Hong Kong bill a Trojan horse for US goals

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, passed by both chambers of the United States Congress on Wednesday, is expected to cause disruption in US-China relations, with Beijing calling it a violation of national sovereignty and intervention in its internal affairs.

The legislation is designed to implement sanctions on officials and rescind Hong Kong's special status if Washington deems that certain requirements are not met. It is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump despite his apparent ambivalence on the issue.

The bill is a clear case of opportunism on behalf of those in the US Congress who seek to further a geopolitical agenda against China and divide the country. There is little emphasis on human rights and democracy in the bill. Instead, it strives to force Hong Kong to comply with a number of US foreign policy objectives, including on third party matters, at the threat of its special status. The act may be described as a Trojan horse that seeks to set the city against the Chinese mainland.

Section 205 of the act, for instance, calls for assessment of whether Hong Kong is complying with what the act describes as export controls, termed as "any other agreements and forms of exchange involving dual use, critical, or other sensitive technologies".

It aims to expand the scope of the ban on Chinese telecommunications company Huawei and others with a view to taking aim at the mainland. That, in itself, is inherently geopolitical, and has nothing to do with the protesters or their demands.

Section 5 of the bill demands "an assessment of the nature and extent of violations of United States export control and sanctions laws occurring in Hong Kong". In other words, Hong Kong is being obligated, particularly in light of it being a financial center, to comply with US sanctions and other sanctions on a number of parties.

The bill lists Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. With sanctions on the former having no international legitimacy, and US sanctions on Pyongyang far exceeding United Nations measures, this is effectively an attempt at "long-arm jurisdiction", forcing the city to comply with a number of US foreign policy goals.

Hong Kong is subsequently being strong-armed into not following China's foreign policy, which is Beijing's sovereign right as set out in the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the Sino-British Declaration, which lays the groundwork for Hong Kong's handover to its motherland.

This means that the US, by passing this legislation, is violating the Basic Law by aiming to undermine aspects of Chinese sovereignty over the city that are legally legitimate and internationally agreed upon.

Washington's aim is to forcefully differentiate the city from China and transform it into a bastion for its own foreign policy goals in Asia. Hong Kong should, according to this bill, act against the mainland to keep its special status from being completely negated, thus also offering an opportunity for the US to extend its economic warfare into the city, which has been exempt from aspects of the ongoing trade war.

For those engaged in riotous activities, this is a significant enabler of their behavior.

Washington's unwillingness to acknowledge the violence sends a green light to those pursuing destructive behavior that their actions are acceptable and that they may continue to do so with a view to receiving more support from the US. This poses the risk of perpetuating unrest, instability and chaos in society, which is of course interconnected with Washington's broader goal in its attempt to divide the country.