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Persistent riots in Hong Kong unacceptable

US Senator Tom Cotton released a statement Tuesday warning Beijing against launching "a violent crackdown" on protesters in Hong Kong. He urged the US government to prepare sanctions against China. Other US lawmakers expressed a similar view.

美国参议员柯顿发声明警告北京不要动用武力“镇压香港正在进行的抗议活动”，要求美国政府做好制裁中国的准备，美国的一些其他议员也表达了类似看法。

Before Cotton's statement, Beijing has never said it would resort to force to quell riots in Hong Kong. Instead, it has been offering support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and police, and backing them to take resolute measures to safeguard the city's rule of law. When asked by media about whether the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s Hong Kong garrison would intervene in Hong Kong, almost all officials in Beijing referred to the Basic Law provisions that regulate the duties and responsibilities of the garrison.

在柯顿参议员发表上述声明之前，北京从未表示要动用军力平息香港骚乱，北京一直力撑特区政府和警察，支持他们采取坚决措施维护香港的法治。在被媒体追问解放军驻港部队是否会出动时，北京官员的回答几乎千篇一律，都是援引基本法关于驻军职责的相关条文。

Why do US lawmakers and Western media care so much about actions of the PLA troops stationed in Hong Kong? That's because even they believe radical protesters in Hong Kong have gone too far. With the protests becoming increasingly violent, they are no longer peaceful expressions of demands, but have undermined the rule of law and basic order in Hong Kong, seriously affecting the HKSAR government's governance. No society would accept such riots to last.

那么为什么美国议员和西方媒体这么关心解放军驻港部队的动向？根本原因是，连他们自己也在心里认为，香港激进示威者走得太远了，示威越来越暴力化，不再是和平表达诉求，已经冲击了香港的法治和基本秩序，严重影响了特区政府的施政。任何社会都不会接受这样的骚乱长期持续下去。

US lawmakers must know that if the same violent demonstrations occur in the US and police officers are violently attacked, the US National Guard would have already taken action.

美国的议员们一定很清楚，同样的暴力示威如果发生在美国，如果美国的警察受到那么多暴力袭击，不断有警员受伤，美国的国民卫队早就出动了，他们所说的“镇压”早就发生了。

However, they never warned or criticized the violent protesters in Hong Kong. The US House speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday praised the radical protesters, saying they "are sending a stirring message to the world." It's obvious that they are inciting violence in Hong Kong, paying no attention to the disorder caused by violence and the harm it has brought to the rights of Hong Kong citizens.

那些美国议员们从未警告香港的暴力示威者，甚至从未对他们有过只言片语的指责。美众议长佩洛西星期一还再次肉麻地吹捧了香港的激进示威者，称他们“向全世界发出一个激动人心的信息”。很明显，他们在鼓励香港发生的暴力，他们才不在意暴力导致的失序对香港市民人权造成的损害。

Due to the "one country, two systems" policy, Washington has many ways to exert influence on Hong Kong society. The West has created such an illusion that the Hong Kong protest is a just cause. Even violent activities are not as illegal and politically incorrect as those in Western societies. Their warnings against Beijing are intended to further incite radical demonstrators.

由于“一国两制”，华盛顿有丰富的手段向香港社会施加影响。美国和西方舆论塑造了这样的幻象：香港发生的示威充满道义，暴力示威也豁免了它们发生在西方社会里的非法性和政治不正确。他们警告北京也是意在怂恿香港激进示威者放胆地闹下去。

Hong Kong protests have become severely irrational. To keep the irrationality going, it is necessary to continue fueling it with illusion. US lawmakers, media and government officials took turns to speak on Hong Kong affairs, instigating radical demonstrators. Isn't that the "black hand" of external forces intervening in the Hong Kong situation?

香港的乱局已经严重非理性，要让非理性持续下去，最需要的燃料就是不断加强的幻觉。美国国会、媒体甚至政府官员轮番这样隔空喊话，全方位给香港激进示威者打气，难道这不是从外部干预香港局势的“黑手”吗？

The US has been plagued with domestic woes in recent years. In just one weekend in August, two serious mass shootings in the US killed dozens of people, injuring more. This is a huge human rights catastrophe. The demonstration in Hong Kong has lasted two months, but no one was killed. By whatever criteria, the human rights situation in Hong Kong is better than that of the US. The US is distorting the truth with its discourse power.

美国国内近年来问题成堆，8月份刚过去几天，美国发生了2起严重枪击案，打死了几十个人，受伤的更多。这是多么大的人权灾难!香港的这一轮示威两个月了，一个人没有死，无论怎么统计，香港的人权都比美国好得多。美国的做法是恶人先告状，他们利用自己强大的话语权编辑了何为人权的错误程序，向世界不断贩卖颠倒黑白的结论。

Hong Kong citizens mustn't be fooled by the US and other Western countries. Hong Kong is home to 7 million people. Long-term turmoil will ruin their lives. People must support the Hong Kong SAR government and police to restore order, and not be misguided by people like Nancy Pelosi.

香港广大市民切莫被美国和西方的恶意喊话忽悠了。香港是700多万市民的家园，长期动乱是对香港民众福祉的釜底抽薪。大家必须支持特区政府和警察依法恢复秩序，休要相信佩洛西之流对香港骚乱的虚伪吹捧。

If the situation in Hong Kong further deteriorates, the central government won't turn a blind eye to the turmoil that the HKSAR government cannot handle. According to the Basic Law, the central government has sufficient measures and strength to quickly quell any potential chaos.

如果局势进一步恶化，出现香港特区政府不能控制的动乱，中央绝不会坐视不管。按照基本法规定，中央有足够多的办法、足够强大的力量迅速平息可能出现的各种动乱。

We hope the central government wouldn't need to intervene. We wish Hongkongers could stand together with the HKSAR government to defend Hong Kong's order, which is a basic aspect of HKSAR's high degree of autonomy. When the silent majority stands up and helps fight the riots, the turmoil in Hong Kong will finally be overcome.

我们希望，香港局势不至于走到必须由中央出手的境地，香港广大市民能够与特区政府一道承担起打击暴力分子、维护香港秩序这一高度自治的基本使命。当香港沉默的大多数一起站出来，共同为止暴制乱贡献自己的一份支持时，香港动荡的这一页终将翻过去。

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