The central government in Beijing made up its mind very early on that the ongoing mess in Hong Kong is fuelled to a large extent by “foreign interference,” something to which the Chinese are particularly sensitive, given the nation’s near-capitulation to foreign powers from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.
Informed by a toxic mix of resentment for past humiliations and pride in recent achievements, many mainland Chinese belligerently view the developed world as conspiring to deny their country its rightful place in the sun.
However, in constructing the narrative of itself as a victim of foreign aggression and interference in modern times, China may do well to remember that it has, on
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Oct 03, 2019