Elections in Hong Kong and Haiti

Citizens of Hong Kong are currently engaging in mass protests because of the Chinese government's interference with free and open elections in Hong Kong.

The protesters want an open vote, but China’s plan would only allow candidates approved by Beijing.

As Boss Tweed famously said, “I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating." Whoever controls the primaries limits the choices in the general election to approved candidates, whether it is through direct vetting of candidate, super-delegates, or access to media.

And while these Hong Kong protests are going on, Democracy Now uses the death of "Baby Doc" Duvalier to remind of an eerily similar situation with with different actors, closer to home.

The [Haitian] elections that were being organized in 2010, 2011, were all controlled by the United States and the Organization of American States, and they had already established that the most popular party could not participate, Fanmi Lavalas of Aristide. So, there were only two right-wing candidates who were allowed to go into the second round of elections by Hillary Clinton, who went in Haiti personally to decide who can go into the second round.

Is it comforting to know that we are not above using the same tactics as communist China?