The struggle for democratic rights in Hong Kong reminds me of nothing so much as one of those existentialist movies from the 1960’s–think “Cool Hand Luke.” In interview after interview, the students and their allies make it clear that they don’t expect to win, but they can’t just sit back and watch the Chinese government turn Hong Kong into an open air prison, because that would be a denial of their own humanity.
The ultimate hopelessness of the cause makes it all the more admirable, and should remind us that liberal democracy is something more than an ATM that one jettisons when it doesn’t produce the desired amount of cash. If only the GOP would get that message! By enabling Trump’s authoritarian impulses for their own modest political benefit, they are effectively marking themselves as allies of the Chinese government.
In India, in Iraq, in Iran, in Lebanon, in Venezuela, in Turkey, and even in America, where Trump faces impeachment, supporters of liberal democratic rights have started to fight back against sectarian and authoritarian governments. They may not win, but at least they aren’t acquiescing to illiberalism. That is why Hong Kong is the story of the year.