By Mackenzie Hastie
On the 14th of July, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would end Hong Kong’s preferential treatment by the United States.
This order comes as a retaliation to China imposing a national security law which will enforce laws that criminalises acts such as:
- Terrorism
- Separatism
- Subversion
- Collusion
All of which are acts whose definition is held in relative flexibility in Chinese law.
The US has stated that it sees the law as a threat to freedoms that Hong Kong has enjoyed since the 1984 agreement.
The introduction of the law, on the 30th of June 2020, saw the arrest of more than 370 protesters in apparent breach of the new law.
Police said 10 of the arrests were for offences related to the new security law, including holding signs or flags advocating for Hong Kong independence. Of those arrested, one was a 15-year-old girl who was waving a Hong Kong independence flag.
Verna Yu, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/01/hong-kong-protesters-arrested-as-security-law-comes-into-effect
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/01/hong-kong-protesters-arrested-as-security-law-comes-into-effect
President Trump’s order means that with preferential treatment for Hong Kong suspended, it will now be treated as part of the Chinese mainland, both geopolitically and legally.
https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/gross-interference-chinese-government-vows-payback-against-trump-administration-over-hong-kong-law/news-story/eac2a80158eb75b607fe8bb53791aa57
As the Executive Order took effect, President Trump declared that he had also signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which had passed through Congress unanimously.
“This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom,”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53412598
China has strongly condemned the action, stating that it was a “gross interference” in domestic affairs and that it would retaliate it pressed further.
A statesman said:
“The US attempt to obstruct the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong will never succeed,…. We urge the US side to correct its mistakes, refrain from implementing the act and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any way. China will firmly respond if the US goes ahead.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53412598
China’s response has created further tension to the relations between an already tense relationship between China and the United States.