U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would inform Congress that China had broken its promise to allow Hong Kong’s citizens to continue exercising democratic rights
Riot police officers clash with protesters in Hong Kong, on May 27, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress that the State Department no longer considered Hong Kong to have significant autonomy under Chinese rule.The Trump administration has declared that Hong Kong is no longer significantly independent of Beijing’s control, threatening to revoke the territory’s special trade and diplomatic status.
China is moving to impose a law on Hong Kong that would make it illegal to undermine Beijing’s authority. The territory’s democracy movement fears the new rules would be used to crack down on protests and campaigning ahead of legislative council elections next month. Mr. Pompeo’s report to Congress is the first step necessary in rolling back that special status and treating Hong Kong the same as mainland China.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he was “deeply concerned” by China’s security law but he did not threaten any consequences for it. “Making such a law on Hong Kong without the direct participation of its people, legislature or judiciary would clearly undermine the ‘one country, two systems’ framework,” he said in a statement.
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