A Chinese state media outlet has mocked Mike Pompeo, who is tasked with ‘certifying’ Hong Kong’s autonomy, depicting him dressed as a sheep, seducing protesters with cash into falling off a cliff into the fires of hell.
The unflattering portrayal of the US Secretary of State comes from the CGTN, Beijing’s international broadcaster, which lampooned Pompeo’s involvement in Hong Kong protests in a cartoon on Monday.
It shows a line of zombie-like protesters, some armed with Molotov cocktails, standing in line to receive apple-shaped dollar grants from the hands of the top US diplomat. They then walk through an archway labeled as “heaven” but plunge lemming-style into hell.
The satanic references could prove particularly unwelcome for Pompeo, a fervent evangelical Christian who has often cited religious faith as a guiding force in his work for the Trump administration.
The cartoon was an apparent response to Washington blasting China for its plans to ramp up security in Hong Kong. The proposed national security law sparked fresh demonstrations and clashes with Hong Kong police on Sunday.
If the legislation is passed, “Pompeo will likely be unable to certify that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy and if that happens there will be sanctions that will be imposed on Hong Kong and China,” US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien commented on Sunday.
Pompeo is required by a law passed by Congress last year to certify Hong Kong’s autonomy from Beijing each year, to maintain the territory’s trade privileges.
Before the start of the pandemic, Hong Kong had been gripped by months of mass protests, often escalating into riots, with Beijing accusing Washington – which has publicly supported the protesters – of fuelling the unrest. US lawmakers, in turn, have moved to impose sanctions on Chinese officials complicit in “violating Hong Kong’s independence.”
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