Mad-Dog Diplomacy - The People's Republic of China
Re- Chinese officials drag Hongkongers into the consulate grounds - an unprecedented level of aggression towards overseas activists.
The consulate staff knew there would be cameras filming & their behaviours would result in outrage
So why did they do it anyways? 🧵
This incident is following the fake bomb threats that were fabricated against another known activist.
We can blame it on the tyrannical nature of the party-state, but there needs to be critical analysis to the increasingly aggressive response of Chinese consulate & embassies.
- it’s quite simple really: increasing the cost to attend protests around consulate/embassy grounds.
The diplomatic staff is willing to falsely criminalize activists (bomb threat) or resort to violence (beating) - knowing it may damage their reputation or diplomatic status
In the past, activists would “gear up” by wearing masks, hats, unidentifiable clothing, covering up tattoos to attend a protest at the consulate/embassy.
Now, there’s a higher level of risk for activists, which force them to assess whether they can be safe (or feel safe) to go.
- the heightened aggression affirms fear among the diaspora & activist networks
For many who already felt uncomfortable to attend consulate/embassy protests, the heightened aggression may successfully deter them away from these direct actions.
- pushing the boundaries on what is (un)acceptable as a foreign mission
The Chinese mission is testing how the host nations of consulate/embassy respond, and whether there will be consequences.
Basically, where is the red line? Would their actions qualify for expulsion?
With an uptick of HKers migrating to the UK, it was the perfect timing to test new tactics to deter & threaten overseas activists.
The aggressive response to activists holding direct action is part of the party-state’s work to continue transnational political suppression.
have no doubt these tactics will be deemed as a success internally, and passed onto other embassies and consulates (& other regimes) around the world.
We will need to adapt new safety & security procedures for future direct actions.
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