US government stands by vocal concern about Hong Kong’s autonomy, after Beijing’s complaints of ‘distortion and defamation’
- Top US envoy Kurt Tong warned ‘a narrowing political space’ could hurt the city’s economy
- Local commerce chief told foreign governments and companies not to cherry-pick when looking into the city’s issues
America said on Saturday it remained concerned about Hong Kong’s autonomy, a day after Beijing fired complaints at Washington’s man in the city, who warned that the central government’s deep involvement in local decision-making could hurt the economy.
A consulate spokesman said it was aware of the statement issued by the office regarding Tong’s words.
“The US government remains concerned about the challenges to Hong Kong’s autonomy under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework and it is important to discuss these issues in a transparent manner,” he said. One country, two systems is the principle under which the city, while ruled by Beijing, maintains a measure of autonomy.
In his speech on Wednesday, Tong said “the mainland central government’s desire to influence and control political conversations and events in Hong Kong could negatively impact the functioning of the economy, and the international business community’s role here”.
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Speaking on a radio show on Saturday, the city’s commerce minister Edward Yau Tang-wah said Hong Kong had acted in accordance with the law under one country, two systems, when asked if he agreed with Tong that such a narrowing of the city’s political space might slow economic development.
“Incidents mentioned by [Tong] might have led to a lot of discussion in Hong Kong, but they were based on Hong Kong law,” Yau said. “Hong Kong can’t make changes just because of the wishes of people from other places.”
He also said Tong was effectively criticising the same legal system that made Hong Kong an attractive place to do business.
“If the international community values Hong Kong as a place of acting in accordance with the law, foreign companies or governments should also respect decisions made by the judiciary of Hong Kong. They should not be cherry-picking,” he said.
Yau did not elaborate on which rulings he was referring to. Electoral officials have rejected Legco by-election candidates by relying on Beijing’s constitutional interpretation about political allegiance to the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which is binding on local courts.
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Returning officers later also rejected former lawmaker Lau Siu-lai’s application to run in October’s poll, citing a landmark High Court ruling that empowered returning officers to vet and ban candidates based on political allegiance.
Yau said it was the practice of the rule of law that explained why the city has been consistently ranked as the world’s freest economy by overseas organisations, such as US think tank the Heritage Foundation.
Beijing’s foreign ministry on Friday urged Tong to stop interfering in the internal affairs of Hong Kong and China.
The ministry said in a statement that the one country, two systems principle had been successfully implemented in Hong Kong, and the city’s government had taken a series of measures to safeguard the constitutional order.
Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole delegate to the nation’s top legislative body, said in Beijing on Saturday that Tong should not comment on the city’s internal affairs.
“He was not speaking in his personal capacity, but representing a country. It was inappropriate for him to comment or criticise our internal affairs,” Tam said. “We hope he can be more cautious.”
Additional reporting by Kimmy Chung
