It's Hard to See Justice, Fairness, Morality and Conscience in Such A Great Countr

--By H.E. Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian to South Africa

　　2019年12月11日，驻南非大使林松添在南最具影响力的《星报》、《比陀新闻报》、《商报》三大主流报纸同时发表题为《如此伟大国家如今已看不见正义、道德、良知和公理》的署名文章，谴责美国将所谓的《香港人权和民主法案》签署成法，肆意插手香港事务，粗暴干涉中国内政，表示美方把香港令人发指的违法暴力、恐怖行径，美化为民主和人权，让世人所不齿。全文如下：

　　近6个月来，在美国等西方反华势力策划、资助和蛊惑下，香港暴力犯罪分子戴着面具，高举美、英国旗，不断升级暴力，肆意冲击立法机构、政府部门；公然向地铁车厢内投掷汽油弹，瘫痪机场、地铁、道路等公共交通；暴力打砸抢烧，占领校园行凶；使用刀具、弓箭、燃烧瓶、腐蚀性化学液体等致命性武器暴力袭警，恐吓警察家人，当街殴打、甚至活生生用汽油焚烧不同意见的普通市民，1名清洁工遭暴徒用砖块击中头部死亡，肆意袭警、刺杀香港立法会议员，其手段之残忍，骇人听闻、令人发指。

Over the past six months, masterminded, financed and instigated by the anti-China forces in some Western countries led by the US, violent criminals in Hong Kong, putting on masks in disguise and upholding the national flags of the US and UK, have kept escalating violence in protest. They blatantly attacked the HK Legislature Council and government office buildings, threw petrol bombs into subway carriages, paralyzed public transportation such as airports, subways and roads, engaged in such activities as smashing, looting and burning and occupied the campus to assault ordinary students. They attacked the police with such lethal weapons as knives, bows and arrows, Molotov cocktail, and corrosive chemical liquid, threatened the families of the police, and beat or even threw gasoline to burn the people who oppose their wrong actions. One cleaner was hit to death by a rioter on the head with a brick. The violent criminals wantonly and cruelly assaulted the police and even attempted to assassinate members of the Legislative Council. Such cruelty is really shocking and appalling.

　　这种公然挑战法律，杀人放火、惨无人道的违法暴力行径，是典型的恐怖主义，是对世界公认的法治底线、道德底线和人类文明底线的严重践踏！为任何文明和法治国家或地区所不能容忍。

　　香港持续大规模激进暴力犯罪，严重破坏了香港的稳定和繁荣。2019年，香港经济持续下跌，第三季度本地生产总值下滑至-2.9%，全年经济增长预期跌至-1.3%。香港暴力横行、社会混乱，相关国际评级已下降，香港国际形象、营商环境受到严重冲击。曾经开放、稳定、繁荣、法治的“东方之珠”，已变成暴力横行、无法无天的“东方之殇”，沦为国际笑柄。

The illegal and violent acts of brutal killing and arson are typical acts of terrorism and have overstepped the universally recognized bottom line of the rule of laws, morality and human civilization. It won't be tolerated and allowed in any civilized country or region under the rule of law.

Hong Kong's stability and prosperity have been seriously undermined by the lasting large-scale aggressive violence and crimes. In 2019, Hong Kong's economic growth continued to decline, with its GDP growth rate falling to -2.9% in the third quarter and the economic growth expectation for the whole year dropping to -1.3%. Plagued by rampant violence and chaos, Hong Kong's international ratings have been downgraded and its international image and business environment severely impacted. Hong Kong, once crowned as the open, stable and proposer "Pearl of the Orient" under the rule of law, has become the violent and lawless "Sorrow of the Orient" and a laughing stock of the international community.

　　众所周知，违法暴力、恐怖行径是国际社会和全人类的公敌，为国际公认的人权、民主、法治所不能容忍。世界上任何有正义、良知和人性的国家和人民都能客观理性认清并强烈谴责香港发生的暴行，都会对香港人民深表同情。

　　遗憾的是，为了实现“再伟大”，维护自身霸权地位，美国当局罔顾事实，颠倒黑白，把香港暴徒令人发指的恐怖行径和犯罪行为说成是“和平集会”、“言论自由表达”；公然美化成“争取人权和民主”；把香港警察克制执法歪曲成“暴力镇压”，充分暴露其虚伪自私的双重标准和丑陋霸道的强权逻辑。

As we all know, illegal acts of violence and terrorism are the common enemies of the international community and mankind, and won't be tolerated by the internationally recognized principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Any country and people with justice, conscience and humanity in the world will put into perspective and strongly condemn the atrocities committed by the violent criminals in Hong Kong and show deep sympathy to the HK people.

Unfortunately, in order to make itself great again and maintain its hegemony, the US authorities ignore the facts, call black white, flagrantly whitewash the heinous terrorist and criminal acts of the Hong Kong rioters as "peaceful assembly", "freedom of speech", and "fighting for human rights and democracy", and distort Hong Kong police's restraint in law enforcement as "violent repression", which fully exposes its hypocritical and selfish double standards and ugly logic of power politics.