‘Beautiful sight taking place in US’: China recalls Pelosi remark on Hong Kong protests

China's state media recalled how Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called the Hong Kong protests "a beautiful sight to behold", and said "it remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill".

Nancy Pelosi calls for prosecution of any Congress members who might have helped pro-Trump siege

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP File)

Global Times, a media organisation affiliated to China’s ruling party, drew a parallel Thursday between the siege of Capitol Hill and the time protesters stormed the Hong Kong legislature building in 2019. It recalled how US Speaker Nancy Pelosi had referred to the Hong Kong protests as “a beautiful sight to behold”, and said “it remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill”.

Pro-democracy protesters had smashed their way into the legislature building on July 1, 2019 in a demonstration against proposed amendments to Hong Kong laws.

.@SpeakerPelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as “a beautiful sight to behold” — it remains yet to be seen whether she will say the same about the recent developments in Capitol Hill. pic.twitter.com/91iXDzYpcO

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 7, 2021

Several social media users in China also responded to Thursday’s incident, calling it “karma”, “retribution” and “deserving”, reported Global Times. Social media in the country is heavily censored.

In a report, the Global Times wrote: “Chinese web users still remember the distress and anger they felt when they saw rioters in Hong Kong storming the Legislative Council Complex, scrawling graffiti, smashing and robbing items, and, instead of condemning the violence, US politicians hailed the ‘courage’ of these mobs, western media praised the ‘restraint’ of the rioters, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even called it a ‘beautiful sight.’ Now, this ‘beautiful sight’ is taking place in the US.”

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy put out an advisory warning its nationals to strengthen safety precautions in light of the “large-scale demonstration” in Washington D.C.

Ties between China and the US have been further strained under the Trump administration.

The US Capitol, which houses both the Senate and House of Representatives, came under attack by a mob of Donald Trump’s supports as lawmakers met to certify presidency-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram