Ex-US envoy Kurt Tong says ‘threshold should be high’ for US lawmakers to change Hong Kong’s special status
- Recently retired consul general calls for restraint from politicians seeking to review a US law that treats the territory as separate from mainland China
- Warnings about establishing ‘red lines’ that might trigger adjustments to the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act
Hong Kong’s recently departed US consul general is trying to keep the peace in his former base.
Kurt Tong, who retired from the post on July 5 and is now a partner at Washington-based risk consultancy The Asia Group, urged restraint from politicians calling for reviews of a US law that treats the territory as separate from mainland China and from demonstrators making demands on the city’s leaders.
Speaking in an interview in Washington, Tong warned the US government against drawing “red lines” that would trigger changes to the separate status Hong Kong enjoys in trade, economic policy and other areas.
The Hong Kong Policy Act has given the city special status since 1992, but also allows the US president to revoke it should reviews determine that Hong Kong’s autonomy has been eroded.
“I always hesitate to associate any particular red lines or recommending any particular red lines for the US government or for people’s general understanding of what the triggers might be that would lead the US to change the Hong Kong Policy Act either in whole or in part,” Tong said.