Between the recent advancements by the Chinese government in Honk Kong, The United States Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a recent press conference that Honk Kong would no longer warrant the special treatment which was given to them by the United States as it did when it was under British Rule.
The special treatment gave rights to Honkong such as trading rights treating them as a separate nation which is the reason why Honkong became a financial hub in the region. This certification came after china’s announcement of a plan to impose new national security legislation on Honk Kong. The specifics of the new bill haven’t been disclosed properly but what is definite that the law will ban any acts that spilled the countries, subvert=rt state powers or organize territories which basically means that they are banning all social movement and protests in Honk Kong asking for rights or voice against injustice. The bill has triggered unrest in the territory with police firing tear gas and water cannon on the protestors. Now the responsibility of deciding what all economic privileges need to be taken from Honk Kong rests falls on the hands of President Donald Trump. President Trump can decide to end some, all or none of the privileges too if he wants.
Economists say that the Trump administration was anyways considering suspending Honk Kong’s preferential tariff rates for exports to the united states as a reply to the Chinese government action in Honk Kong. One of the sources also say that the Trump administration might also put sanctions on some Chinese officials, government entities, and businesses which are involved in the enforcement of the new legislation in Honk Kong. The united states currently have very sour relations with china because of the ongoing trade war between them and the coronavirus pandemic. Recently the senate in the united states passed a bill to delist many Chinese companies from their stock exchange and if tariffs are imposed, it will land a major blow on the Chinese economy which can cause further aggression by the Chinese side.
The Honk Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act which was approved by the US Congress and trump last year required the state department to ensure every year that Honk Kong still practices autonomy to trade with the US without external control. Under this act, the officials responsible for any kind of human rights violation in Honk Kong are subject to sanctions enforced upon them but after the announcement of the new legislation, the united states fear that Honk Kong would not maintain autonomy from china and hence are taking back the privileges provided to them.
Archit Gupta
Grade XII, Manav Rachna International School, Gurgaon
Archit is an enthusiastic and very logically oriented young man who has a keen interest in global affairs and politics. He wants to bring about change in the society by the power of science and information. He has participated and has also organized various debates related to global politics.
