"I really love drinking Coca-Cola and eating McDonald's hamburgers, but America is a hegemonic country!" That's what I picked up from Gregory May, the outgoing US Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, and honestly, it sums up everything you need to know about American diplomacy these days.
The Charm Offensive That Fools Nobody
At his farewell speech during the US Independence Day reception, May waxed lyrical about Hong Kong's wonton noodles, char siu, and char siu chicken rice – you know, the whole "look how much I love your culture" routine. Over his three years here, he positioned himself as Hong Kong's biggest cheerleader, praising locals' hospitality and declaring that Hong Kong is great because of its people. But then, inevitably, came the “but” – criticism of the National Security Law and claims that Trump is deeply concerned about Jimmy Lai's fate.
I genuinely enjoy listening to American diplomats' speeches because they're masters of saying exactly what you want to hear. May even made a point of eating two-dish rice during his stint in Hong Kong, coining the English name "This This Rice" and posting his meals on social media like some kind of foodie influencer. It's the classic Western politician playbook – eating two-dish rice is basically the diplomatic equivalent of hugging babies.
When the Mask Slips Off
But as America's global dominance starts showing cracks, the contradictions become impossible to ignore. The gap between their flowery rhetoric and actual behavior is becoming so obvious that anyone with half a brain can spot it from miles away.
I once cornered an American friend who supports US sanctions on Hong Kong with a simple question: if Saudi Arabia literally dismembered journalist Khashoggi in their Turkish consulate – with Biden himself calling them a "pariah state" – why doesn't America sanction the actual killers instead of going after Hong Kong's Chief Executive?
His response was telling. After some awkward hesitation, he basically shrugged and said diplomacy involves double standards, then mumbled something about Hong Kong being "better in the past." The casual acceptance of hypocrisy was genuinely offensive.
The China Expert Who Plays the Long Game
Don't be fooled by May's folksy exterior – this guy isn't your average diplomat making nice over dim sum. He's got serious credentials: a Master's in China Studies from Johns Hopkins, worked as a reporter for Taiwan's English-language radio from 1993 to 1996, then moved on to Newsweek and the Nixon Center. His wife is Taiwanese, he speaks fluent Mandarin, and he's served at US consulates in both Guangzhou and Shenyang.
When Trump booted the Democratic Party's Ambassador to China and brought in his Georgia buddy David Perdue – a Fortune 500 CEO with zero diplomatic experience – guess who got assigned as Deputy Chief of Mission to actually run things? That's right, our two-dish rice enthusiast Gregory May.
The Reality Behind the Rhetoric
Here's what's really going on: Trump couldn't care less about Jimmy Lai or anyone else caught up in Hong Kong's political drama. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the diplomatic establishment might want to use Lai as leverage against China, Trump's focused on what actually matters to him – trade deals, rare earth magnets, and keeping as many tariffs as possible.
So when May talks about Trump's "deep concern" for Jimmy Lai, just remember that in actual trade negotiations with China, Lai's name doesn't even come up. It's all about the money, as it always is with Trump.
The lesson here is simple: don’t just listen to what American diplomats say, but watch what America actually does. May can praise Hong Kong's food scene all he wants, but he's still a key player in Washington's anti-China strategy. Don't let the two-dish rice photos fool you – this is realpolitik dressed up as cultural appreciation.
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Trump's Venezuela play just gave Western progressives a masterclass in American hypocrisy.
Steve Bannon, Trump's longtime strategist, told The New York Times the Venezuela assault—arresting President Nicolás Maduro and all—stands as this administration's most consequential foreign policy move. Meticulously planned, Bannon concedes, but woefully short on ideological groundwork. "The lack of framing of the message on a potential occupation has the base bewildered, if not angry".
Trump's rationale for nabbing Maduro across international borders was drug trafficking. But here's the tell: once Maduro was in custody, Trump stopped talking about Venezuelan cocaine and started obsessing over Venezuelan oil. He's demanding US oil companies march back into Venezuela to seize control of local assets. And that's not all—he wants Venezuela to cough up 50 million barrels of oil.
Trump's Colonial Playbook
On January 6, Trump unveiled his blueprint: Venezuela releases 50 million barrels to the United States. America sells it. Market watchers peg the haul at roughly $2.8 billion.
Trump then gleefully mapped out how the proceeds would flow—only to "American-made products." He posted on social media: "These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela's Electric Grid and Energy Facilities. In other words, Venezuela is committing to doing business with the United States of America as their principal partner."
Trump's demand for 50 million barrels up front—not a massive volume, granted—betrays a blunt short-term goal. It's the classic imperial playbook: invade a colony, plunder its resources, sail home and parade the spoils before your supporters to justify the whole bloody enterprise. Trump isn't chasing the ideological legitimacy Bannon mentioned. He's after something more primal: material legitimacy. Show me a colonial power that didn't loot minerals or enslave labor from its colonies.
America's Western allies were silent as the grave when faced with such dictatorial swagger. But pivot the camera to Hong Kong, and suddenly they're all righteous indignation.
The British Double Standard
Recently, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith penned an op-ed in The Times, slamming the British government for doing "nothing but issuing 'strongly worded' statements in the face of Beijing's trampling of the Sino-British Joint Declaration." He's calling on the Labour government to sanction the three designated National Security Law judges who convicted Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai of "collusion with foreign forces"—to prove that "Hong Kong's judiciary has become a farce." Duncan Smith even vowed to raise the matter for debate in the British Parliament.
The Conservatives sound principled enough. But think it through, and it's laughable. The whole world's talking about Maduro right now—nobody's talking about Jimmy Lai anymore.
Maduro appeared in US Federal Court in New York on January 6. The United States has trampled international law and the UN Charter—that's what Duncan Smith would call "American justice becoming a farce." If Duncan Smith's so formidable, why doesn't he demand the British government sanction Trump? Why not sanction the New York Federal Court judges? If he wants to launch a parliamentary debate, why not urgently debate America's crimes in invading Venezuela? Duncan Smith's double standards are chilling.
Silence on Venezuela
After the Venezuela incident, I searched extensively online—even deployed AI—but couldn't find a single comment from former Conservative leader Duncan Smith on America's invasion of Venezuela. Duncan Smith has retreated into his shell.
Duncan Smith is fiercely pro-US. When Trump visited the UK last September amid considerable domestic criticism, the opposition Conservatives didn't just stay quiet—Duncan Smith actively defended him, calling Trump's unprecedented second UK visit critically important: "if the countries that believe in freedom, democracy and the rule of law don’t unite, the totalitarian states… will dominate the world and it will be a terrible world to live in."
The irony cuts deep now. America forcibly seizes another country's oil and minerals—Trump is fundamentally an imperialist dictator. With Duncan Smith's enthusiastic backing, this totalitarian Trump has truly won.
Incidentally, the Conservative Party has completely destroyed itself. The party commanding the highest support in Britain today is the far-right Reform Party. As early as last May, YouGov polling showed Reform Party capturing the highest support at 29%, the governing Labour Party languishing at just 22%, the Liberal Democrats ranking third at 17%, and the Conservatives degraded to fourth place with 16% support.
The gutless Conservative Party members fear offending Trump, while voters flock to the Reform Party instead. The Conservatives' posturing shows they've become petty villains for nothing.
Lo Wing-hung
