
1989: In some of the institutions of higher learning, illegal organisations were formed to seize power from the student unions.
2014: In the early hours of September 28, residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region came together as part of an illegal gathering.
Specifying that the movements are ‘small’
Both editorials felt the need to stress multiple times that the rebellious movements are isolated and not extensive.
1989: Taking advantage of the situation, an extremely small number of people spread rumours, attacked party and state leaders by name…
2014: An extremely small number of “Occupy Central” people have, for their own self interest, ignored the law.
Calling on the people to united against the protests
Both pieces urged the public to stand in unity against the defiance.
1989: The whole party and the people nationwide should fully understand the seriousness of this struggle, unite to take a clear-cut stand to oppose the disturbance, and firmly preserve the hard-earned situation of political stability and unity, the Constitution, socialist democracy, and the legal system.
2014: During this extraordinary moment, the people of Hong Kong should unite in supporting the law of the Special Administrative Region’s government and the firm decisions of its police force, and quickly restore public order.
Saying the protests have disrupted the stability of the country
Dramatic assessments of the damage, and doomsday predictions are rife.
1989: …the reform and opening up; the improvement of the economic environment and the rectification of the economic order, construction, and development; the control over prices; the improvement of our living standards; the drive to oppose corruption; and the development of democracy and the legal system expected by the people throughout the country, including the young students, will all become empty hopes.
2014: Occupy Central” has undermined Hong Kong’s unwavering prosperity.
“Occupy Central” has shamed Hong Kong. If it continues, it will undoubtedly damage Hong Kong’s reputation as a hub of international business, directly harming the lives of everyday people.
They have incited the masses, paralysed transportation, disrupted businesses, stirred up conflict, and interfered with the daily lives of Hong Kong people. This has gone so far as to threaten people’s safety, as well as their property.
Saying the protests will hinder, rather than help, democracy
The Communist Party is adamant that the protests will not help the cause.
1989: These facts prove that what this extremely small number of people did was not to join in the activities to mourn Comrade Hu Yaobang or to advance the course of socialist democracy in China. Neither were they out to give vent to their grievances. Flaunting the banner of democracy, they undermined democracy and the legal system.
2014: What the “Occupy Central” activists have done is to harm such legal foundations, impeding the way to the original goal of universal suffrage by 2017.
“Occupy Central” will obstruct Hong Kong’s smooth transition to democracy.
Threats about what will happen to protestors if they continue
Although no specifics are given, Beijing makes it clear that dissidents will be punished.
1989: All comrades in the party and the people throughout the country must soberly recognise the fact that our country will have no peaceful days if this disturbance is not checked resolutely.
Party organisations of the CPC at all levels, the broad masses of members of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth League, all democratic parties and patriotic democratic personages, and the people around the country should make a clear distinction between right and wrong, take positive action, and struggle to firmly and quickly stop the disturbance.
2014: “Occupy Central” will have negative consequences for Hong Kong and all its people. If it continues, these consequences will be unimaginable.
These activists ought to be held legally responsible for this unlawful behaviour. Therefore, we first insist that we will resolutely support legal action taken by the government of Hong Kong to defend the Special Administrative Region’s core values and its people.
By now, a small number of people in Hong Kong are insistent on resistance and provocation, and in the end they will suffer because of it.
Not convinced? Read the full transcripts of both editorials here and make up your own mind.
Picture: Mike Licht via Flickr
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