What happened and is happening in Hong Kong is heartbreaking. The cherished right of freedom of expression and demonstration has been abused to carry out violent acts against the government and police.

These actions require orchestration, leadership and most importantly, money. So where are these coming from?

"Hong Kong is a very strategic place for many of us," said Lynn Lee, Associate Director of the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy's (NED) Asia program on May 14, during a panel discussion held in Washington, D.C. The panel was attended by four of Hong Kong's opposition leaders: Martin Lee, Nathan Law, Lee Cheuk Yan and Mak Yin-Ting.

Two months before the NED gathering, Hong Kong opposition leaders led by Anson Chan went to Washington, D.C., met with top U.S. officials and begged for money and support.

Their trips must have been very "successful," because violent demonstrations in Hong Kong began shortly thereafter in June.

But is this just one isolated case, purely coincidental and insignificant?

Let's go back to the "Occupy Central" demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2014 for the answer.

On April 2 of that year, five months before the demonstrations began, opposition parties made a similar trek to the NED in Washington, D.C., where they also held a panel discussion, met with top U.S. officials and begged for money and support.

When both Chinese and foreign media accused the NED of funding Hong Kong rioters in 2014, the NED posted an announcement on its website claiming it had nothing to do with the demonstrations.

But shortly afterward, WikiLeaks disclosed that the "U.S. State Department/NED funded Hong Kong protest movement 'Occupy Central'."

This May, the NED's Lee said to the visiting Hong Kong opposition parties, "At that time [in 2014], in 2015 and 16 and 17, I think every year I asked you: What can we do for you, what can we do for you?"

The NED is an extension of the Central Intelligence Agency and has played a critical role in countless covert regime change operations from Libya to Iraq, Ukraine and Afghanistan. In its over 35-year history, it has funded opposition parties, dissidents, separatists and extremists in the world's most turbulent areas, with the goal of establishing pro-U.S. governments.

The NED is not an "endowment for democracy," rather, it's an endowment for destabilization, and China is currently one of its major targets.

Its website lists many countries which receive NED money, like Viet Nam, Cambodia and Pakistan, all of which it treats as whole countries. But when it comes to China, it dissects it into "four parts:" Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the mainland. This is tantamount to splitting up the country, which some separatist forces aim to do.

In addition, NED public data showed that in 2018, $6.5 million was generously distributed among dissidents, separatists and extremists in China, in an attempt to actively stir up strife and violence in the country.

In total, public data showed $29 million of NED money was turned over to these forces in China over the past three years. But this money might be just the tip of the iceberg since most of the NED's spending is "too sensitive" to disclose to the public.

This is not only brazen interference in the internal affairs of China, but also a massive waste of U.S. taxpayers' dollars.

When U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted on July 2, praising the protestors in Hong Kong, the immediate response from her constituents urged her to "do your job," one saying that "for months, Americans have been calling and emailing you, showing up at your offices, and posting signs in swing districts to IMPEACH (President Donald Trump)! If America wasn't as geographically widespread as it is, you'd see more protestors than Hong Kong." It seems that U.S. residents are also tired of their politicians meddling in other countries' internal affairs.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

Comments to liuyunyun@bjreview.com