‘US response to new security law is false’

THE Hong Kong government has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s threat to strip it of its special status in response to Beijing’s vote to implement national security laws in the territory.

In a statement released yesterday, a government spokesperson said Trump’s claim that Hong Kong has lost its autonomy from mainland China “was completely false and ignored the facts on the ground”.

Beijing is set to impose national security laws on Hong Kong’s behalf targeting “treason, sedition, terrorism, and foreign interference”.

Rights groups and pro-democracy politicians say the law is likely to be used to silence dissents in the city, where anti-government protests have persisted over the past year.

The territory’s Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng said that Beijing’s move to bypass Hong Kong’s internal legislature to implement the resolution “in no way” violated the “one country, two systems” formula as US officials alleged.

Trump said on Friday the US would “begin the process” of revoking Hong Kong’s special trading status and withdraw from the World Health Organization, taking drastic steps as his feud with Beijing over the coronavirus pandemic escalates.

In a brief address in the White House Rose Garden, in which he took no questions from reporters, Trump fumed: “They broke their word to the world on ensuring the autonomy of Hong Kong.”

Trump’s latest moves are sure to roil relations with Beijing and threaten to jeopardise the first-phase Us-china trade deal signed earlier this year.

The president also said the US would be revoking visas for certain Chinese nationals – without providing details.

Meanwhile, Trump accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of failing to enact reforms in the face of US concerns over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and that it put too much faith in information from China, where the outbreak originated.

He has announced a halt in funding to the WHO, saying the US will redirect funds from the WHO to other organisations.