Time and again, the US unacceptably meddles in the internal affairs of other countries — what the UN Charter’s principle of non-intervention prohibits.
House and Senate members unanimously passed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) of 2019.
On Wednesday, Trump signed the measure into law, along with a companion bill, restricting exports of US crowd control devices to Hong Kong police.
The measures have nothing to do with supporting democracy and human rights, notions the vast majority of US officials abhor and tolerate nowhere.
They have everything to do with waging war on China by other means — including illegal sanctions, unacceptable tariffs, and supporting months of violence and vandalism in Hong Kong by CIA-recruited hooligans.
The HKHRDA requires annual certification by the secretary of state to justify Hong Kong’s special status as affirmed by the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act.
The president is required to impose (illegal) sanctions on individuals allegedly involved in committing human rights abuses and suppressing freedoms in Hong Kong.
The president is also required to protect US business interests and citizens from so-called risks posed by a revised Fugitive Offenders Ordinance.
The US commerce secretary is required to annually assess whether Hong Kong enforces US regulations, pertaining to exports of sensitive dual-use items to US sanctioned countries.
On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry threatened to retaliate against the hostile measure, a statement saying:
“We suggest that the United States does not put its foot down because otherwise China will have to take serious countermeasures and the United States will have to bear full responsibility for their consequences,” adding:
The unacceptable measure represents “unconcealed hegemonic behavior. (It) ignored the facts, blatantly support(ing) violent radicals who oppose the rule of law” in the city.
“For the erroneous act by the US, China will certainly take firm countermeasures, and the US side will be fully responsible for all the consequences.”
Both measures signed into law by Trump on Wednesday are an affront to China’s “one country, two systems,” defining how Hong Kong has been governed since becoming a Chinese region in 1997.
The city’s government slammed the hostile US legislation, saying:
“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region today expresses its decisive protest over the adoption of the US ‘Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act’ and another law, which is also related to Hong Kong, and expresses its regret that the United States has repeatedly ignored Hong Kong’s concerns about these two acts.”
An unnamed Chinese official involved in trade talks with the US said the government “is not in a hurry to sign a trade deal.”
In response to HKHRDA’s enactment, China’s official People’s Daily broadsheet said the following:
The law is an unacceptable “attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of China,” adding:
“Driven by the political conspiracy to disrupt Hong Kong and curb China’s development, some US officials have openly supported the Hong Kong rioters and fueled the already messed-up situation in the region.”
“As a serious breach of morality and nature justice, they choose to secure personal interests at others’ expense, and will certainly pay the price in the end.”
China’s Global Times slammed the US attempt to interfere in Hong Kong, calling its actions “a clear violation of Chinese sovereignty,” adding:
“Washington is determined to turn Hong Kong into a new front to strategically pressure Beijing.”
“Some beguiled Hongkongers have been taken over by the illusion that the law could help their city gain a higher degree of autonomy, as they imagine Beijing would be deterred by the US legislation, and thus make major concessions that are not in line with the Basic Law.”
“(T)he law threatens to sanction Hongkongers who do not cooperate with the US. This will suppress neutral space for people with different ideas and further tear the city apart.”
“Anyone who colludes with external forces to undermine ‘one country, two systems’ must pay a heavy price.”
Hostile US actions toward China and other sovereign independent countries are all about seeking control over them — what the scourge of US hegemonic aims are all about.
A Final Comment
Hardline Senator Ted Cruz intends introducing the so-called Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty Act.
The measure calls for displaying Taiwan’s national flag at US government agencies and on uniforms of Taiwan representatives working in the country.”
It will authorize the state and war departments to post content online that violates the US “One China” policy.
It was first mentioned in the Shanghai Communique on February 28, 1972 during Nixon’s visit to China – stressing the importance for both countries to normalize relations.
On January 1, 1979, the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations agreed to by Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping formally established bilateral relations, ending official recognition of Taiwan, announced by Carter in December 1978.
The (1992 Consensus) one China principle affirms US recognition of one China comprised of the mainland and Taiwan.
Trump earlier saying “(e)verything is under negotiation including one China” didn’t go down well in Beijing.
Its authorities consider Taiwan a breakaway province to be eventually reunited with the mainland.
They call US arms sales to its government and incursions by Pentagon warships in the Taiwan Strait provocative actions.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang earlier stressed that issues relating to Taiwan are “nonnegotiable,” adding:
One China alone exists, Taiwan an inalienable part of it. The People’s Republic of China is its only legitimate government, “an internationally recognized fact, and no one can change it.”
“We urge the relevant party in the United States to realize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue and abide by commitments made by previous US governments to the one China policy and the principles of the three joint communiques.”
Sino/US relations are already greatly strained over unresolved trade issues; China’s political, industrial, economic and technology aims; militarization of the South China Sea; and months of CIA orchestrated violence and vandalism in Hong Kong.
New US measures signed into law by Trump Wednesday further aggravate bilateral relations.
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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Featured image is from Luo Xuan/Global Times
