(KFTK) – Claudia Rossett is a foreign-policy fellow with the Independent Women's Forum. She joined Randy recently to discuss the importance of the democracy protests in Hong Kong.
"China made promises in the treaty that defined the terms on which Hong Kong was handed over from Britian to China in 1997. China made promises that Hong Kong for 50 years after the handover, till 2047 could keep its accustoms, rights and freedoms. Freedom of assembly freedom of speech, freedom of travel," says Rosett. "China has been eroding those as the years have gone by."
Rosett says, "China has given them no avenue," other than protests.
Should the US intervene somehow?
Rosett says, "I'm always a bit skeptical of trying to steer policy through economic pressure, I think it can work up to a point, but then other things are needed. The big problem with Hong Kong is that its a small enough territory, so that trying to defend it militarily, you'd probably destroy it anyway. It is under China's flag. Its unlikely that some major free country, America, is going to actually go to war over Hong Kong, to protect Hong Kong."
Read Claudia's piece on Hong Kong HERE