Hong Kong: Towards Capitalism or Socialism?

Flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)

Hong Kong: Towards Capitalism or Socialism?

25-08-2019 – As the staged provocations in Hong Kong enter their 12^th week, it is becoming more obvious that the Blackshirt separatists have the (unofficial) backing of the US state department. It is likely that the violent pro-capitalist demonstrators have been given an assurance that they will continue to receive covert support if they do not let up with their efforts to destabilise Hong Kong. The aim appears to be to provoke a military response from Beijing, which, if it occurred, would again give the Western world the chance to manufacture another 1989 Tiananmen Square type propaganda coup.[1] One of the reasons that Julian Assange is now in prison facing possible extradition to the US is the fact that Wikileaks revealed that in 1989 in Beijing, there was no “massacre” in Tiananmen Square – it was manufactured by the West’s corporate media.[2]

This has not prevented Washington convincing almost half of humanity – or at least those who reside in the first world – that moves for “democracy” in China will be crushed by a “totalitarian communist government”. But as the People’s Republic of China moves to surpass the West economically, scientifically and technologically, more and more people are beginning to welcome the rise of the world’s largest socialist state. This is alarming for Washington, London, Canberra and other acolytes, as they need “their own” people in a state of fear and loathing of China, in order to shoehorn them back behind their capitalism – despite the fact that it is driving masses of working people further into poverty. Hence, the orchestrated attempted colour revolution in Hong Kong today, using black shirted pro-US separatists and/or revanchist pro-UK colonial footmen – and women.

Democracy?

The Western corporate media endlessly drone that “pro-democracy” protests are occurring weekly in Hong Kong. Hardly. Democracy in the abstract is a totally meaningless concept, unless it is connected with the political aims of a particular class. The politics and the class character of all movements must be analysed carefully – but the West’s paid scribes have no interest in doing so. This is because the class character of the separatist rioters in Hong Kong is clearly pro-capitalist and anti-socialist. The separatists sometimes claim left cover even while agitating for capitalism. For example, the separatists claim that Hong Trade Unions are supporting their movement. But there are two Trade Union bodies in Hong Kong. One is the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) – which has strongly opposed the often violent protests. It is the largest body of Unions, and 251 of its affiliated Unions have campaigned against the separatists’ call for a general strike.[3] On the other hand, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has backed the anti-China protests, but they represent a much smaller body of workers, and only have 61 affiliated Unions.[4] They have joined with the bogus “Civil Human Rights Front” which co-ordinates the anti-Beijing demonstrations. However, it is no exaggeration to describe the HKCTU as “CIA Unions”, for there is evidence that they receive funding from the notorious National Endowment for Democracy (NED),[5] the public relations arm of the CIA.

NED funding of “democracy activists” gives the game away wholesale. The US imperialist state is never interested in “democracy” or “human rights”, even in the most nebulous sense. They are about protecting and maintaining the interests of US based capital, regardless of the human cost anywhere on the planet. Aside from yellow “Unions”, the NED admits to spending $400 000 in funding for “democracy” advocates just in the year 2018.[6] There is little doubt that this has ended up in the hands of the right-wing “Civil Human Rights Front” directing the ugly and often violent anti-China demonstrations. What’s more, the dangerous targeting of those suspected of backing the Hong Kong police or China, even the elderly, is a sure sign that the separatists’ aims are not pure.

Central leaders of the separatists have been caught openly colluding with the US state department, who are essentially their benefactors. Joshua Wong and Nathan Law were photographed literally meeting with US embassy staff at the height of the protests.[7] Soon after, Nathan Law revealed that he was leaving Hong Kong, to study at the prestigious Yale University in the US.[8] Joshua Wong was the noted head of the “Demosisto” party which launched in 2016 in Hong Kong, when Mr Wong was then 19 years of age, and with little or no political experience. Given that Mr Wong was at that time too young to run for office in Hong Kong, it is apparent that the Western corporate media did not wish to admit that the Demosisto “party” was patently another front funded by the NED.[9]

“Independence” – code for capitalism

The other fraudulent claim about the separatist protests is that they are a legitimate move for independence. As in so many other “independence” claims – such as the one in Tibet – in reality the call for independence is a rallying cry for counter-revolution. In other words, those in favour of “independence” in Tibet or Hong Kong are in fact protagonists for capitalism, who aim to break away from the socialism the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has created. In Hong Kong, this is masked by the yet more fraudulent call for “universal suffrage”. Here the call is for separate electoral and political laws to mainland China – to which Hong Kong is in the process of being integrated. Hong Kong certainly did have separate political reality to mainland China when operated by British imperialism until the handover in 1997. During this time, there were no elections, no elected government, no right to a minimum wage, no right to decent housing or healthcare and definitively no freedom of the press or freedom of speech.[10] This was capitalism, British imperial style. And yet some of the separatists today wave the Union Jack!

If it ever were to occur, an “independent” Hong Kong would be entirely dependent on the US and the UK – precisely what the right wing separatists desire. But it is a pipe dream that the PRC will give up on Hong Kong, especially after the completion of the high-speed rail link from West Kowloon to Shenzhen and Guangzhou, which opened on September 23, 2018. It links Hong Kong with 44 mainland China rail stations, and is part of the largest high speed rail link in the world.[11] For a road link, try the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, the longest sea-spanning bridge in the world, built at a cost of 20 billion dollars.[12] Together, the high speed rail link and the mega-bridge will permanently connect Hong Kong to mainland China, irrespective of the reactionary desires of Hong Kong separatists and their imperial backers. The deep state operatives of the US and the UK know this, which is why they pin their hopes on triggering anti-socialist political unrest, which they hope will politically destabilise Hong Kong, and then spread into mainland China.

