Beijing has reason to be emboldened by response to Hong Kong national security law plan, US observers say

China’s leaders are probably thinking West’s reaction was ‘a lot of bark and little bite’, analyst says

China’s ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai says Hong Kong tried for 23 years to enact security laws but opposition sought to ‘strangle them’, prompting Beijing to act

Reading Time:4 minutes

Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US says Beijing chose to enact the Hong Kong security law after demonstrators became increasingly aggressive. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:07pm, 31 May 2020Updated: 11:10pm, 31 May 2020

Beijing has reason to be pleased with the West’s relatively muted response to its plan to introduce a new national security law in Hong Kong, US analysts said, and increasingly confident in the decision to tighten its grip on the city.

Following Beijing’s passage of a security law, the US has revoked Hong Kong’s status as autonomous from China and threatened to revoke its special trade and investment privileges, without providing specifics.

The US also signed a joint letter of protest with Britain, Canada and Australia. And Britain has offered to extend citizenship to some Hong Kong residents if China remains on the same course.

“Beijing is probably thinking, a lot of bark and little bite,” said Andrew Coflan, a China analyst with the Eurasia Group consultancy.

US President Donald Trump outlined various threatened actions on Friday, without details, including what restrictions would apply to Chinese students or the timeline on any trade or customs actions, he said.

“It would almost be better if he didn’t say anything until he had specific measures,” Coflan said. “The biggest difficulty is the uncertainty.”

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x

Beijing has reason to be emboldened by response to Hong Kong national security law plan, US observers say

China’s leaders are probably thinking West’s reaction was ‘a lot of bark and little bite’, analyst says China’s ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai says Hong Kong tried for 23 years to enact security laws but opposition sought to ‘strangle them’, prompting Beijing to act

China’s leaders are probably thinking West’s reaction was ‘a lot of bark and little bite’, analyst says

China’s ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai says Hong Kong tried for 23 years to enact security laws but opposition sought to ‘strangle them’, prompting Beijing to act