Once again, "but America".

What in the world does the US being in the South China Sea have to do with the topic at hand: China sending their secret police into Hong Kong to "police" the protest movement (ie. detain and disappear people with impunity).

This knee-jerk reaction to complain about America every time China's misdeeds are reported on is growing tiresome.

To me it is obvious that those things have a lot to do with each other. By doing this now China is clearly ignoring the explicit warnings from the US as said in direct statements by US political figures, the US' threat to end Hong Kong's special trade status, and the ramped up military presence in the South China Sea.

The super powers are clearly aiming for a larger confrontation at this point.

If you want context to the particular change, look at neighbouring Macau where apparently it has been law for more than 10 years:

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3085725...

Two Sessions, two cities: what can Hong Kong learn from Macau’s experience of national security legislation?

I think the whataboutisms come up whenever China is mentioned because it feels a bit goofy to spend energy worrying about authoritarianism across the world while ignoring authoritarianism in your own country.

I'm not saying people shouldn't worry about both, but if you're wondering why people are saying "but America" I'd guess that is the main reason.

I don't think chvid is from America.

Denmark: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22571624