Mike Pompeo rips into Beijing with a litany of US grievances
- China’s domestic and foreign policies ‘make it more difficult to assess that Hong Kong remains highly autonomous from mainland China’, secretary of state says
- Also cited in a press briefing are Huawei, 5G, Taiwan, the South China Sea and the coronavirus response, among other topics
America’s top diplomat launched a verbal salvo against China on Wednesday that was anything but diplomatic, attacking Beijing for its policies on health, defence, Taiwan and 5G and its “brutal” regime as he expressed US concern over certifying Hong Kong’s autonomy.
During a regular press briefing in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited US worries that pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong were “manhandled” this week while trying to stop an irregular legislative procedure by pro-Beijing legislators.
Pompeo, also a former CIA director, also called out the move to have leading Hong Kong activists like United Democrats founder Martin Lee and entrepreneur and media owner Jimmy Lai “hauled into court”.
“Actions like these make it more difficult to assess that Hong Kong remains highly autonomous from mainland China,” Pompeo said. “We’re closely watching what is going on there.”
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US President Donald Trump signs Hong Kong human rights bills into law
Under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, the US has until the end of this month to assess whether Hong Kong remains suitably autonomous from China, a prerequisite for extending the city’s preferential US trading and investment privileges.