Democratic activists in Hong Kong express deep concern at the announcement that Chinese lawmakers are planning to impose new national security laws in the special administrative region.
During a virtual discussion hosted by the Heritage Foundation on Friday morning, Martin Lee, founding president of the Hong Kong Democratic Party and popularly known as Hong Kong’s “Father of Democracy”, as well as Dennis Kwok, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and a democratic activist, called it a “nightmare”.
“What is happening in Hong Kong is truly heartbreaking,” said Kwok, after learning that the Chinese parliament would consider a bill that would allow Chinese authorities to limit the activity of the opposition party in Hong Kong, including protests. or enter into talks with international allies, without the measure being reviewed by the Hong Kong legislature. “The worst nightmare is happening before our eyes.”
Although the details of the legislation are not known to the public, Lee said any action to avoid the Hong Kong Legislative Council would be in violation of the “joint statement” made between the United Kingdom and China, when the delivery of the former British colony in 1997 which guaranteed that Hong Kong would function on capitalist and democratic principles until at least 2047.
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“The world will now see that the joint declaration is ignored,” said Lee. “Will Beijing be allowed to get away with it? If you can break an international agreement, registered with the United Nations and get out of it, you will be encouraged to break other agreements.”
The move comes amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China over the blame for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as international trade, cross-border investment, and other issues.
American Secretary of State United States Mike Pompeo issued a statement on Friday
“The United States urges Beijing to reconsider its disastrous proposal, to comply with its international obligations and to respect the high degree of autonomy, democratic institutions and civil liberties in Hong Kong, which are essential to preserve its status special under US law. “
Hong Kong’s special trade status was granted by the United States. United States In 1992 and allows the region to avoid certain tariffs, export restrictions and to enjoy free trade between the Hong Kong dollar
USDHKD
and US dollar
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all this has helped it to remain a major center of international finance.
Last year, Congress passed legislation that would require the secretary of state to report annually to Congress on Hong Kong’s autonomy and whether the United States should maintain its unique bilateral ties. The revocation of the special status could affect Hong Kong with the same high tariffs on exports to the United States faced by mainland China, while undermining international confidence in the Hong Kong dollar, as well as the state of area law.
Even though the Chinese economy and financial markets have developed, Beijing still depends on Hong Kong as a source of foreign capital, with 54% of all foreign direct investment in China entering through Hong Kong in 2018, while mainland companies count on their operations to take advantage of their rule of law, their regulatory environment and their professional services, according to Tianlei Huang from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Kwok argued that revoking special status would be a “nuclear option” because “once you use it, everyone will be injured and it will be difficult to rebuild Hong Kong”. But he still advised the United States. United States Let them consider it because “a lot of people [in Hong Kong] they are angry and actively asking the United States United States Cancel [the special status] Punish Beijing for acting as they did. “
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