 When I left my post as U.S. consul general in Hong Kong recently, news organizations reported that the White House had effectively censored my valedictory remarks, as President Donald Trump apparently did not want to disrupt trade negotiations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Washington Post went so far as to say I'd been "neutered." Put the short-term politics aside. What matters is figuring out what's really driving Hong Kong's current unrest, and what the governments of Hong Kong, China and the U.S. should do about it. The U.S. has more at stake here than many Americans realize. Opening doors to free and fair trade, with China and other partners, has been a consistent core interest of the U.S. in the western Pacific. Hong Kong has been at the center of that effort ever since the U.S. first opened its consulate in the city 175 years ago. Today, Hong Kong deserves America's commercial, financial and strategic respect and support because its economy and society are positive models for all of Asia. The city shows how open markets and transparent governance work together to create prosperity. The city's value is buttressed by its rule of law — not just rule by law — and by its independent judiciary and sense of fair play. Read the whole thing. The Choice Isn't Between Capitalism or Socialism – Noah Smith Abe's Trade War With South Korea Is Hopeless – Bloomberg editors Worst Part of the Mueller Hearings? Republican Conspiracy Theories. – Jonathan Bernstein How Bill Barr Ran Circles Around Bob Mueller – Timothy L. O'Brien You Can't Shame Asian Flyers – Adam Minter Iran Exposes Boris Johnson's Brexit Bombast – Therese Raphael Mueller's Testimony Was Just as Confusing as His Report – Noah Feldman Every President Since Reagan Was Wrong About China's Destiny – Hal Brands Don't Put Your Valuables in the Bank – Matt Levine Saturday New Music Here are five new albums you can stream right now, including from Strange Ranger and Caleb Giles. This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the 10 most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week, based on web readership, with some other stuff thrown in. | 
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