Hong Kong does not warrant special US status since Beijing has slashed its autonomy, Antony Blinken reaffirms
- State Department releases annual Hong Kong Policy Act Report, determining whether the city is autonomous enough to justify preferential economic relations
- US will ‘work with Congress and our allies and partners around the world to stand with people in Hong Kong against the PRC’s egregious policies and actions’
Hong Kong does not warrant preferential treatment under US law owing to the erosion of its autonomy at the hands of Beijing, the Biden administration said on Wednesday, upholding a Trump-era determination made last year.
“Over the past year, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has continued to dismantle Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, in violation of its obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
He made the remarks while announcing the State Department’s Hong Kong Policy Act Report, sent annually to Congress, which includes a determination as to whether the city is sufficiently autonomous from mainland China to justify preferential economic relations.
Last year, for the first time since Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the Trump administration decertified Hong Kong’s special status and soon began peeling away its privileges, including an extradition treaty and export controls on dual-use technology.
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