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Hong Kong Hits Out at US Congress 09/11 06:18
HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong's government on Wednesday said the U.S. House of
Representatives twisted facts in an attack on the city as it passed a bill that
could close its representative offices in America, while Beijing threatened to
take countermeasures if they are shuttered.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act was part of a
series of China-related legislative proposals being scrutinized by the House
this week. Many of the proposals scheduled for a vote appear to have both
Republican and Democratic support, reflecting a strong consensus that
congressional actions are needed to counter Beijing.
If approved, the measures would still need to clear the Senate and be signed
by the U.S. president before officially becoming law. They are expected to
increase diplomatic tensions between the world's two largest economies, which
see each other as rivals in many areas and have conflicting views over various
issues, including on Hong Kong.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Algernon Yau strongly condemned the bill's passage, saying it was political
slander against the laws that safeguard national security and smeared the
city's human rights situation "without any reason at all."
He said the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong had surveyed its
members and found that about 70% of respondents felt no negative impact from
the Beijing-imposed security law. He said there are about 1,200 American
companies in the city.
"The passing of the bill ... actually is not creating any benefit to anybody
at all," he said.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement that the attack on the
semi-autonomous Chinese city was "politically driven," violated international
law and "grossly interferes" in Hong Kong's affairs.
The office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong also issued a strongly
worded statement, saying if the U.S. pushed the bill forward and shut the
offices, China would take resolute countermeasures.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the act
politicizes normal trade cooperation and is "very egregious." Mao said Hong
Kong is the second-largest source of trade surplus for the U.S., warning the
move would ultimately jeopardize America's own interests.
"China urges the U.S. to stop pushing forward the bill, so as not to cause
more harm to the stability and development of China-U.S. relations," she said.
The bill passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support, 413-3, on Tuesday.
It proposes to require the White House to remove the extension of certain
privileges to the three Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the U.S. -- in
Washington, New York and San Francisco -- if the city no longer enjoys a high
degree of autonomy from China, and for other purposes.
Under the proposals, the U.S. secretary of state would need to determine
whether the offices merit the privileges. If the answer is no, the offices
would have to terminate their operations within 180 days after that
determination is delivered to Congress.
Republican Representative Chris Smith, chair of the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China, said in a statement that the act is a "necessary next step
in tangibly demonstrating our solidarity with the persecuted citizens of Hong
Kong."
Since Beijing imposed the 2020 security law to quell months of huge
anti-government protests in 2019, authorities have arrested many leading
pro-democracy activists, including Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and former
student leader Joshua Wong. Critics say the freedoms promised to remain intact
for 50 years when the former British colony returned to China's rule in 1997
were drastically shrinking.
In response to the law, the U.S. previously deprived the territory of its
preferential trading status and put sanctions on high-ranking Hong Kong
officials. But Beijing and Hong Kong insist the law is necessary to bring back
stability to the financial hub.
Anna Kwok, executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a
Washington-based group advocating for the city's pro-democracy movement, said
in a statement the bill was a much-needed response to hold the Hong Kong
government accountable "for their blatant human rights abuses." Kwok was among
a group of overseas-based activists targeted by Hong Kong police bounties.
Hong Kong has 14 overseas trade offices, aiming to strengthen economic,
trade and cultural ties between the foreign territories and the city.
But they came under scrutiny when an office manager in its London branch
along with two other men were charged in Britain for allegedly assisting the
Hong Kong intelligence service in May.
Chinese authorities in both the U.K. and Hong Kong at that time criticized
the charges brought by London authorities, saying they were the latest in a
series of "groundless and slanderous" accusations that the British government
has leveled against China.
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