US-China relations: Mike Pompeo urges Hong Kong to reverse decision to suspend elections

US secretary of state says vote should be held ‘as close to the September 6 date as possible’

If it isn’t, ‘then regrettably Hong Kong will continue its march toward becoming just another Communist-run city in China’, he says

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Mike Pompeo has criticised Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s decision to delay the city’s legislative elections. Photo: K Y Cheng

Published: 3:00pm, 2 Aug 2020Updated: 5:21am, 3 Aug 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged Hong Kong to reverse a decision to suspend its legislative elections for a year amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, saying the delay would be another blow to its autonomy from Beijing.

In a statement published on Sunday morning, Pompeo condemned the decision by Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to invoke her emergency powers to postpone the Legislative Council elections – scheduled for September 6 – until September 5 next year.

“We urge Hong Kong authorities to reconsider their decision,” he said. “The elections should be held as close to the September 6 date as possible and in a manner that reflects the will and aspirations of the Hong Kong people.

“If they aren’t, then regrettably Hong Kong will continue its march toward becoming just another Communist-run city in China.”

The US has been particularly vocal in speaking out against the efforts by the Hong Kong government and Beijing to stamp out protests in the former British colony that have called for free and open elections and greater autonomy from Beijing.

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