Response to Hong Kong law is more bark than bite
From Tokyo to Brussels, political leaders have swiftly decried Beijing’s move to impose a tough national security law on Hong Kong that cracks down on subversive activity and protest in the semi-autonomous territory.
But the rhetoric has more bark than bite. For people in Hong Kong, the question is: Will international anger and statements of concern make any difference?
Individual countries have little leverage over Beijing on human rights, experts say. A joint effort could make a difference, but co-ordinated action seems unlikely given strained ties between the Trump administration and many of Washington’s traditional European allies.
“The USA and EU are moving in different directions in many areas. It is perhaps to China’s advantage that that should be so,” said Rod Wye, an Asia-pacific associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London. In particular, Europeans do not want to be drawn into the Uschina trade war, he said.
A joint Us-european report released this week on relations with China described “a deep sense of frustration, fatigue, and futility. The stronger China gets, the less willing it has become to even engage perfunctorily with the West on the issue.”
The report — from the Asia Society, the Bertelsmann Stiftung and George Washington University — said that concern about human rights abuses in China remains deep, from the new security law in Hong Kong, which went into effect on Wednesday, to the repression of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region in western China.
China routinely dismisses all such criticism as interference in its domestic affairs. One of the crimes in the Hong Kong security law explicitly outlaws receiving funding or support from overseas to disrupt lawmaking in Hong Kong or impose sanctions on the city.
Steve Tsang, who directs the China Institute at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, said that if the EU were to join forces on the issue with the “Five Eyes” alliance — the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — the group would have real economic clout. The EU is China’s largest trading partner.
But he said it was “far-fetched” for either British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or President Donald Trump to work with the EU on the issue.
“It is reasonable for Beijing to calculate that both the UK and US are paper tigers. Boris is focused on Brexit. He is happy to co-operate with anyone except for the EU.”
Chinese experts said the West isn’t able to sway China because of fundamental differences in their views. The West stresses political rights, while China emphasises economic rights, said Yu Wanli, an international relations professor at Beijing Language and Culture University.
“It is not that China is trying to withstand pressure from the West, but it is that China’s own policies have achieved results,” Yu said. “China doesn’t need to care about pressure from the West.” —AP