Absurd Political Games Continue with U.S. Hong Kong Bill

With the 2020 U.S. presidential election approaching, Donald Trump is again looking to China for a fight. On July 14, U.S. President Trump signed the so-called “Hong Kong Autonomy Act” into law. The Act maliciously denigrates the national security legislation for Hong Kong and threatens to impose sanctions on China. It constitutes gross interference in China’s internal affairs and seriously violates international law and the basic norms of international relations. Following the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019” and the “Protect Hong Kong Act,” the U.S. is again attempting to intervene in Hong Kong affairs through domestic legislation.

Since violence broke out in Hong Kong in June 2019, radical protesters have attacked public institutions, paralyzed traffic, smashed, looted and burned businesses, and attacked civilians, severely disrupting social order and shrouding the “Pearl of the Orient” in dust. The riots are backed by NGOs such as the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which have been involved in planning, organizing, and implementing violent activities in Hong Kong. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and other government officials met with Hong Kong opposition leaders, and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi openly called the violent protests in Hong Kong “a beautiful sight to behold.”

Over the past 40-plus years of development, the Chinese people have come to respect how a peaceful and stable society nurtures economic prosperity and improving living standards. Stability and respect of rule of law are common desires of Hong Kong society, and all Chinese people seek to see Hong Kong’s development return to the right track. Responding to calls from the people, the National People’s Congress, enacted Hong Kong national security legislation in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and security and ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. During a campaign lasting just eight days, the United Front Supporting National Security Legislation collected signatures of nearly three million Hong Kong residents.

On June 30, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was promulgated and went into effect. As Hong Kong citizens were embracing new hope, the U.S. again reached across the Pacific Ocean to intervene in Hong Kong affairs with the “Hong Kong Autonomy Act.” Are the American politicians who introduced the Act seeking to protect the rights of ordinary people in Hong Kong, or do they see their own political grip on Hong Kong slipping?

The government of a country should serve the interests of its people and solve their real problems. The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in the U.S., while racial discrimination is rampant, and the gap between the rich and the poor continues widening as the rights and interests of disadvantaged groups remain poorly protected in the country. These worsening social problems have cast huge doubts on the Trump administration’s governance capabilities. Will groundlessly flexing against China save the grim prospects for a Trump re-election and make his promise to “Make America Great Again” finally come to fruition? And how could spending American tax dollars messing up Hong Kong possibly help improve the deteriorating conditions in the U.S.?