Iranian netizens have accused the Chinese regime of “colonization” and used the hashtag #China_get_out_of_Iran on various social media platforms to reach out to Hong Kong protesters and draw their attention to the recent 25-year economic and military deal reported to have been reached between Iran and China.
“Hey, Iranian here. First, I must apologize for some of the misunderstandings, the Iranian officials are going into a contract with CCP that gives them military and land access for 25 years including ports and maritime routes, they have also agreed that china may occupy some islands in the Persian Gulf. Fellow Iranians who have protested against this deal with CCP were attacked by the 五毛 [WuMao are pro-CCP trolls] and as they struggled to find CCP related forums they resorted to spam this message here,” said an Iranian social media user, @dearlostkarma on LIHKG, the Reddit version of Hong Kong.
Benedict Rogers, a British Human rights activist and the founder of Hong Kong Watch told The Epoch Times that Hong Kong protesters are a source of inspiration for everyone protesting against the Chinese expansionist agendas.
“Hong Kong protesters have shown extraordinary resilience, courage and commitment, a determination to never give up, even despite extraordinary odds, and this is truly inspiring,” he said.
Attention on the Plight of Iranians
The news about Iran-China $400 billion economic and strategic deal has caused a lot of speculation in the worldwide media after being reported by The New York Times. Though the news has been denied by the Iranian foreign ministry, it didn’t stop the protesters from raising their voice against the Chinese regime’s apparent plans.
“Qeshm, an Island of Iran, is going to be occupied by China. Many brave Iranians are seeking for help from international. Therefore please help them! They are also victims of CCP’s tyranny,” said a Hong Kong-based netizen @camelohk50 on Twitter.
There were speculations in Iranian political circles that the 25-year deal includes transferring full control of the Iranian islands to the Chinese regime.
Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash, a hardline member of the Iranian parliament called Majles, told the monopolized state-run TV’s Channel One that the deal included “transferring full authority of Iranian islands to China” but was aborted because of opposition by the Iranian people and the Majles, reported Radio Farda, a part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media that provides uncensored news out of Iran.
Kish and Qeshm are two islands that the local Iranian media talks about having been shortlisted for economic “free zones.” The Iranian regime has denied the allegations.
“We have not given and will not give away even an inch of Iranian soil. We will not grant China or any other country the exclusive right to use a single meter of Iranian territory,” said the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The Iranian government has also denied Bighash’s allegations and said he was serving vested interests.
However, the talk about the possible China-Iran deal was enough to create a discussion among the netizens who are already protesting in their respective countries—the Iranians against their regime and the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong against the Chinese regime.
The latest round of protests in Iran started on Nov. 15 last year after a surprise hike in fuel prices and intensified after the Iranian military mistakenly shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8 that killed all 176 onboard, mostly Iranians. The crash happened after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
LIGHK posted some screenshots of the comments by Iranian protesters and captioned them as: “People from Iran are seeking help with #china_get_out_of_iran on our IG page.”
People from Iran are seeking help with #china_get_out_of_iran on our IG page.
●來源：#LIHKG#Iran #China #oil pic.twitter.com/1hGG1by3Tm
— LIHKG 討論區 (@lihkg_forum) July 23, 2020
A netizen in Hong Kong, @freehk_noccp shared a conversation with one of the protesters in Iran that started with a query about what’s happening in Iran, to which an Iranian protester, @h.vahideh replied: “@hkers.ms19 An island in Iran has been bought by China’s government and oil operation for 25 years. This is a kind of colonization.”
Hong Kong student activist and politician, Sunny Cheung shared about Iranians protesting against the 25-year deal in a message in Twitter and said that the political situation in Hong Kong proves that the Chinese Communist Party never keeps its promises.
“Iranians are calling for a halt on Iran’s economic and security deal with #China. China is cashing in on the economic distress of Iran with its debt-trap diplomacy. The experiences of HK people is proof that the #CCP never tends to honor its promises,” said Cheung who had participated in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution and also the 2019-20 Hong Kong Protests against the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill that according to protesters is undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and civil liberties.
1. Iranians are calling for a halt on Iran’s economic and security deal with #China. China is cashing in on the economic distress of Iran with its debt-trap dimpolmacy. The experiences of HK people is proof that the #CCP never tends to honor its promises.#china_get_out_of_iran pic.twitter.com/qw6VsYxaEi
— Sunny Cheung 張崑陽 (@SunnyCheungky) July 24, 2020
Another Hong Kong protester, Flora Chan told the Iranian protesters that the protesters in Hong Kong support them.
“Thank you. We stand with you. China’s tyranny wants to take over the world. The free world should stand united and be against China. #china_Get_out_of_Iran . Don’t forget to #BoycottChineseProducts,” Chan wrote in a message on Twitter on July 24.
Focus News: Iranian Netizens Reach out to Hong Kong Protesters to Oppose ‘Colonization’ by China