Remember Nancy Pelosi's "a beautiful sight to behold" comment about the Hong Kong riots back in 2019? Well, it seems the chickens have come home to roost. The US is now giving us a masterclass in how to handle riots, and let's just say, it's a far cry from the "hands-off" approach they expected from Hong Kong.
From "Beautiful Sight" to Harsh Reality
The hypocrisy is astounding. Two days after riots broke out in Los Angeles, the US National Guard was immediately deployed to the streets of Los Angeles to suppress the unrest. Now, Trump demonstrates to the world how to use the toughest measures to quell riots.
ICE Storms LA: Raids and Reactions
It all kicked off on June 6th, when the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), together with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), launched an unprecedented anti-immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles. The operation covered downtown Los Angeles and several surrounding areas.
The enforcement was far more forceful than expected. Fully armed federal agents stormed workplaces with unmarked military vehicles, arresting at least 44 suspected illegal immigrants.
That sparked outrage. In the afternoon of June 6, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Edward Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, demanding ICE release the detainees. Things quickly escalated as the number of protesters swelled to over a thousand. Protesters blocked the federal building’s entrances and exits, shouting slogans such as "Free them, let them stay," spray-painted numerous anti-ICE slogans on ICE vehicles, and some began throwing incendiary devices at police vehicle wheels and even chased ICE convoys.
By June 7, the conflict escalated further. In Paramount, southern Los Angeles, law enforcement and protesters faced off tensely. Protesters threw debris at officers, who responded with tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. That evening, the Los Angeles Police Department declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and issued a dispersal order, but the protesters did not retreat and engaged in fierce confrontations with police.
Trump's Heavy Hand: National Guard and the Insurrection Act
Trump, never one to shy away from a strongarm tactic, authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members in Los Angeles and even threatened to mobilize active-duty Marines. He dusted off the Insurrection Act of 1807, a law usually reserved for insurrections or serious obstruction of law enforcement. Historically, this law was used by President Eisenhower in 1957 in Arkansas to enforce school desegregation policies.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, ever the firebrand, labeled the LA protests as "violent insurrection," justifying Trump's move. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chimed in, calling the protests a "significant national security risk". If violence continued, active-duty Marines would be mobilized, and they were on "high alert."
Political Calculations and Double Standards
Trump's aggressive actions in California are seen as a calculated political move. By targeting a Democratic stronghold, he puts Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass in a tough spot . They have to quell the riots while facing immense pressure from the Trump administration.
In 2019, Hong Kong saw far worse violence, with students making petrol bombs and turning streets into infernos. Yet, Hong Kong remained restrained. The People's Liberation Army was not deployed. The US, on the other hand, is quick to deploy troops on its own soil .
It's a classic case of "do as I say, not as I do." The US sanctioned many mainland and Hong Kong officials over Hong Kong’s enactment of the National Security Law and the so-called suppression of 2019 riots. Now, when the US faces riots, it deploys troops within two days. Trump’s approach continues to astonish people every day.
And where are those Hong Kong exiles in the United States now? Surely they should be out there supporting the protesters in California, right?
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
When a country’s hypocrisy reaches its peak, it truly leaves one speechless.
Theatre of Hypocrisy: June 4th Candles and Gaza's Bloodshed
Let’s cut through the noise. On June 4th, the US Consulate in Hong Kong lit candles to commemorate an event from 36 years ago in China, while on the same day, Washington vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Fourteen nations backed the motion, but America’s lone “no” vote crushed it.
This isn’t just double standards; it’s political theater at its most grotesque. Secretary Rubio’s performative grief for a tragedy 36 years ago contrasts starkly with his government’s cold indifference to children dying right now in Gaza.
Here’s the kicker: the vetoed resolution wasn’t some radical manifesto. It was presented by Algeria, on behalf of Arab states, called for the basics—unconditional hostage releases, unrestricted aid access, and a permanent ceasefire.
Seven days ago, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour wept over Gaza’s butchered children at the Security council meeting. “The situation of Gaza’s children is unbearable. I’m sorry, Mr. President… I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. To watch Palestinians suffer while the world stays silent—it’s more than any decent human being should have to bear.”
Whie Mansour delivered his speech in tears, Dorothy Shea, America’s acting ambassador, sat stone-faced.
Vetoing Humanity: The US's Gaza Stance
The numbers don’t lie. By March 2025, over 50,000 Palestinians had been killed—many of them women and children—and more than 113,000 wounded. Entire bloodlines erased. Dr. Mousa Najar lost nine of her ten children in a single Israeli strike; her story isn’t an outlier but a grim routine. Meanwhile, Trump’s “solution” is to relocate Gaza’s 2 million survivors to god knows where, then take the Gaza land and turn it into holiday resorts– that shows the depth of Washington’s cynicism – creating a “beautiful sight to behold” in Gaza.
The 50,000 lost souls of Palestine are not worth a single candle at the US Consulate.
A country can be so hypocritical it is outrageous. The two wars raging in the world today—one in Gaza, the other in Ukraine—are both directly orchestrated by the US. After World War II, in 1948, the US supported the establishment of a Jewish state on Palestinian land, using Israel as a chess piece in the Middle East to control the region’s oil resources.
The Long Game: From Color Revolutions to War Profiteering
This selective mourning isn't just about Gaza—it's part of a decades-long pattern that reveals America's true priorities. Back in the 1980s, Washington orchestrated color revolutions across the socialist world, hell-bent on dismantling the Soviet Union. They succeeded spectacularly, carving up the USSR into 15 bite-sized pieces and watching the Iron Curtain crumble. China got caught in this wave too—the June Fourth events weren't some spontaneous up-rising but part of America's broader destabilization campaign.
Here's where it gets interesting: China refused to play along. While Russia and Eastern Europe swallowed America's "shock therapy" whole—privatizing everything overnight and adopting Western-style democracy—Beijing stuck to its guns. Thirty-plus years later, the results speak volumes. China's economy has exploded, lifting hundreds of millions from poverty, while Russia... well, Russia got systematically strangled.
Washington couldn't leave well enough alone. Despite promises not to expand NATO "one inch eastward," they've been creeping toward Moscow's doorstep for decades. Ukraine was the final straw—imagine NATO missiles parking at the
Ukraine-Russia border, it is only 400 kilometers from Moscow. Putin finally said "enough" and took action. Mission accomplished for the Pentagon: another profitable war.
Because that's what this is really about—profit. America has meddled in over 200 conflicts in its short history, and business is booming. 2024 saw record foreign military sales: $318.7 billion, up 29% from the previous year. Stockholm's researchers confirm America now controls 43% of global arms exports—more than the next eight countries combined. Every Ukrainian tank destroyed, every Gaza apartment block flattened, every refugee camp bombed means another fat contract for the American Military-Industrial Complex.
This isn't accidental; it's systematic. The "Big Beautiful Bill" has a $2.4 trillion deficit to fill, and nothing plugs budget holes quite like human suffering. So while diplomats light candles for decades-old tragedies, the war machine churns on, feeding on fresh corpses from Kiev to Khan Younis.
If Washington wants credibility, here's a thought: let Senator Rubio issue statements honoring those "still resisting American missile bombardment." Let the Hong Kong consulate light daily candles for Gaza's children. But we both know that won't happen—dead Palestinians don't fit the narrative, and current atrocities don't sell the American dream quite like ancient grievances do.
Lo Wing-hung
