Solemn, almighty, Xi Jinping watched the development of a vote with an ending announced in a parliament without dissonant voices. China carried out a devastating blow on the autonomy of Hong Kong and placed the umbrella of its iron-clad national security policy on its more than 7 million inhabitants. That is: the democratic springs that survived on the island would disappear and the will of the population would become governed by the mood of Beijing.

It is difficult for the Chinese regime to review its recent blow. Thus, the principle of “one country, two systems” will go through its last hours to the disgrace of the millions of Hondurans who rose up against the measure and who intend to continue living under the values ​​of democracy and freedom.

The autocracy led by Jinping gave the safest thrust, on a population that for almost a year has been fighting for their rights after the Communist Party of China (CPC) used its power to impose laws against the fundamental freedoms of the islanders. A rule to facilitate extraditions angered Democrats in the Asian financial centre twelve months ago. The fury spread to January until quarantines of the Wuhan-born coronavirus calmed the streets. Since June 9, 2019, the world has witnessed the brutality with which Beijing persecuted protesters. The images are repeated now, with a much more brutal law. The CPC took a career during the brief truce that gave the outbreak.

The main democracies reacted against the Chinese coup. Others were silent. It is that the new regulations openly violate international agreements to which the great nation committed itself in the eyes of the world decades ago. The main one, the one that signed with the United Kingdom for the return of the colony in 1984, a process that ended in 1997. That treaty, like its adherence to the Hong Kong Basic Law, are binding under international law. If Beijing behaves like this in front of the main powers and before its own people, What to expect in the face of weak countries that cannot repay their loan sharks? The answer matures quickly from so obvious.

The markets will be affected in a very unfavourable context. Chinese companies could suffer millionaire losses and those of other origins could flee from that central stock market operation in the face of the threat that will imply operating under the magnifying glass of an undemocratic regime. Will they want to submit to an island where intelligence and communcations services are comprosed?

Europe has already warned about the concern that the imperial decision generated in their governments; the United States, too. The Chinese regime will continue, despite everything. Will you think of pressing in any other way on the other island that reveals the CPC since 1949? The southern waters are moved and the traffic is increasing. The tension will rise.

Washington was less timid and diplomatic. Deciding to target Chinese companies, it will review and audit their books before they continue to operate with the freedom they have enjoyed until now on Wall Street. It also warned that it will study possible sanctions against autocracy officials who will impose martial law on Hong Kong. Washington knows that the way of landing on its land has a clear format: the purchase of battered companies. After the pandemic, many could be in check. It won’t be so easy for Beijing to get hold of them now.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has to fight on several fronts: on the one hand, the pandemic. More than 100,000 lives were lost as a result of COVID-19. On the other, the protests that shake several states as a result of the arrest and death of George Floyd, the African American victim of police violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Several emblematic cities had to establish a curfew to discourage the outbursts. These demonstrations, in turn, have two components: the legitimate and historical claim of the black population and an evident political motivation of the crouching extreme left. Who is behind the Antifa movement that re-emerged in the last hours? Opportunities flourish in contexts of uncertainty.

In the midst of those battles, this Saturday the United States made a show of power and sent a message to the world: its strength remains intact. The historic launch of SpaceX was more than just a televised family show. He represented the demonstration that his government is standing and that it has the necessary state and private resources to continue at the forefront of the planet. And also, from space.

Nor did he forget Venezuela and its distant ally, Iran. Two ships carrying fuel from the theocracy to Caracas had to stop before mooring in the Caribbean port. Threats of sanctions against the Treasury Department shipping companies had an automatic effect. The boats began their return.

It was just hours before Nicolás Maduro announced two simultaneous measures: the increase in the price of gasoline – which will hit Venezuela’s richest daily economy even further – and the relaxation of the quarantine, given the evident civil disobedience to comply with it. It is that the Chavista dictatorship no longer knows what to hide: if the real numbers of the coronavirus and its weak health system or the lack of water and fuel throughout the country. It will be difficult to cover the sun with one hand.