Washington/Beijing
US President Donald Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act on Tuesday and also signed an executive order ending US preferential treatment for Hong Kong. Later, China warned that it would “definitely hit back” with sanctions if Washington implemented the Act.
“Today, I signed a legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong,” Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.
The Hong Kong Autonomy Act was passed unanimously by the Congress, he said, adding that the law gave his administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals in the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom.
“We have all watched what happened, not a good situation. Their freedom has been taken away, their rights have been taken away and with it goes to Hong Kong in my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets. A lot of people will be leaving Hong Kong I suspect and we are going to do a lot more business because of it because we just lost one competitor.
The president also said he signed an executive order ending US preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China. No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies. In addition to that, as you know, we are placing massive tariffs and have placed very large tariffs on China,” he said.
Trump said no administration has been tougher on China than his administration. In his lengthy opening remarks, Trump rued that his predecessors “were really a puppet” of China.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “We urge the US side to correct its mistake and not implement the so-called ‘Hong Kong Autonomy Act.” — PTI