Who holds power in the PRC?

In referring to the PRC’s socialism, we do not infer that there are no concerns or political problems for Chinese workers. The PRC is socialist to the extent that there is a predominantly nationalised and planned economy, which is underpinned by a workers state which was the vital gain of the 1949 socialist revolution. The PRC is socialist insofar as the key state apparatus – the police, the courts, the civil service, the armed forces – uphold and defend the working class rule which emerged out of the victorious revolution led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). Workers in China hold state power and economic power – yet political power remains elusive. For now, political power is exercised by a conservative and nationalist caste, inside and outside the CPC. This caste blocks workers from exerting political decision making power, in relation to domestic and international matters.

At the same time, Chinese workers benefit from the gains of socialism in China, and not only economically. Additionally, workers internationally benefit from the gargantuan economic power of the PRC, which even props up and drives economic growth in its trading partners – including Australia. Without trade from China, Australia’s capitalist recession would be much worse than it is now. Workers in South East Asia also benefit from the planned extension of further trade and integration with the PRC – which results in the US state department frantically attempting to fund “opposition” parties in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar, amongst others. What drives the huge economic growth in China – which has averaged 9% per year, every year, for 30 years – is the fact that the major means of production in China are state owned or majority state owned. They do not have to run at a profit. The PRC government can use them to build the economy by providing employment for workers – something for which no capitalist enterprise could ever exist.

The CPC is politically based on distortions of “Marxism-Leninism”, the twin pillars of which are the mistaken theories of “socialism in one country” and “peaceful coexistence”. Yet the very disturbances we see in Hong Kong over the last three months are another reminder of the falsity of these theories, which have little in common with Marxism or Leninism. Under the theory of “socialism in one country”, it is posited that a workers state can arrive at an agreement with imperialism that they should be left alone, to build “their own” socialism, while the imperialists continue building capitalism in their country.

Marx and Lenin, had they lived, would have scoffed at the very suggestion that imperialism could be trusted at any time, let alone be trusted to leave you alone for years or decades. Capitalism must expand or die, and it cannot expand sufficiently within the borders of “their own” countries. Capitalism cannot expand within its own borders, mainly because it cannot raise the standard of living of “its own” workers beyond a certain level. Competition for an adequate rate of profit means they must drive down wages, not raise them. Hence they constantly seek new fields of capital plunder overseas. If any government resists, they must be subverted, undermined or overthrown – via imperialism.

Defend the PRC

The imperialists know that they cannot overthrow the PRC directly, due to its huge population, and also because the PRC retains a necessary nuclear defence. As remote as the possibility seems, imperialism must try regardless. Funding and backing pro-capitalist dissidents in Hong Kong is just one strategy they employ – making a mockery of the theory of “peaceful coexistence”. The imperialists will not, and cannot, think of peacefully existing with a socialist state. In fact, as we know, ANY state – not just a workers state, which does not sufficiently bow to the will of Washington, can expect to be targeted for regime change sooner or later. The vast and relentless funding of “democracy” activists in Hong Kong by the governments of the US and the UK will not stop until real workers power is extended from the mainland. Standing in the way of this, however, is the distorted “Marxism-Leninism” of the CPC.

Despite this, workers in China and Hong Kong and internationally, have a vital stake in defending the PRC against the reactionary intrigues of Western imperialism. The Western media is currently in a frenzy, whipping up anti-China hysteria to an extremely dangerous level. It is becoming clear that Washington, London and Canberra are preparing us for a catastrophic war with Red China. The only disagreement amongst the capitalist ruling classes is when to begin. To do this though, they need to saturate the working class with any and all anti-socialist propaganda they can muster. If this is carried on at fever pitch for a number of years, there may be little working class resistance to the launch of what could be “mutually assured destruction”.

Workers in Australia and internationally need to insure that imperialist propaganda, and their preparations for war, fall flat. This should be done by exposing the hypocrisy of the US flag waving separatists in Hong Kong, defending the PRC against “our own” ruling class, and by striving to forge working class parties based on genuine Leninism – true internationalism. The defence of the PRC workers state must be linked to our struggles for our own workers state, as the first step towards a classless socialist society.

WORKERS LEAGUE

E: workersleague@redfireonline.com

www.redfireonline.com

PO Box 66 NUNDAH QLD 4012

[1] https://chinarising.puntopress.com/2019/07/24/tiananmen-redux-west-pushing-baba-beijing-to-send-pla-into-hong-kong-china-rising-radio-sinoland-190724/ (17-08-2019)

[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8555142/Wikileaks-no-bloodshed-inside-Tiananmen-Square-cables-claim.html (17-08-2019)

[3] http://www.fightbacknews.org/2019/8/17/hong-kong-protests-are-attack-socialism?fbclid=IwAR2tVik0YpoOqgXaBdOsfYW8ljNjbDXuaCavox0XTIv1eb57srN8aE7SFcA (21-08-2019)

[4] Ibid, 3.

[5] https://www.mintpressnews.com/hong-kong-protests/259202/ (21-08-2019)

[6] https://www.ned.org/region/asia/hong-kong-china-2018/?fbclid=IwAR1PzFM6XJXl_aQPilORsVyep2F3Vjsx-pahxdCzIR3mWFo5sl3h0fqpv6Y (21-08-2019)

[7] https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-08/U-S-organization-accused-of-funding-violent-HK-protesters-IZmV4qHTWg/index.html (21-08-2019)

[8] https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-16/Leader-of-violent-protests-leaves-HK-for-U-S–Jd91H7TJLi/index.html (21-08-2019)