The Trump Administration has signed legislation to punish China for effectively ending the semi-autonomous status previously enjoyed by the Hong Kong government.
President Donald Trump himself announced the order during a Rose Garden appearance earlier this week. The order targets banks that have undermined Hong Kong’s status. The administration will also end Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as it becomes clear the former British colony is now firmly under Beijing’s control.
“This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong’s freedom,” the president said.
China has long attempted to exert more control over Hong Kong after the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the region. Beginning in 2019, the area experienced waves of social unrest stemming from anger over an extradition bill that gave China more control over the region. The U.S. State Department has stated that Hong Kong’s autonomy has effectively been extinguished by China’s Communist Party.
The Trump Administration’s moves prompted predictable retaliation from Beijing in the latest in a long tit-for-tat economic battle between the two super powers.
“The act on the United States side maliciously denigrates Hong Kong’s national security legislation, threatens to impose sanctions on China and gravely violates international law and basic rules of international relations,” China’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a statement shortly after Trump’s Rose Garden speech.
President Donald Trump continues to make holding China accountable a signature part of his platform for his re-election bid.
Watch his remarks on the order below.
