Daily US Times: US President Donald Trump said he has signed an order to end preferential treatment for Hong Kong. The decision comes after China enacted a new security law for the ex-British colony.
Mr Trump said: “Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China.”
The US gave preferential treatment for Hong Kong under China’s ‘one country, two systems’ policy.
He also signed bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials who are responsible for cracking down on rights in Hong Kong. China vowed it would take retaliatory action.
Hong Kong has so far enjoyed unique freedoms, unlike mainland China.
But many people in the city fear the new security law imposed by China will bring an end to Hong Kong’s special status, agreed under a 1984 pact between the UK and China.
What did President Trump say?
Mr Trump on Tuesday said his executive order would end preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
“No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies,” the president said in a press briefing at White House Rose Garden. Mr Trump first announced in May that his administration would begin paring back the territory’s special status.
He also told reporters he had signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which earlier this month passed unanimously in Congress.
Mr Trump said: “This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom.”
Relations between Washington and Beijing have become increasingly frayed in recent months based on issues like trade, Hong Kong and coronavirus
The President was asked by a reporter if he had plan to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He said he had no plans to speak to Chinese President adding that “we hold China fully responsible for concealing the virus and unleashing it upon the world”.
Trump administration also under fire for its handling of coronavirus pandemic. The US has 3.4 million recorded Covid-19 cases, the highest in the world.
The president’s policy address digressed into a lengthy political attack on Joe Biden, his Democratic presidential challenger, ranging from trade and immigration to policing and climate change.
He said: “So Joe Biden and President Obama freely allowed China to pillage our factories, plunder our communities and steal our most precious secrets.”
In this November, Trump and Biden will fight to get access to the White House for next four years. Focusing on that, both of the candidates have accused each other of being weak on China.
You may read: Australia suspends Hong Kong extradition treaty
