Hong Kong should be praised by US, not dragged into trade war, Civic Party head Alan Leong says in Washington
Speaking at Heritage Foundation event, opposition politician says US actions will drive China away from values like democracy, freedom and rule of law
A vocal critic of China’s handling of Hong Kong affairs has surprisingly spoken out in defence of Beijing over the US-initiated trade war at a seminar in Washington.
Civic Party chairman Leong also said it was “just disappointing” that the U S had dragged Hong Kong into its trade dispute with China when the city had “always been the voice of free trade and a vanguard of multilateral trade”, and deserved praise from the US instead.
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He was speaking on Thursday at a seminar hosted by US conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, during his and his party leader Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu’s week-long visit to the States that began on Monday.
While Leong also discussed concerns over Beijing’s tightened grip on Hong Kong in his address at the seminar, he devoted a large part of it to the trade dispute.
“War is not to be declared lightly, particularly when America cannot be sure about a decisive win without dealing severe blows to its own economy,” Leong said.
“As America raises tariffs, China will find trade partners unreliable and increasingly distrust international trade. This can result in China recoiling to its shell with [President Xi Jinping] becoming more of a nationalist authoritarian leader.