HK demonstrators banging their heads on a brick wall

Not content at building a "wall" dividing Hong Kong into a normal metropolis and an anarchic city, rabble-rouser Joshua Wong compared Hong Kong to Berlin during the Cold War. However, his remark may impress his Western backers, particularly the United States which has openly supported the rioters in Hong Kong, not those who see through the demonstrators' ploys.

To add drama to his visit to Berlin on Monday, Wong climbed to the top of the Reichstag building, which contains the ruins of the Berlin Wall, to air his views.

Despite his divisive views, however, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas chose to meet the troublemaker, sending all the wrong messages just days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, accompanied by a large business delegation, concluded a productive visit to China.