Beijing revels in Washington’s chaos

The events on Capitol Hill were always going to be met with schadenfreude — perhaps even glee — amongst autocracies in one-party states. They suddenly had the best ammunition they could have hoped for. From Turkey and Zimbabwe to Russia and Iran, state media and spokespeople latched on, turning the language often thrown at them back at America — calling for ‘restraint’ and ‘dignity’.

For the Chinese government, which has been no stranger to violent mass movements in recent years, the analogy was obvious. Hong Kong’s legislature had been stormed just last year, with pro-democracy activists forcing their way into the building and vandalising the walls with anti-Beijing slogans. Beijing always referred to this in terms of mobs and criminality — while America spoke of pro-democracy protesters. Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, shared this video yesterday: 

Their point is that the West is a pot calling the kettle black; that police brutality happens at home when violence breaks out, that its own democracy is not worth the name.