There is a divide among China hawks in the US, evident in the mixed messages of Trump’s May 29 speech. Concessions are made to two contending schools of thought.

Despite the twisted perceptions of domestic radicals and the disruptive agenda of foreign forces in the SAR, the benefits of the new law are clear.

While some members of the international community have jumped to the conclusion that Bejing’s motives are nefarious, they should wait and see before bad-mouthing it. The need for new legislation is clear.

The demonstrations in Hong Kong reflect the fact that those who grow up in a free society usually want to continue living in one. Whatever the impact of a cradle-to-grave propaganda system in the PRC, it won’t work in Hong Kong—or Taiwan.

Hong Kong’s government withdrew the extradition bill that triggered the protests. Yet the protesters rage on, lacking any coherent strategy or demands. They claim that they are fighting for democracy, but it is hard to reconcile that lofty goal with medieval-style catapults launching bricks and firebombs. In truth, the protesters’ scorched-earth strategy can lead only to more chaos, destruction, and death.

The United States Congress recently passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, and President Donald Trump signed it into law. It is a major de facto amendment of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and the first U.S. domestic law concerning the region since Hong Kong’s return to China.

The quibbling, quarreling world today is in dire need of the kind of rounded, yin/yang wisdom epitomized by Lee in his prime, whether it be in regard to racial harmony, the US-China trade war, or civil unrest in Hong Kong.

Demonstrations didn’t develop overnight but arose from a long pattern of alienation. Stability will return only when the root cause of Hong Kong’s illness — elite rule — is removed.

With no apparent end in sight, the crisis in Hong Kong has the potential to spiral out of control, but neither Beijing nor Washington wants to see the crisis resolved through military action. Such a calamitous outcome could have the possibility of bringing U.S.-China relations to an ultimate breaking point.

Since China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, the city has prospered economically, but festered politically. Now, one of the world’s ri