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CHINA HAS THREATENED to retaliate after US President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, just as the world’s top two economies edge towards a trade truce.
Trump had seemed reluctant to sign the legislation, but came under heavy pressure from Congress, where the issue has attracted rare bipartisan support.
In a statement, Trump spoke of “respect” for Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he hoped the “leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences”.
But Beijing reacted furiously, warning it was ready to take unspecified “firm countermeasures”.
“The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
In Hong Kong, the government expressed “extreme regret” after Trump signed legislation requiring an annual review of freedoms in Hong Kong and banning the sale of crowd control equipment like tear gas.
“The two acts are obviously interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs,” the city government said in a statement, warning the move would “send the wrong message to the protesters”.
And Beijing’s liaison office in the city condemned Washington’s “disgusting conduct”, saying it would bring “trouble and chaos” to Hong Kong.
‘Timely leverage’
Hong Kongers have protested in huge numbers over the last six months, fuelled by years of growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city’s liberties.
The territory’s Beijing-backed leaders have offered few concessions and police have cracked down hard on protesters in increasingly violent confrontations.
Today, police entered the campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where they lay siege to protesters inside for days.
Most protesters have now left, some of them arrested as they tried to flee, and police were collecting evidence including Molotov cocktails at the ransacked site.
The violence has done little to dampen support though, with pro-democracy candidates winning a landslide victory in local council elections over the weekend.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act requires the US president to annually review the city’s favourable trade status and threatens to revoke it if the semi-autonomous territory’s freedoms are quashed.
Trump also signed legislation banning sales of tear gas, rubber bullets and other equipment used by Hong Kong security forces in putting down the protests.
Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, together with Democratic Senators Ben Cardin Bob Menendez, issued a joint statement welcoming Trump’s decision.
“The US now has new and meaningful tools to deter further influence and interference from Beijing into Hong Kong’s internal affairs,” Rubio said.
Hong Kong activists said the move would help build international support for their movement.
Sunny Cheung, a student who testified before Congress in support of the legislation, told AFP it would give “Hong Kong people timely leverage to press Hong Kong and Beijing further on democratic reform”.
Bipartisan support
Trump could have vetoed the bill, particularly with a long-awaited China trade deal reportedly near – a key goal for the president as his reelection campaign gets underway.
But he would have faced the possibility of a politically humiliating override, with pressure only mounting after Sunday’s decisive local election victory for pro-democracy candidates.
His decision was welcomed even by his fiercest domestic opponents.
“This bicameral, bipartisan law reaffirms our nation’s commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the face of Beijing’s crackdown,” Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
“I am pleased that the president signed this legislation and look forward to its prompt enforcement.”
On Tuesday, Trump said he was “with” the protesters, but quickly backpedalled, emphasising his close ties to Xi and efforts to secure a long-delayed resolution to the trade war.
“It’s going very well but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong,” he said.
“I think it will. I think that President Xi can make that happen. I know him and I know he’d like to make it happen.”
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A positive story of US politics. It’s great they’re showing support for Hong Kong and their fight against authoritarianism.
@sVRCsaSg: Really? He only supported it to pi$$ off the Chinese…… he stays pretty neutral when it comes to Russia or Saudi, this guy is a wrecking ball
@Tony Henry: can you not take a good result even if you think there’s some ulterior motive behind it or just because there are other areas that are lacking in your opinion.
@Tony Henry: hardly new , Clinton, bush and Obama all did the same
@sVRCsaSg: yet he continually reiterates his admiration for Putin and Kim.
@Conoroconnor: same thing I said to Tony. I’m not saying the political situation is perfect but I think you should try to be happy with a positive story instead of immediately jumping to other more negative situations.
@sVRCsaSg: fair enough, but don’t you think it’s appropriate to also question his motives? Trump has never in his life been on the side of the ‘little guy’
@Conoroconnor: yeah maybe. We can question and transfer our views of him onto the things we don’t know (his ulterior motives) or we can just be happy with the outcome for once.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t question these things but it must get exhausting. Allow yourself to be happy once in a while.
@sVRCsaSg: it’s a good result but Trump is constant at being inconsistent…. if the trade war ends in 2 weeks, the same support for the cause could be re-categorised as domestic terrorisim …. his opinion shifts daily that’s what makes him so dangerous and toxic
@Tony Henry: It says in the article that he didn’t want to sign it, but was basically forced by Congress. Whatever you say about Trump, he is not interested in picking fights about foreign political issues. I would assume that he thinks Hong Kong, like Crimea, is not the US’s business.
@Gerry Quinn: has he not spent the last 4 years abusing leaders from countries such as France and NZ, gives unwanted advice publicly regarding Brexit, starts an unwinnable trade war with China all the while kissing Putin’s and Kim Jong’s asses?
@Tony Henry: what country stands up to Saudi in the Western world?? Give you a clue its btween 0-0
@Paul O Mahony: thanks for the clue….. very difficult to stand up to Saudi when you balls deep in multi billion arms and trade deals….. vested interests very much at play here
So trump bans the sale of tear gas and rubber bullets to the Hong Kong police as they try and retain some sort of order in their city, yet is quite happy to supply the Israeli army with with bombs and weapons as they slaughter innocent women and children. Go figure.
@Kevin: so do the British, French and Germans.
One can be quite selective about who’s democracy and human rights and supported and who’s are not.
What makes a nice dictatorship and what makes a bad dictatorship?
@George Vladisavljevic: The genocide
attributable, respectively?
So is he going to do the same and show support for Palestinians?
@Ben Dunne: No, because he’s a hypocrite and likely only did it to annoy the Chinese central government, and not because he actually cares.
He’s is 100% right ,I stand with Hong Kong
@Punters Pal: I dont. Very few countries would give independence to their wealthiest state or provence. Would California get it if they protested?
Donald loves to light his fire with petrol
Better late than never. I suppose he felt it prudent to wait until the protests had just about stopped
Trump..his most dangerous attributes are his stupidity and ignorance.
@CJ Stewart: you don’t support Hong Kong ???
@Punters Pal: B@##@£%s. China is a country of one point six billion people. If the government do not act? Millions will die in the confrontation. Take an objective view from the Chinese governments side. Remember colonisation sparked this flame in the beginning? I may not agree with with the Chinese political system, but the Trump admin should keep their grotty empire building tactics out of this one. Then what’s a few more million lives to Washington?
have your say