US-China trade war and Huawei ‘suppression’ show West wants repeat of opium wars, says Hong Kong lawmaker Kenneth Lau, chief of powerful rural body Heung Yee Kuk

Organisation’s chief spoke at spring reception attended by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and other top officials

Lau also said group will continue to support government, despite some policy discrepancies

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Carrie Lam (centre), flanked by Kenneth Lau (left) and Wang Zhimin, attends the Heung Yee Kuk spring reception in Sha Tin along with other top government officials. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:00pm, 11 Feb 2019Updated: 4:55am, 12 Feb 2019

The US-China trade war and “suppression” of telecoms giant Huawei showed that the West wanted to repeat the opium wars of the mid-19th century and other military campaigns against the country, a pro-Beijing legislator in Hong Kong said on Monday.

Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, who chairs powerful rural body the Heung Yee Kuk, was speaking at the organisation’s annual spring reception. The city’s top officials, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, and Wang Zhimin, head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, attended the event.

China and the United States have been locked in a trade war since July and imposed hefty tariffs on each other’s imports. Further punitive action is on the cards if a deal is not reached before the end of a truce agreed by President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Buenos Aires in December in less than three weeks.

Carrie Lam at the Heung Yee Kuk’s spring reception. Photo: Nora Tam

Since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on December 1 at the US’ request, China has detained two Canadians on suspicion of endangering national security and sentenced a third one to death for drug smuggling, in moves Ottawa has described as deeply concerning.

Lau said: “The trade disputes triggered by the US were like a tempest. Its suppression of Chinese corporation Huawei’s 5G and Meng’s case show that some people in the international community are trying to repeat the opium wars and the siege of the international legations.”