White House invites pro-democracy politicians to explain situation in Hong Kong as officials scrutinising China prepare study on city’s separate trading status
- Former No 2 official-turned-government critic Anson Chan and lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Charles Mok will embark on 10-day trip next Tuesday
- Testimony will be relevant to American officials preparing annual assessment report on US-Hong Kong Policy Act
Three pro-democracy politicians will travel to Washington next week at the invitation of the White House to talk about Hong Kong’s political, social and economic situation, which could have implications for the city’s special trading status with the United States.
Their testimony will be relevant to American officials preparing their annual assessment report on the US-Hong Kong Policy Act, under which the city is treated separately from mainland China on matters of trade and economic policy. The report is due later this month.
They will meet officials from the State Department, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs which oversees the US-Hong Kong Policy Act, two congressional committees scrutinising China, and think tanks in Washington, before travelling to New York to meet the media and bar association.
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The list of officials they will be talking to has not been confirmed.
“I believe this visit is related to the US-Hong Kong Policy Act, as the White House wants to further assess Hong Kong’s situation before releasing the latest report,” Kwok told the Post.
The policy act also empowers the US president to suspend Hong Kong’s special status if the city is deemed to be “not sufficiently autonomous”, although the clause has never been triggered since it was written into law in 1992.
Kwok said he would tell the Americans that Hong Kong’s human rights and freedoms faced “suppression” from Beijing, while pushing for the annual review of the city’s economic and social conditions to be conducted every six months instead.
He said he would also urge the US to voice its concerns to both Hong Kong and Beijing leaders.
“I hope the raising of these concerns will push the Hong Kong government to deeply reflect on what is going wrong with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, and what the international community is concerned about,” Kwok said.
That status has become a talking point and a matter of concern after an expert report last November by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission under Congress recommended the Trump administration reassess its policy of exporting sensitive technology when treating Hong Kong and mainland China as separate customs jurisdictions.
US Consul-General Kurt Tong cited questions by American observers about the sustainability of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy going forward.
Further adding to tensions, the US State Department’s annual report on Thursday cited incidents constituting “substantial interference” in the city’s freedoms and rights.
Kwok insisted the trio were not lobbying for any change to Hong Kong’s special status, as that would make the city no different from the rest of China.
“We will urge US officials to continue supporting the policy act, but they should clearly voice their concerns over Hong Kong,” Kwok said.
In a written reply to the Post, a government spokesman noted Hong Kong’s international status as a separate customs territory, adding: “We don’t comment on other people’s invitations.”
The US-Hong Kong Policy Act was passed to help Hong Kong maintain its way of life … not to help [China] to use Hong Kong to take advantage of the US
A spokesman for the US consulate did not respond to questions on which officials the trio would meet, but said: “We welcome Hong Kong leaders of all political backgrounds to visit the United States to discuss issues of mutual concern.”
Professor Steve Tsang, director of Britain’s SOAS China Institute, said Washington’s invitation to the trio reflected its unease over Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong, particularly over the integrity of the one country, two systems governing model.
“The US-Hong Kong Policy Act was passed to help Hong Kong maintain its way of life … not to help [China] to use Hong Kong to take advantage of the US, whether it is about theft of intellectual property or bypassing other US restrictions on [Chinese] access to sensible technologies,” he said.
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“Washington is now reviewing the situation on the ground and whether on balance it should still continue to uphold the US-Hong Kong Policy Act, believing that this has been abused by Beijing.”
However, Tsang said while there was an increasing risk of Washington abandoning the act, it was not ready to go so far yet, and such a decision would hinge on how Beijing dealt with Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the US is also sending its own representatives to Hong Kong ahead of the latest annual assessment. The Congressional Delegation of the National Committee on US China Relations will begin a three-day visit to Hong Kong on Saturday.
Additional reporting by Jeffie Lam
