What happened
Fears were mounting this week that China
would launch a military crackdown in semi-
autonomous Hong Kong, after pro- democracy
protesters temporarily shuttered the city’s
airport and Beijing began massing paramilitary
forces nearby on the mainland. Thousands of
protesters—some waving U.S. flags and singing
“Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les
Misérables—swarmed the airport for several
days, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled.
It was the boldest act of defiance yet by the two-
month-old protest movement, which was sparked by legislation that
would have allowed Hong Kongers to be extradited to the mainland
but has grown to include demands for greater democracy. The airport
occupation descended into chaos after the crowd beat up two men
from mainland China—one a reporter with a state-run newspaper—
and riot police rushed in. The next day, protesters held up a sign that
read “We apologize for our behavior, but we are just too scared.”Chinese authorities described the demonstrators’ actions as “close
to terrorism,” and satellite images showed some 500 armored
personnel carriers parked at a stadium in the southern city of Shen-
zhen, which borders Hong Kong. President Trump tweeted that
U.S. intelligence agencies had confirmed that Beijing was moving
troops toward Hong Kong and that “Everyone should be safe and
calm!” Chinese state-run media said the protests were being guided
by the “black hand” of the U.S. and that the CIA was trying to
stage a “color revolution” like those that erupted in former Soviet
republics in the early 2000s.What the columnists said
The odds of a Tiananmen Square–style crack-
down “are rising by the day,” said Richard
McGregor in The New York Times. Beijing’s
displays of “fury and firepower” are meant to
intimidate the protesters into retreating, but
a vicious cycle has now taken hold. Images
of police battering peaceful protesters with
batons and tear gas have made some protest-
ers embrace violence, in turn provoking
more iron-fisted policing. China’s strongman
president, Xi Jinping, won’t tolerate these
embarrassing scenes for much longer. Soon, he will “resort to force.”“Rhetorically, it’s not even clear what side the U.S. is on,” said John
Daniel Davidson in TheFederalist.com. Trump has been content to
offer platitudes such as “I hope it works out for everybody, includ-
ing China.” And Democratic presidential candidates, too busy
“eating corn dogs and pandering at the Iowa State Fair,” have been
largely silent. The protesters waving American flags passionately
believe in American freedoms. “The question is, Do we?”Trump’s response has been “almost comical in its emptiness,” said
Jonathan Last in TheBulwark.com. But “what is he supposed to
do?” If he supports the protesters too loudly, Trump will add fuel
to Beijing’s claims that the demonstrations are all a foreign plot.
If he applies no pressure, he will only embolden the Communist
regime. Too much pressure, and he could make Beijing desperate.
“And desperate regimes are violent regimes.” America, sadly, can
do little to protect the brave souls on the streets of Hong Kong.Demonstrators take over the airport.Ge
tty
China blames U.S. for Hong Kong protests
... and how they were covered NEWS 5
What happened
The Trump administration moved aggressively this week to cut
legal immigration with a new rule making it harder for immi-
grants already here lawfully to become permanent residents if they
use public benefits. Starting Oct. 15, green card applicants could
be rejected if they’ve turned to public benefits for more than 12
months of any 36-month period. That includes any of a wide ar-
ray of programs, including most forms of Medicaid, food stamps,
and public housing assistance. Immigrants could also be denied if
officials determine they’re likely to use such benefits in the future.White House aide Stephen Miller was a driving force behind the
new rule, with the anti-immigration hard-liner reportedly telling
officials to prioritize it above everything else. The policy could
reduce the number of people who receive green cards and visas
by half, with the government estimating that the status of roughly
382,000 immigrants could be immediately affected. Defending the
rule, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Ken Cuccinelli said the Emma Lazarus poem inscribed at the base
of the Statue of Liberty was meant for “Europeans” and suggested
that it should carry a disclaimer. “Give me your tired and your
poor,” Cuccinelli said, “who can stand on their own two feet.”What the columnists said
The idea that President Trump only opposes illegal immigration
“turns out to be—big surprise—a lie,” said Eugene Robinson in
The Washington Post. The new rule forces legal immigrants tomake an “impossible choice” between accepting benefits they
might desperately need or gaining permanent residence. It also
privileges immigrants from Europe while making it harder to
come from the poorer, browner nations Trump denigrates as
“s---hole countries.” This is just another part of “Trump’s cru-
sade to Make America White Again.”“This isn’t about race,” said Jonathan Tobin in the New York
Post. It only makes sense to screen out immigrants who can’t
support themselves. In fact, the idea is “an old one.” The new
rule is based on the Immigration Act of 1882, which says the
government can deny residency to anyone likely to become a
“public charge.” The Trump administration has simply expand-
ed and clarified the definition of who counts as a “public charge”
to make it reflect our modern world.“The idea that if someone has ever used a public benefit then
they won’t ever become a contributing member of society is ab-
surd,” said Paul Waldman in The Washington Post. Almost 1 in
6 Americans used food stamps during the Great Recession. “The
immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island a century ago did not,
for the most part, come here on private yachts or in first-class
berths,” said Joel Mathis in TheWeek.com. But they and their
descendants strengthened the nation. Today’s immigrants are no
different. Their children are just as likely as any other U.S. adults
to be homeowners, and more likely to be college graduates.
Somewhere, Emma Lazarus is weeping.White House sets new hurdles for legal immigrants