Trump signs bill backing activists
Would review freedoms for trade status
Donald Trump has riled Beijing by signing legislation supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act requires the U.S. State Department to annually certify that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy from mainland China to deserve favourable trading terms, and could lead to human rights violators in the region being sanctioned.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill unanimously last week.
The move was a boost for the millions of protesters who have taken to the streets of Hong Kong since June, and whose demands include democratic elections.
Beijing promised “firm countermeasures,” prompting fears that the current trade war between the U.S. and China will be prolonged.
The U.S. president also signed a second bill banning the sale of munitions such as rubber bullets, stun guns and tear gas to Hong Kong police.
“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China and the people of Hong Kong,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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.”
Trump had previously tried to avoid being drawn into the tussle between Hong Kong’s government and pro-democracy protesters, but faced mounting pressure from within his own party to sign the bill.
On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said: “This so-called bill will only make the Chinese people, including our compatriots in Hong Kong, further understand the sinister intentions and hegemonic nature of the United States. It will only make the Chinese people more united and make the American plot doomed to fail.”
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government was dealt a blow when pro-democracy candidates gained control of 17 out of 18 of districts in local council elections.
The Hong Kong government, led by Carrie Lam, the increasingly beleaguered chief executive, said: “These two bills are an obvious intervention of Hong Kong’s internal affairs, they are unnecessary and without grounds, they will also harm the relationship and interests between Hong Kong and the U.S.”
An estimated 400 police officers swept the campus of Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University Thursday, removing dangerous items following the end of a violent standoff between officers and demonstrators holed up in the university grounds.