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https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3014416/hong-kong-protest-row-could-give-donald-trump-another-card Diplomacy
Hong Kong protest row could give Donald Trump another card to play against China – but will he use it?
- While US president says he ‘understood the reason for the demonstration’, many observers are sceptical about whether he will take concrete action
- Controversial proposal to allow extradition to mainland China could complicate efforts to reach a trade deal if Trump chooses to raise the issue when he meets Xi Jinping at the G20 summit later this month
Donald Trump could raise the issue of Hong Kong when he meets Xi Jinping later this month. Photo: AP
The controversy over this week’s protests in Hong Kong could become another complication in the already tense relationship between China and the United States if US President Donald Trump brings it up with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month.
But many observers questioned whether the US leader would take concrete action, even if it gave the United States another card to play.
On Wednesday Trump commented on the mass protests against the proposed bill that would allow extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China.
During a White House meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Trump said he understood “the reason for the demonstration”.
But he went on to say: “I’m sure they’ll be able to work it out. I hope they’re going to be able to work it out with China.”
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said earlier on Wednesday that Trump might raise the issue with Xi when the two leaders meet at the G20 summit in Japan at the end of this month.
“We want people to live in peace and prosperity, and [it was] pretty remarkable to see that many people taking to the street,” Conway said.
Trump likes to talk, but doesn't mean that there will be any concrete action
“And when the president meets with President Xi, perhaps that will be raised,” she said, adding that the matter “certainly has caught our attention in the White House”.
But Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing, said that while it was likely that Trump would raise the Hong Kong issue with Xi, he might not take action any time soon.
“Trump likes to talk, but that doesn’t mean that there will be any concrete action,” Shi said.
On Tuesday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if the bill was passed, Congress would have to reassess whether Hong Kong had “sufficient autonomy”.
She also raised the possibility of a new bipartisan Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy bill that would punish officials responsible for “suppressing fundamental freedoms” in the city.
Violent clashes on Wednesday prompted widespread international concern. Photo: Sam Tsang
Shi pointed out that while any such legislation would need time to pass through Congress, Trump could use an executive order to impose sanctions that could have an even more “long-lasting effect” on the future of Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy bill was first proposed in 2015 and revised in 2017 in the wake of the disappearance – and later reappearance in mainland China – of five booksellers from Causeway Bay who sold scurrilous books about the Chinese leadership.
If passed, it would amend the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, under which Washington has continued to treat trade with Hong Kong separately from mainland China following the 1997 handover of the former British colony.
Instead, it would require the State Department to certify to Congress annually whether Hong Kong is “sufficiently autonomous” to justify separate treatment from mainland China.
Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said there were certainly elements in the US Congress who would seize on the row about the extradition law and human rights for ideological reasons, but “I don’t think Trump is very interested in this topic”.
“Of course this is a card he could use against Beijing,” Wang said. “And as he begins his re-election campaign he will have to say something about it to appeal to certain audiences.
“He wants a deal with China as his achievement, and he wants to talk to Xi at the G20. China will not step back on internal affairs and sovereignty. Playing this card would not help in reaching a deal.”
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Congress may reconsider whether Hong Kong has a sufficient degree of autonomy. Photo: TNS
The comments by Trump were the first time he has spoken publicly on the extradition bill, which has drawn condemnation from US lawmakers, officials and their European counterparts, as well as rallies in at least 29 cities around the world.
The European Union said on Thursday that it shared many of the concerns raised by the citizens of Hong Kong and that the issue had far-reaching consequences for Hong Kong people, the EU and foreign citizens.
Almost 80 people were injured when violence broke out during Wednesday’s demonstration in the centre of Hong Kong, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.
Despite these mounting international concerns, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that Beijing “will continue to firmly support” the Hong Kong administration and firmly oppose any external interference in what Beijing sees as its domestic affairs. He also said there was no need to worry about the future development of Hong Kong.
Additional reporting by Echo Xie