China says U.S. action on Hong Kong ‘is doomed to fail’
BEIJING — The mouthpiece newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party said Saturday that the U.S. decision to end some trading privileges for Hong Kong “grossly interferes” in China’s internal affairs and is “doomed to fail.”
The Hong Kong government called President Donald Trump’s announcement unjustified and said it is “not unduly worried by such threats,” despite concern that they could drive companies away from the Asian financial and trading center.
An editorial in China’s official People’s Daily newspaper said that attempts at “forcing China to make concessions on core interests including sovereignty and security through blackmailing or coercion … can only be wishful thinking and day-dreaming!”
Trump’s move came after China’s ceremonial parliament voted Thursday to bypass Hong Kong’s legislature and develop and enact national security legislation on its own for the semi-autonomous territory. Democracy activists and many legal experts worry that the laws could curtail free speech and opposition political activities.
China had issued no official response as of late Saturday, but earlier said it would retaliate if the U.S. went ahead with its threat to revoke trading advantages granted to Hong Kong after its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
“This hegemonic act of attempting to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs will not frighten the Chinese people and is doomed to fail,” the People’s Daily said.
In Hong Kong, small groups of Beijing supporters marched to the
U.S. Consulate on Saturday carrying Chinese flags and signs protesting “American interference in China’s internal affair” and calling Trump “shameless and useless.”
Elsewhere in the city, youthful activists held a news conference to welcome Trump’s announcement and try to downplay any economic fallout.
“It is now clear that Hong Kong is caught in the middle of major
China-U.S. tensions,” said Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. “That is a real shame for Hong Kong and it will be a challenge in the months ahead.”
Joseph said there were many unanswered questions about how the trading relationship will unravel and predicted that “it won’t be like flipping a switch.” A Hong Kong government statement called allegations that the security law would undermine individual freedoms “simply fallacious.“
“President Trump’s claim that Hong Kong now operated under ‘one country, one system’ was completely false and ignored the facts on the ground,” the statement said.
Washington’s response could include travel bans or other sanctions on officials connected with the crackdown on last year’s prodemocracy protests, including members of the Hong Kong police.