My Take | The US has painted itself into a corner over Hong Kong
- Former US consul general Kurt Tong has warned against this danger repeatedly but his bosses in Washington just ignored him
The United States makes a threat qualifying as “a nuclear option” to Beijing over Hong Kong. Beijing calls Washington’s bluff by announcing the impending national security law.
Americans now realise they have overplayed their hand and are backtracking. Pompeo has just said they might have to wait until September to see what happens with the Legislative Council elections.
“That’s not that far off,” he said. “I think that will tell us everything we need to know about the Chinese Communist Party’s intentions with respect to freedom in Hong Kong.”
So, maybe they will pull the plug on Hong Kong after September, or maybe not. Pompeo and Trump just realise cancelling Hong Kong’s special status would effectively end any leverage the US has over Beijing with the city.