HONG KONG : The United States is interfering with China's internal affairs by passing the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, said Allan Zeman, local businessman and the father of Lan Kwai Fong － the world-famous entertainment district.
Commenting on the signing of the bill, economist Tim Harcourt said:"It's another speed bump along the way to friendlier relations" between Beijing and Washington. "Some media organisations in Hong Kong have strong political inclinations, and so their news reports are biased and incomplete," he said. "Again, it is ridiculous for the US, a country which does not have the best human rights record, to criticise the human rights conditions in Hong Kong. In fact, Hong Kong ranked third in the Human Rights Index in 2018 co-compiled by the Cato Institute, while the US was in 17th place."
As The Washington Post's David Ignatius put it,"Americans may be mistrustful of elites, but they also want to believe in something larger than themselves.... can unite the country and summon disaffected Americans to a test on which their future livelihoods depend, quite literally."
'The bill is the latest expression of a binary that pits China against the West, according to the two scholars. US political elites on both sides have embraced this narrative, in part for its usefulness in undermining the domestic demands for radical change that each faces.'
'measures aimed at turning Hong Kong into a tool of US foreign policy, such as compelling it to help enforce US sanctions against Iran.'
'a country which does not have the best human rights record, to criticise the human rights conditions in Hong Kong. In fact, Hong Kong ranked third in the Human Rights Index in 2018 co-compiled by the Cato Institute, while the US was in 17th place.'
'The US will be unlikely to revoke Hong Kong's independent tariffs territory status, given that the US reaps a favourable trade balance of about US$33bil every year.'
'he eventually signed it at the last minute to appease the senators of the Republican Party, which he belongs to, in the hope they would not vote for his impeachment'
the act 'was pushed forward by some very anti-China US senators, including Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley, who seized the opportunity to attack China...'
'the law is misnamed because it basically deals with trade issues but not the 'human rights' and 'democracy' issues that its title suggests.'