- President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has directed his administration to begin the process of eliminating policy exemptions that give Hong Kong different and special treatment. His announcement came a day after China's People's Congress passed Beijing's controversial new national security law related to Hong Kong.
- Now the CCP has decided the time is right to bypass Hong Kong's legislature and impose a national security law on Hong Kong, banning “treason, secession, sedition and subversion.” The law is so broadly defined and vaguely worded, it will greatly expand the CCP's control over the city by criminalizing Hong Kongers for exercising their basic rights to free speech and assembly.
- On the eve of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover in 2017, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared, “Now that Hong Kong has returned to the motherland for 20 years, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any realistic meaning.” The CCP essentially abandoned any pretense that it would keep the promises it had made to Britain and the people of Hong Kong when the city was handed over.
- In 2019, Hong Kong government tried to rush a new extradition bill through the legislature, which would have allowed Hong Kong to surrender anyone wanted by Beijing based on trumped-up charges, including critics of Beijing, pro-democracy activists, and human rights activists.
- The higher tariffs the Trump administration imposed on Chinese goods during the U.S.-China trade war did not affect exports out of Hong Kong since the city receives favorable tax and tariff treatment.
- Economic sanctions, in addition to losing special status, will cause Hong Kong to lose its leverage as an international finance and trade center.
- To fulfill such ambitions, Beijing has heavily relied on Hong Kong because the city is a dominant offshore yuan trading center, accounting for 75 percent of yuan-denominated international payments.
- Therefore, many mainland companies have been using Hong Kong as a transshipment conduit for exporting their goods to the EU and U.S. When the U.S. ends special treatment to Hong Kong, these Chinese companies will have to pay higher tariffs.
- Hong Kong and the U.S. have long-established ties, and Hong Kong’s past autonomy enables it to enjoy special economic and trade treatment from the states.
- While the rest of the world is struggling to contain a virus that originated in China, Hong Kong authorities arrested a number of prominent pro-democracy activists for their roles in the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests.
- Beijing even sent mainland Chinese police to Hong Kong to arrest booksellers and a Chinese tycoon, bypassing Hong Kong’s own judicial system.
- There is no doubt Hong Kong people will take most of the economic hit after the city loses its special economic status.
- The Trump administration is also looking into imposing sanctions on people from both Communist China and Hong Kong who are responsible for eroding Hong Kong's autonomy.
- Yet as of 2019, all Chinese banks still park about $1.13 trillion in Hong Kong and conduct the majority of their international transactions in the city.
- Hong Kong was once considered a 'golden goose' to the CCP, helping propel China's economic development and transformation.
- Last year, Congress passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HRDA), which requires the State Department to evaluate whether Hong Kong is still upholding the rule of law and protecting human rights.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
By Forcing Control On Hong Kong, Beijing Killed The Golden Goose
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment