Between 60,000 and 250,000 people -depending on the source- demonstrated in downtown Hong Kong this Sunday , in demand of universal suffrage and against the political reforms proposed by the city's chief executive and the Chinese government which are viewed as far from sufficient.
These people remember when they had freedom. As the Chinese government grinds away, eroding that freedom, the people of Hong Kong demonstrate that they remember they were once free, miss what they've lost already, and want it all back.
In Taiwan, for all the flaws that impede their ability to defend their freedom, the democracy on Taiwan demonstrates that Chinese people can participate in a democracy and run their own affairs. Right now. They prove that Asians do not prefer stable tyranny to chaotic freedom. And prove that the apparent chaos is fully compatible with economic prosperity.
Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Chinese government denies all but symbols of freedom for its people, suppresses minorities in Tibet and the far west who see their lands colonized and Han-ified, and offers their people the cheap violent thrill of xenophobia in place of real freedom.
We must make sure the Chinese people under the heel of the moldy communist dictatorship in Peking see that Chinese people elsewhere have a past with freedom and a present with freedom.
We must encourage the Chinese and ethnic minorities to believe they, too, can enjoy the thrill and responsibilities of ruling themselves in their own names. With examples of freedom in their past and present and with bolstering from America right now, a future of freedom can come to more than a billion Chinese.
Ultimately, our first line of defense against a hostile and powerful China must be the Chinese people themselves, who will assert their right to prosper in freedom and safety with America as a friend.
