If Hong Kong doesn’t like US ‘interference’, maybe it should give up its status as a separate customs area

Beijing and Hong Kong have accused a US diplomat of interfering in the city’s affairs. But the State Department has a duty under US law to monitor whether Hong Kong retains a high degree of autonomy and thus remains eligible for special status

Michael Chugani

Published: 8:04pm, 6 Mar 2019

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There’s a new “sinner for a thousand years” in town. He is Kurt Tong, the United States’ top diplomat in Hong Kong. Diplomats who represent their countries usually keep a low profile, unobtrusively assessing the local political and economic climate for their bosses back home.

But Tong is unlike any other consul general stationed here, and he is nothing like his predecessors. He tells it like it is. That’s why he reminds me of Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last British governor. In pushing for greater democracy, Patten’s bluntness so infuriated Beijing that one senior mainland official called him a sinner for the ages.

But there’s where the similarity ends between Patten and Tong. Patten had such sway with John Major, Britain’s then prime minister, that he could virtually set his own Hong Kong policy.

Tong’s job as the top US representative here is to report to and follow policies set by his bosses, even though his input helps shape such policies. The current chill between the US and China has given him leeway to speak more forcefully on sensitive issues. But he still sensibly uses diplomat-speak.

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That’s why I think Beijing was shooting the messenger when its foreign ministry issued a blistering statement against Tong last week. What exactly did he do to incur the wrath of Beijing, which accused him of distortion and defamation? He said in a television interview with me that Beijing is eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy by meddling in local affairs. He repeated his message a day later in a speech, saying Beijing is narrowing Hong Kong’s political space by being “intimately involved” in local decision-making.

In both the TV interview and the speech, he cited the disqualification of opposition candidates, the expulsion of a foreign journalist, the banning of a political party, and the increased emphasis on “one country” at the expense of “two systems”, which could dampen business confidence here.

Taking their cue from the foreign ministry, enraged loyalists accused Tong of interfering in the city’s internal affairs, local government officials insisted he had his facts wrong, and protesters outside the US Consulate demanded that Tong apologise and resign.

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Let’s debunk all this nonsense about interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs once and for all. I can fully understand the indignation of loyalists when outsiders poke their noses into Hong Kong and pass judgment on Beijing’s behaviour. But many Hongkongers welcome US scrutiny as a spotlight on Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.

Whichever side you’re on, the fact is that the Hong Kong Policy Act is an American law. Enacted in 1992, it allows the US to continue treating Hong Kong separately from mainland China for trade and economic purposes after the handover.

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In return, Hong Kong must maintain a high degree of autonomy, keep its own export control system, and protect sensitive US technologies against improper use. Hong Kong has benefited hugely as a separate customs zone from the mainland.

The Hong Kong Policy Act, proposed by US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, was passed in 1992. Photo: Bloomberg

But the law requires the State Department to submit yearly reports on whether Hong Kong continues to have a high degree of autonomy from Beijing. If not, the US might no longer treat Hong Kong as an autonomous trading entity. A recent annual report raised concerns about the erosion of Hong Kong’s political autonomy. A separate congressional report suggested reassessing the Hong Kong Policy Act, with regard to the export of sensitive US technologies to Hong Kong.

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Tong was simply reiterating such American concerns, but has drawn condemnation from Beijing, the local government, and loyalists for interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. How can Tong’s remarks, and the US reports, be interference when they involve a US law, not a Hong Kong one? Hong Kong cannot have it both ways – it cannot reap the benefits of the US law and expect the US to ignore the law’s requirements.

If Hong Kong no longer wants reports that scrutinise its autonomy, it can always tell the US to revoke its status as an autonomous trading entity.

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: City cannot have it both ways with law on US status

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