US trying to blur ‘one country, two systems’ with tariffs: Hong Kong justice chief
Paul Lam says US has ‘engaged in transnational bullying that is completely in violation of international relations and law’
The city’s justice chief has accused the United States of attempting to blur the lines of the “one country, two systems” governing principle, applying tariffs imposed on mainland China to Hong Kong to make “people feel there is no difference”.
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok on Saturday also defended efforts to cut off absconders from financial resources and aid, saying such measures were legal and fully complied with international law. He also dismissed Washington’s allegations that the city had engaged in “transnational repression” of opposition activists based overseas.
“The tariffs the US imposed on mainland China also apply to Hong Kong. It intends to blur the one country, two systems principle, and make people feel that there is no difference between Hong Kong and the mainland,” Lam told a radio programme.
US President Donald Trump has imposed cumulative tariffs of 145 per cent on all Chinese goods over several escalatory rounds, with the White House also revealing the figure to be as high as 245 per cent for some products.
On April 11, Trump announced exemptions from his “reciprocal tariffs” on several categories of electronic products from China that would last a month.
Beijing applied tit-for-tat tariffs on US imports, at 125 per cent, and import-export controls, among other retaliatory measures, which were not followed by Hong Kong.