We’re in a New Cold War. Hong Kong, like Berlin before It, Is the First Battle.

EXCERPT

Would the United States have let the Soviet Union invade West Berlin? Never. Yet America is on the verge of allowing Communist China to enslave the free city of Hong Kong. If this happens, it will be one of the greatest abdications of U.S. moral leadership in history.

Right now, Communist China is massing paramilitary forces on its border with Hong Kong. The purpose appears obvious: Intimidate the pro-freedom movement that has brought parts of the city to a standstill in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Beijing’s rulers have labeled Hong Kong’s protesters “terrorists,” while stating that “those who play with fire will perish by it.” The echoes of the Tiananmen Square massacre 30 years ago are unmistakable. 

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When we were up against the Soviet Union, we stood without apology for our civilization and for freedom. For nearly half a century, we made it clear that our way of life was superior, that liberty was everyone’s birthright, and that we would support free people, wherever they were. By holding aloft the torch of freedom, we illuminated the monstrous evil of communism.

At the time of publishing, Marion Smith was executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Originally published in USA Today.