What distinguishes autocrats from democrats is that these despots are often ready to go to great lengths to achieve their objectives of oppression and state capture. Democrats on the other hand are often meek, and quickly fall back in the face of an advancing line of authoritarian manoeuvres.

The unwavering protests in Hong Kong are therefore a rare show of strength by democrats. It is an example to learn from. For months, the Hong Kongese have held the line against totalitarianism, facing the cowardly guns and police batons controlled from China, perhaps the world’s most authoritarian regime.

It would be wrong for the rest of the free world to abandon the Hong Kongers in their push for democratic rights, especially as the unrest has increasingly polarized Hong Kong. According to a really interesting article in Democracy Digest,

….external actors, including the U.S. Congress, the administration, and the legal and NGO community, can take steps to advance human rights and the rule of law, according to a new report.

Human Rights First today released “Hong Kong’s Fight For the Rule of Law”, a new analysis based on firsthand interviews with Hong Kong lawyers, law students, academics, and other civil society figures, outlining how the U.S. government and other actors should respond to the crisis.

Civil society leaders stressed the need for action from the United States, including through the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and the PROTECT Hong Kong Act, the report explains.

“Government officials often complain that it’s hard to identify the good guys in a foreign conflict. In Hong Kong, it’s simple—the good guys are those protesting for human rights and democracy. Members of Congress should listen to them, visit them, and pass laws to support them,” said Brian Dooley, the report’s author.

See full story here.