President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law congressional legislation backing protesters in Hong Kong in the face of angry objections from Beijing.
The legislation, approved unanimously by the Senate - the United States's upper house - and by all but one legislator in the House of Representatives - the lower house - last week, requires the State Department to certify, at least annually, that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable US trading terms, and also threatens sanctions for human rights violations.
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Congress passed a second bill, which Trump also signed, banning the export to the Hong Kong police of crowd-control munitions, such as tear gas, pepper spray, rubber-coated bullets and stun guns.
"I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong," Trump said in a statement. "They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all."
The protests started over a now-dropped extradition bill, but have evolved into the 'five demands' including universal suffrage and an investigation into alleged police brutality [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]
Protesters have been on the streets since June, angered first by a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial. That bill has now been dropped, but the protests have evolved into wider calls for China to stand by commitments made to allow Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy" when it regained sovereignty over the city in 1997.
That pledge, known as "one country, two systems", was meant to last 50 years and is the basis of the self-governing Chinese territory's special status under US law. Protesters say freedoms have been steadily eroded.
China anger
Trump had been vague about whether he would sign or veto the legislation while trying to strike a deal with China on trade that he has made a top priority in advance of his 2020 re-election bid.
After Congress passed the bill, Trump's aides debated whether the president's endorsement could undermine efforts to reach an interim deal, and most of them ultimately recommended the signing to show support for the protesters, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The decision was also influenced by the overwhelming majorities in the Senate and House in favour of the legislation, which was widely seen as making the bills veto-proof, as well as the landslide victory in Hong Kong on Sunday of the pro-democracy camp, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If Trump had opted to use his veto, it could have been overridden by two-thirds votes in the Senate and the House. The legislation would have automatically become law on December 3 if Trump had opted to do nothing.
China has denounced the legislation as gross interference in its affairs and a violation of international law.
A week ago, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, condemned the bill as "naked interference in China's internal affairs."
On Tuesday, the foreign ministry said it had summoned the US ambassador to Beijing to warn that the US would "bear all the consequences" if the bill went through.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio applauded Trump's decision.
"The U.S. now has new and meaningful tools to deter further influence and interference from Beijing into Hong Kong’s internal affairs," he said in a statement.
Last week, Trump boasted that he alone had prevented Beijing from crushing the demonstrations with a million soldiers, while adding that he had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that doing so would have "a tremendous negative impact" on trade talks.
Trump prompted questions about his commitment to protecting Hong Kong freedoms when he referred in August to its mass street protests as "riots" that were a matter for China to deal with.
Trump again referred to "riots" last week, but has also called on China to handle the issue humanely.
Deep Hong Kong ties
Many see the US legislation as symbolic, but the bills' provisions have the potential, if implemented, to upend relations between the US and Hong Kong and change the territory's status to that of any other Chinese city.
Analysts say any move to end Hong Kong's special treatment could prove self-defeating to the US, which has benefitted from the business-friendly conditions in the territory. If Hong Kong becomes just another Chinese port, companies that rely on the territory's role as a middleman or for trans-shipping could take their business elsewhere.
That said, the bills contain strong waivers that would allow the president to block their provisions on grounds of national security or national interest.
According to the State Department, 85,000 US citizens were living in Hong Kong in 2018 and more than 1,300 US companies were operating there, including nearly every major US financial firm.
The territory is a major destination for US legal and accounting services. In 2018, the largest US bilateral trade-in-goods surplus was with Hong Kong at $31.1bn.
Trade between Hong Kong and the US was estimated to be worth $67.3 bn in 2018, with the US running a $33.8 bn surplus - its biggest with any country or territory, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
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November 28, 2019 at 08:10AM
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